WHERE'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

sorrygottarunway

Well-Known Member
WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

I don't know if you guys remember my post a few weeks ago when the FAA made a surprise ramp check at our flight school a few weeks ago. Post Title: Oops part deux, FAA pays a visit.

Well just in yesterday's newspaper, I found out about some more problems the FAA is pulling at our airport:


[ QUOTE ]
Danbury News-Times
2003-12-19
FAA orders airport changes


Danbury told to cut trees or shorten the runways

By Mark Langlois
THE NEWS-TIMES

DANBURY — Trees growing on private property around Danbury Municipal Airport
are getting tall enough to obstruct planes, and the federal government wants
expensive changes.
The Federal Aviation Authority, which governs airports, has ordered Danbury
to cut the trees or shorten runways.

Shorter runways would force bigger planes to land elsewhere and might cause
some airport businesses to move out of Danbury.

And the costs involved in solving the problem could lead to closure of the
airport, said Mayor Mark Boughton.

The FAA asked the city to pursue buying easements to cut trees on the
private land starting in 1989 and repeated the request several times since then.

"It’s a safety issue,” said Airport Administrator Paul Estefan. "It went
before the Common Council in 1991, and after a two-hour committee meeting, the
request (to pursue the easements) was denied. Now we have real problems.”

Estefan said the city and FAA did three studies of the issue in the 1990s.
FAA officials are now very serious about solving this problem in 2004, both
Boughton and Estefan said.

"What happened is the city ignored the FAA,” Boughton said. "You must do
this, they said, and now the FAA is saying they’ll shorten the runways as a
result of these trees.”

A new study by the FAA is under way that will decide how much shorter
Danbury’s runways should be if the trees are not cut. Even if a plan is in place,
Boughton said, it could take several years to buy the easements and cut the
trees. In the meantime, the FAA could order the runway restrictions to be put
in place immediately.

The airport has two runways. The longest, runway 8/26, runs essentially
east-west and is 4,422 feet long with 4,000 feet for landing. If the FAA trims
1,000 feet from that, Estefan said, the character of the airport would change
because the larger airplanes and jets would move elsewhere.

The cost of buying the easements was originally estimated at $4.5 million,
Estefan said, but that number could change.

The FAA and state would pay roughly 97 percent of the cost so if the final
bill were $4.5 million, Danbury would pay $110,250, Estefan said.

"It’s a joke, an embarrassment,” Estefan said. "We’re going to lose our
runway, and there’s almost no money involved.”

Boughton said he would prefer not to spend any money on the problem.

"That’s why we’d like the airport to begin generating more money,” Boughton
said. "This is a terrible year for these costs.”

He said he will order his staff to create an action plan immediately to
address the work requested in the FAA study.

Boughton also plans to study the future of the airport and how it can raise
enough money to pay for itself.

Because of the city’s reluctance to address the issue of the trees over the
past 14 years, Estefan said, the FAA is no longer giving Danbury money for
infrastructure improvements at the airport, like work on runways.

"The net effect of this could be shutting the airport,” Boughton said.


Contact Mark Langlois

at mlanglois@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3337.


[/ QUOTE ]


I'm wondering... this, along with all of Joseph P Sherman (yes thats his name, he lives along the approach/departure path to the airport) noise complaints could really create havoc at our field. As an AOPA member, should I be writing a response? Making calls? Doing my part? If we loose our runways, then we loose the jets, and a lot of commerce... the airport may shut down. UGH!

Another option: can I egg Joseph Sherman's house? (are you in Tim06?)
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

Yes, you should write AOPA and make them aware of the problem (though I'm sure they already are). This mayor who is crying about the airport not generating enough revenue needs to realize that if the runways are shortened, the airport's revenue will go down substantially when all the jets and turboprops go elsewhere. At 4400' we'd bring our King Air in there if we had a trip to the area. If they shortened it, not a chance. We could land, but we'd never get out again (legally). We'd be giving all our money to Westchester instead.

Write the paper, write AOPA, write the mayor and the city council, talk to everyone you can about the airport and how important it is to the community. Airports are closing at an alarming rate in this country and people need to do something about it.

