Comments on Nordo News: A Future for Lee Bottom?

John Freas is pretty much right on with his analys...

2012-03-02T01:37:56.833-05:00

John Freas is pretty much right on with his analysis. Aviators HAVE always been a small group in relation to the general population. And he's also correct in stating that the middle class is less able to afford to fly than ever. The traditional good jobs were in manufacturing and, due to Globalization and Technology, are never coming back. Also, the cost of fuel is getting to be beyond the ability of even some well-off folks to afford. (My airplane burns 22 to 25 gallons per hour, so I fly it less than I used to.) Finally, I agree that the young today ARE more interested in virtual life styles than in reality and that's not about to change anytime soon.

Please do not kick sport pilot too much. A big pro...

2012-02-29T01:58:03.588-05:00

Please do not kick sport pilot too much. A big problem I have is I cannot afford to purchase a $100,000.00 Airplane ithink this is a problem for many. The FAA could have raised the weight limits. This would have made flying affordable. alot of airplanes aare out there in the $15,000 and above mainly Cessna 150's

Good to hear..The Cub will be done c.July '11 ...

2012-02-24T18:58:37.560-05:00

Good to hear..The Cub will be done c.July '11 so I hope to be able to help 'on the ground' this summer. Clyde

The field will be here! Event organizers are cu...

2012-02-24T09:26:46.475-05:00

The field will be here!

Event organizers are currently rallying for time, talents, and funds to ensure that the events match the needs of the field and the level of commitments available.

Many people, organizations, and companies are stepping up. . .

Does anyone know what the outcome of the meeting w...

2012-02-24T08:12:20.040-05:00

Does anyone know what the outcome of the meeting was? Were there any decisions made about the future of the field?

Steve

While it may be that technological distractions ma...

2012-02-21T14:31:08.438-05:00

While it may be that technological distractions make it easier for kids, and people in general to overlook aviation, I think that we've always been an unknown group.

The average person knows nothing about personal aircraft except that they exist. This is nothing new. It was that way when I was a kid. I knew then that my dad and I were part of an almost secret world. One that we shared with a few lucky others who got to see the clouds from above, enjoy the blue glow of taxiway lights on a cool summer night, and the magic of climbing into an airplane in overcast Pennsylvania in the morning and being on the beach in Florida before the sun went down. The inside of the FBO, the pilots chatting in tattered chairs before going up to just bore some holes in the sky. These are things that 99.9% of Americans will never know, and it's always been that way.

At roughly 600,000 we pilots represent less than 2/10 of 1 per cent of the US population. If we quadrupled that number to include an average flying family you're still not at 1%. We have been and always will be a small family, who's flying life is all but unknown to the population as a whole, and misunderstood by most. Contrast that with 8.9 Million households that own that other, somewhat uncommmon money pit: an RV, and you will see just how small our community is. It's not surprising that we are all but invisible to the average person, especially since our aviation world almost never intersects theirs.

It's probably true that the distractions of computer games and reality TV keep some from discovering the pleasures of real life, flying included, but I would bet that the same could have been said of hot rods, drive-ins, and malt shops in the 1950s. Back then a tiny handful of kids were inspired by flight, just as now. The rest were distracted by other things in their lives.

The distractions are different, but I don't know that they have any more impact now than they did before. Rather, the erosion of our middle class has put flight for fun out of the economic reach of more and more people. How often can you afford to drop $100 to go play in the sky with your kids, let alone travel somewhere? For some it's still possible. For others it's getting farther and farther from reach, and for the 99.9% it isn't even on their radar.

For those of us who still hang on though, having somewhere to fly to can make all of the difference, and having something as special as a grass strip with a group of airplane nuts to go visit is absolutely irresistable. I want my boys to feel what that community is like. It's a special feeling that few get to enjoy.

John Freas
Elizabethtown, IN

Hello, Great points about the future of aviation.....

2012-02-21T09:03:56.669-05:00

Hello, Great points about the future of aviation... You are right unfortunately, aviation as we knew it is dead. I fly for the airlines, am a CFI and an A&P/IA. The up and coming younger generation do not care about aviation except for a very few. Facebook, Ipads, Ipods and Kim K are the order of the day. Adeventure is lived through virtual reality and cable/satellite TV. Its too bad, they don't know what they are really missing.

Clearly the pragmatist above did not read the mess...

2012-02-20T08:49:33.534-05:00

Clearly the pragmatist above did not read the message so much as caught the words they wanted to read.

