Quote of the Week: Unless the FAA determines closing of an air****t to be
in
the best interest of aviation, we will take whatever action we deem
appropriate to prevent closure of an obligated air****t." from a story on
Danbury (Conn.) Air****t noise impacts and FAA lies about its noise impacts
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#403.........................................................................November
19, 2006 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm
The PASSUR air****t
flight
tracking system at many major U.S. air****ts
http://www.passur.com/sites.htm
(you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the
newsletter
sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Hubs" Pollution Expanding To Rural Areas
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As Bill Sees It: (Editorial) Metropolitan Air****t Hubs Expanding To Rural
Areas !!! The madness not only continues, it is increasing!!! More and
more
major city air****ts are looking to the quiet rural areas to expand
operations. News stories this week talked about how the ****t "Authority"
of
New York and New Jersey (a bi-state agency) is looking for "reliever"
air****ts to expand increased future operations. As city air****ts like
LaGuardia reach their maximum safety level of flights that can be squeezed
in their "slots," the pressure is on to expand to the rural areas. To
have
the ****t Authority take over this small air****t they are actually going to
change this agencies legal structure which limits its control to an area
of
25 miles around New York City. In other words communities like Newburg,
New
York, which is 60 miles north from New York City, will have what little
control the FAA gives them totally taken away by an agency that is fifty
percent controlled by another state!!! Watch all the alleged
environmentally friendly local politicians talk about all the jobs (for
their friends and sup****ters of course) that will be created while
carefully
avoiding talking about the 24 hour-a-day noise. I'm happy to re****t that
the
local congresswoman, Sue Kelly (picture above left), was voted out of
office
in the national revolt against Republican policies. It wouldn't surprise
me
if her next job will be with the aviation industry as a lobbyist. I hope
her
replacement, Democrat John Hall, will fight the the ****t Authority's grab
for more power over upstate New York communities.
Connecticut: Resolution readied against air traffic plan: Responding to a
Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] plan that would change flight
patterns
at tri-state air****ts, a city committee resolution urges the U.S. Congress
to sup****t alternatives in order to keep La Guardia Air****t air traffic
from
being rerouted over Fairfield County. The State and Commerce Committee
resolution calls for the FAA to select an alternative airspace redesign
plan
that includes either ocean routing or leaves flight paths unchanged.
Stamford's Director of Economic Development Michael Freimuth said recently
the notification process was "nonexistent," none of the area's chief
elected
officials were notified and no press releases were issued concerning the
public hearings. State and Commerce Committee Chair Paul Esposito said the
resolution was scheduled to be taken out of committee at the Board of
Representatives meeting Wednesday night, Nov. 8, after the Times'
deadline.
Esposito said if the board of representatives approves the resolution, it
will be forwarded to Congress. Funding for FAA programs must be approved
by
Congress. Next year the FAA will issue a final environmental impact
statement and hold public meetings on mitigation strategies the agency
plans
to develop in response to collected comments.
http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/stamford_templates/stamford_story/306097608039773.php
Grey's Harbor, Wa****ngton: FAA Tells Community They Can't Close Their Own
Air****t!!! Needing only five days to reach a decision, the Federal
Aviation
Administration denied the ****t of Grays Harbor's request to be "released
from federal surplus property disposal restrictions at Bowerman Field."
The
****t had sought the required release from operating the air****t facility
in
order to explore other op****tunities to develop Terminal 3, the former
Rayonier property on Moon Island, and adjacent land, including the
air****t.
In a brief but strong denial of the ****t's Nov. 1 request, the FAA
responded
in a Nov. 6 letter written by Paul Johnson, civil engineer and compliance
specialist with the Seattle office of the FAA, that the department
rejected
the release because.
* Bowerman Field is a vital and integral part of the Harbor's
trans****tation
infrastructure, not only for Hoquiam and Aberdeen, but the entire coast of
Wa****ngton;
* Bowerman is a vital part of the national aviation system of air****ts;
* The air****t is obligated federally.
Further, the FAA said a new and equally adequate replacement air****t would
have to be constructed and operational before release of the present
facility would be considered, and lastly, "Unless the FAA determines
closing
of an air****t to be in the best interest of aviation, we will take
whatever
action we deem appropriate to prevent closure of an obligated air****t."
Editor's Note: This corrupt agency obviously has too much power. Where are
our political representatives who are supposed to control this monster?
Ridgefield, Connecticut Community Questions FAA's Noise Formula: A lot of
folks are sounding off about noise, whether they live near Route 7,
Danbury
Municipal Air****t, Copps Hill Plaza, or Sturges Park. The noise problems
aren't new, and range from irritating leaf blowers to early morning trash
collection to low-flying aircraft. However, recent Federal Aviation
Administration re****ts stoked the interest in noise. The FAA used a highly
complex and apparently flawed formula to measure the amount of noise
around
town as part of its controversial plan to redesign the airspace in the
tri-state area. It also accepted what some say was a clearly flawed noise
re****t on Danbury Municipal Air****t. The question is: When does sound
become
noise? After all, one person's easy listening is another's ear-shattering
bass beat. Basically put, sound is waves in the air that oscillate the
eardrum. Most scientists agree on two rather general methods of measuring
sound, A-weighted decibels and C-weighted decibels. The A-weighted scale
excludes extremely low-pitch and extremely high-pitch sounds on the basis
most people cannot hear them. The C-weighted scale includes both ends of
the
sound spectrum. The FAA uses A-weighted (dbA) as its preferred measure.
