"Dave D" wrote:
It is a public bench on a public airport.

I know. But even "public airports" have areas that are/were not intended
to be "free entertainment" areas. My point was just that it's a bench
that seats maybe 3 people -- it's doubtful that bench was meant to be a
gathering place for public "plane watchers". It is where students drop
off their CFIs when they depart on their first solos, and the CFI has a
place to sit, listen with their handheld (the bench is close to the
tower) and "supervise" their students' takeoffs, patterns, approaches
and landings. I've seen family members and close friends watching, too.

I first learned about it from
people (non-pilots) who hike the Bay trails and love to watch planes with
their kids. This would be a point to bring up at the PA city council meeting
tomorrow.

It may be "public" now, but if people were to start showing up in large
numbers, odds are it wouldn't be "public" anymore. It's not SFO or SJC
or LAX, but even smaller airports have security concerns.

Having worked at a flight school at a Class D airport, our ramp is
gated, and while it's not impossible for the public to get inside on
foot, the TSA shows up on occasion to go over policies on who we are
permitted to allow to pass through our doors onto the ramp. Well-meaning
people asking to go out our back door to "watch airplanes" were often
angry when we'd tell them we could not allow access to anyone without
specific business on the ramp unless we escorted them personally. They'd
look at us as if we were crazy! But there are not only security
concerns, but also SAFETY concerns for both the pilots and the
spectators of having public access to the ramp. Certainly, we've all
seen how well some people watch their kids (not!), and non aviation
people aren't always aware of ramp safety procedures.

None of the above is meant to sound snooty, only realistic. I love to
plane watch as much as anyone!