On 2005-11-04, Skylune wrote:
consider that most of the $$ paid by GA on the table I posted are not from
recreational pilots, who are basically getting a free ride. How much tax
do you pay when you pump in 25 gallons of AV gas?

But recreational pilots seldom use the services. The vast majority of
airfields in the US are non-towered. I learned to fly at a privately
owned (but public use) airport in the US. No taxpayer's money was spent
on building or maintaining that airfield. If I flew just for fun, I
never contacted ATC. It was only when actually flying for transport that
I'd make use of ATC.

My current recreational flying is also from a private field that's
non-towered as well. We never talk to ATC either (we can't even if we
wanted to - the terrain prevents Ronaldsway's radar or radio signals
reach the area in which we fly).

The incremental cost of each recreational GA flight to the
infrastructure is so miniscule (since by and large recreational flights
tend to avoid ATC) it hardly matters.

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
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