The point of the message was not that it's a huge sacrifice to operate the field (although undoubtedly it is), but rather that the fly-in in particular, and the airport in a broader sense, are being maintained and offered as a way to keep the real heart of general aviation alive. There are thousands of pilots just like Bob Waggoner's CFI who go through their lives training and working in aviation without ever seeing the fun, simple, basie pleasure that is general aviation. I too have known CFIs who never landed on grass (note: that's not necessarily a soft field!). Their loss. Every one of my students got to do a simulated emergency landing to a full stop thanks to a nearby grass field, and I remember vividly days at the airport with my dad watching the airplanes take off before we took our turn.

Yes, general aviation is shrinking, right along with the ability of the average person to afford it, but it is not gone as long as we have places like Lee Bottom to re-infuse our spirit with the pure joy of aviation; devoid of baking concrete and whining turbines, control towers and expect further clearance times. The people and the environment that come with a small friendly airport, especially a grass field are the heart and soul of flying for me, and I get it.

The message isn't how hard it is or how impractical it is. The message is that the sacrifice and aggravation is only worthwhile if it is doing some good. It is only worth doing if the gift is received and appreciated, and passed along.

I just reserved the local airplane for all 3 Sinful Sundays. Weather permitting, my 6 year old and I will be there with smiles on.

John Freas
Elizabethtown, IN.

I have loved flying all my life and payed for my o...

2012-02-20T02:19:27.000-05:00

I have loved flying all my life and payed for my own PPL by the time I graduated high school. I've ate, drank, slept and breathed flying for a long time before where I am now. I would assume you are getting close to retirement age. I've also learned along time ago there is more to life than airplanes. Wait for the value of the land to improve. Nobility will get you nowhere. Sorry for the negativity but reality rules.

As you have stated::::
"Although I believe that most people can’t handle the truth or, at the very least they don’t want to hear it, I firmly believe it is far better for everyone to know it; all of it. Therefore, let me get straight to the point. Owning and operating a flying field is not always that fun. Really, it isn’t. In fact, it can be, and often is, a huge pain in the ass.......Aviation as we have known it is dead and it is not coming back. Sport Pilot qualified aircraft are not going to bring it back. Young Eagles is not nor will it ever bring it back".

If you look at history, in the 1930's. aviation was a sport of the very wealthy just like it is today. Will it rebound in you're lifetime. Hell no. Take the money and run unless you wish to leave a name for yourself. There is alot more to life than airplanes. Buy a nice wooded property to hunt, shoot or piss in the yard as you mow it and live the good life. Get a boat or whatever. Quit trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Again, that will get you nowhere. Fritz knew what he was talking about.

Many all over the region hope you get past this. I...

2012-02-19T19:41:29.272-05:00

Many all over the region hope you get past this. I understand completely as part of my job is to make sure 3 small airports survive these current times. So many call and email to complain about not having a perfect facility (at no cost), and to voice very unreasonable expectations even though we've managed to have new lights installed, major pavement repairs, etc. No....it's not fun most of the time, it is intrinsically rewarding, and yes it must be a calling because it sure as hell isn't the pay!

Steve

Ron Ransom, Salem, IN Do not let this Event go by ...

2012-02-19T18:22:46.569-05:00

Ron Ransom, Salem, IN
Do not let this Event go by the way- side. I want to help in any way to see this event continue.

I would like to help with aircraft parking or what ever service you need during the next flying event.

I started flying late in life (age 46 ). Not long...

2012-02-19T13:44:24.989-05:00

I started flying late in life (age 46 ). Not long after I started my primary training I ask my CFI when we would be actually landing on a soft runway to which he replied " I've never landed on grass " Thanks to Lee Bottom 30 minutes later on a crisp winter day (temp 17 )in Febuary 2007 myself and my CFI cut our soft field teeth at Lee Bottom . I've visited many airports since then both big and small but nowhere says welcome home like Lee Bottom . Everytime I land there it reminds me that Airplanes were made for and intended to land on earth not concrete. Thanks Lee Bottom .

Bob Waggoner , Louisville , ky.

I have been wanting to get down there for some tim...

2012-02-18T20:33:05.719-05:00

I have been wanting to get down there for some time but have been unable. Do continue what you do. Thanks from a grass strip flier...4N0

Tuesday where? What time?

2012-02-18T19:58:16.248-05:00

Tuesday where? What time?