Kevin Clarke wrote:
AJ wrote:
We must make the general public know that the little airport in town
is necessary to them (not to us -- we know how important it is), and
how becoming a pilot can be within their reach. If we define
ourselves as necessary, and not just an old folks' vanity group, we
will have allies to help fight to lower or eliminate user fees, bring
the overall cost of general aviation down, and swell our ranks with
people who still have their prostate.



I love to fly. I love the fact that I have achieved something that
was a lifelong dream of mine. I started at 40 yrs old. Now I'm 43.
I'm as passionate about this as anybody however...

I do not get this argument. I would like to understand it. But why is
the little podunk airport important? 3B3 Sterling, Mass, offers very
little to the local economy, if anything. KFIT, my home base, offers
very little to the local economy, a couple of shops, a restaurant, a
few commercial flights (Part 135) per week. Are they that big a deal?
KORH is vastly underutilized, it is 30 minutes away by car. So
seriously, I do not understand the argument about saving every
airport.
KC

An airport, even a small one, provides a surprising amount economic impact
to a community. I found this report about a very small airport in Washington
state. They estimate that this airport with only 6 aircraft based there
contributes more than $1mil to the economy.

The report is short and shouldn't take long for you to read.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres...0/OR_Forks.pdf