Dudley Henriques wrote:


Actually, the real threat to general aviation in the United States has been,
is now, and always will be, the American lawyer :-)
Dudley Henriques



I dont blame the lawyer.. I blame the folks who HIRE the lawyer.

Interesting take on this thread... How many would have thought a more
"friendly" approach would have been to simply go out to the ramp (FBO
employee, or whomever was tasked to be ramp nazi that day) and socialize
with the photographer?

Ask him nicely about what he's doing.. comment on the nice weather...
ask him where he's from.. shake his hand.. get his name.. Ask him if he
wants to get flying lessons, maybe point out a place down the road that
does discovery flights, and offer to forward his name and phone number
to them.. Invite him to come sign a visitor's log in the lobby, which
your FBO keeps there for that purpose.. look at this ID there..

If the "visitor" gets evasive or otherwise suspicious, then play "bad
cop" and switch gears.. until then, with the friendly approach, you have
made the visitor aware that he IS being watched, while at the same time
being accomodating and promoting GA. Remember.. just about all of us
started off by going to the local field and hanging around for a bit
(unless you were born into aviation, or a product of the military).

If we keep turning small airports in to private clubs with barbed wire
and keypad entries, they will soon become OLD FARTS private clubs with
rusting fences and declining membership.

Dave