And useless Mr. Sherman needs to get over it. If he doesn't like airplane noise, he needs to move the HELL away from the damn airport! Sorry, but those people just get on my last nerve ... they think they can live off the end of a runway and have absolute silence. Give me a break.

End of rant.

FL270
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

They sure better not shorten them!! I second the decision to cut the trees, because 152's don't climb that well
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Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

what the paper didn't mention (after some discussion at the flight school today):

The trees are located on private property, and we would either have to purchase the property or pay the owners to cut the trees. Knowing that we're in such a stitch, they want a mighty high price (around $4 mil) in total to do the work.

Two blizzards stuck at the airport this winter, and already I'm getting into a rant over "my turf."
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

[ QUOTE ]
what the paper didn't mention (after some discussion at the flight school today):

The trees are located on private property, and we would either have to purchase the property or pay the owners to cut the trees. Knowing that we're in such a stitch, they want a mighty high price (around $4 mil) in total to do the work.

Two blizzards stuck at the airport this winter, and already I'm getting into a rant over "my turf."

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm wondering about the accuracy of the report. The fact of the matter is that the FAA has no authority to MAKE something like that happen. Now if the airport has received Federal money, they are required to operate by the approved airport description for X number of years, I think 20, if not they MIGHT have to repay the money to the government.

But the FAA can only recommend, they have absolutely NO enforcement power over the issue.

Now, on the other hand, if the airport operating authority does NOT abide by the recommendations of the FAA there quite well might be some liability issues involved. But as noted the FAA has no authority to demand.

I've been through this before at my home airport.
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

There needs to be some serious lobbying on the part of local airport users and AOPA to arrange for the purchase of easements to protect the approaches to the airport and cut down the offending trees. FAA AIP funds will pay for the bulk of it, as the article mentioned, and getting rid of the trees is the only way to make the airport economically viable down the road. Shortening the runways is the beginning of the end. Raise a stink with anybody and everybody who will listen, and even moreso with those who won't.

FL270
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

[ QUOTE ]

Another option: can I egg Joseph Sherman's house? (are you in Tim06?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Paintballs send a much stronger message.
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

I've taken off from RWY 17 at Danbury a couple of times. Cutting the trees down would surely ruin what departing Danbury is famous for. I for one think its a blast skimming the treetops, then again I've never had a mishap that would probably ruin my day while departing.
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

Paintballs and someone sneak in there when the property owners are out shopping at Costco and chain saw those blighters down. Joke. More or less.

I trained out of VUO Vanc. WA, that had a tall patch of trees at the approach end of rwy26, and they were a challenge and a pain. I flew in there for the centennial and still didn't like them. Someone once mentioned to me that they serve a small purpose of helping deflect/cut some of the wind there. There is a industrial park at the end too that generates some good wavy thermals on your last 200', as if the trees weren't challenge enough!
crazy.gif


Don't know about the wind cutting effect of the trees. Anybody care to comment on that aspect? I would rather deal with a slight wind and more right rudder than getting my gear caught in their tops and ruining my day.
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

For people who haven't been to Danbury before, the approach and departure of runway 35 is through a large valley nicknamed "The Valley of Death"
grin.gif
grin.gif
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

[ QUOTE ]
...had a tall patch of trees at the approach end of rwy26...
Don't know about the wind cutting effect of the trees. Anybody care to comment on that aspect?

[/ QUOTE ]
The best thing at both ends of the runway would be nothing. If there's wind blowing down the runway, all the better. Makes your ground speeds slower. Why stir up a perfectly good headwind.
 
Re: WHERE\'S THE LOVE MR FSDO???

You should write to the mayor, the city council, the governor of your state, and your Congressman and Senators. And get all of the people who work with you at the airport to do the same. And bring all your friends into the loop.

If you're sitting around some day with nothing to do, follow up with some phone calls.

You need to emphasize how little money the city needs to spend in order to get the job done, and how the feds will pay for most of it. And you need to name the kinds of companies that fly into the airport and how much money they generate in revenue.
 
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