Still Time to Save Some Towers — Straight off the massive printing presses at the General Aviation Airport Coalition in Washington comes late word that a deal is in the works to pull some cash from one place and send it somewhere else. What’s new about that push is it might just keep some of the busiest control towers in the nation alive and kicking … at least until the end of September. Now get busy and call … no time left for writing.
Rob Mark, Publisher
Guess I go both ways on this one.
As I understand it, there are 3 towers here in Kentucky that are closing. Because of low traffic and better tech, two of those towers probably should have been closed a few years back.
No doubt there are going to be tower closures that should have happened anyway as you mentioned. Probably time to just bite the bullet … if all the sequestration info is correct of course.
Most of the towered airports surrounding KDFW, KDAL, KFTW, KFWA are being hit – which will directly impact safety in the DFW area, as there is more than enough traffic in toto to render the situation as dangerous, when most flying folk here are not used to using CTAF during most of their flying day. Airports in close proximity to each other, e.g. Grand Prairie and Arlington, need to have at least one tower operational to provide some sort of traffic separation beneath the DFW Class Bravo airspace – and, frankly, beneath the notice of Dallas Departure/Approach in that area.
Is it going to take a small aircraft getting in the way of another small aircraft, a corporate jet – or worse, an airliner – before someone in the FAA realizes that operation counts alone are not the whole story?
It is amazing how quickly congressmen can take action when they hear enough uproar from the people. The money wasn’t there before, but now that the people are saying something about it, Congress is willing to act.
I guess we just need to be more outspoken and specific as a people to get the change we really want to see. Is it possible that the people are actually more effective than the lobbyists?
The way I understand it Dave, they’re planning on
cutting money from somewhere else to gather
the money to make this all work.