The
question is: Why? In its own noise re****t from December 2005, the FAA
says,
"C-weighted levels are not used as frequently as A-weighted levels, but
they
may be preferable in evaluating sounds whose low-frequency components are
responsible for secondary effects such as the shaking of a building,
window
rattle, perceptible vibrations, or other factors that can cause annoyance
and complaints."
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/article_10757.shtml
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Aviation News Stories This Week
****t Authority eyes Stewart Air****t amid sale
An American Eagle jet leaves Stewart International Air****t in June.
Officials are considering using Stewart to ease NYC congestion.TH-R/JEFF
GOULDING By Judy Rife
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061117/NEWS/611170341
Times Herald-Record
November 17, 2006 New York - Is Stewart International Air****t the solution
to the big squeeze at the metropolitan region's three major air****ts?
The ****t Authority of New York and New Jersey decided yesterday that it
wants to know the answer sooner rather than later. After all, it is in the
middle of a $3 million study of the potential role that six air****ts on
the
fringes of the metropolitan region - including Stewart - could play in
expanding capacity.
What prompted the authority to single out Stewart for scrutiny at this
point
was National Express Group's announcement six weeks ago that it was in
talks
to sell its 99-year lease to operate the air****t.
"It was the sale that was the catalyst for us - and the fact that the ****t
Authority's name kept coming up in connection with Stewart," said William
Decota, the ****t Authority's director of aviation.
"But this isn't a commitment to do anything other than take a look. We're
going to kick the tires." New York leased the 2,200-acre air****t to the
British trans****tation company in 2000, making it the first - and still
only - air****t to be privatized in the United States. National Express,
however, subsequently sold its two air****ts in England to concentrate on
school buses and trains.
This is the first year that the lease permitted National Express to pursue
a
sale.
New York's Department of Trans****tation, attorney general and comptroller,
as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, have to sign off on any
buyer that National Express solicits.
Decota said the ****t Authority told National Express several weeks ago
about
its intent to conduct this review and expects to have its first meeting
with
the company next week. Regardless, National Express refused to comment
yesterday on the ****t Authority's interest.
"I look favorably on the ****t Authority's interest - they have great
experience in running air****ts and they have very deep pockets,'' said Jim
Wright, the 20-year chairman of the Stewart Air****t Commission, which acts
as an adviser to the DOT.
Wright said National Express has been a disappointment, although its
recent
success in attracting JetBlue and AirTran is "a feather in their cap."
"It's a giant step for the air****t, but it's been a long time in coming,"
said Wright. "I sup****ted privatization, but, in retrospect, I'm not sure
it
was a good idea. It's probably too early to tell."
The ****t Authority's review will examine Stewart's potential in legal,
financial, environmental and business terms. Decota said the bulk of the
work will be done in house, but as much as $500,000 could be spent on
consultants.
Decota said he couldn't predict what will happen when the review is
completed in three or four months, primarily because the ****t Authority
suspects it will need approval from New York and New Jersey lawmakers to
spend any money at Stewart.
The authority's charter limits its sphere of operations to a 25-mile
radius
from the Statue of Liberty, a line that falls to the south of the Tappan
Zee
Bridge.
Legislative approval is never a sure thing, but the Stewart review has
received a tacit green light from the men who control the ****t Authority -
New York Gov. George Pataki, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer and New Jersey
Gov. Jon Corzine.
The governors appoint the authority's board. Corzine appoints the
chairman,
and Spitzer will appoint the next executive director.
No plan for 4th major jet****t
The one term the ****t Authority doesn't use when it talks about expanding
capacity in the metropolitan region - at Stewart or any other air****t - is
"fourth major jet****t." William Decota, the authority's director of
aviation
since 1999, said he thinks of Stewart as "a nice midsize air****t" that
should have better service with more destinations and better fares.
"There's no way it's going to be another Newark or La Guardia in 25
years,"
said Decota.
The ****t Authority's three air****ts cover 7,800 acres and will handle
about
100 million passengers and 3 million tons of cargo this year. In contrast,
the six air****ts that the authority is studying - Stewart, Westchester,
McArthur (Islip), Trenton, Atlantic City and Allentown - cover 13,000
acres
and will handle about 6 million passengers and about 100,000 tons of
cargo.
"What we're trying to figure out is why we're growing and why these other
air****ts, which have capacity, aren't," he said. "If we can do that, then
we
can relieve some of the pressure on our air****ts."
Decota said he envisions Stewart handling perhaps 3 million to 5 million
passengers and a couple of hundred thousand tons of cargo in 10 years. He
estimated it currently handles fewer than 450,000 passengers and less than
100,000 tons of cargo a year.
"If it can do that in 10 years," he said, "then I think that Stewart will
have done its job - it will have served its own demand."
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