Preventing closure of small airports - more or less traffic?

[Posthumane]

There is a small airport that I used to fly to on a semi-regular basis which I think is probably doomed to be closed in the next few years. It is owned by a property developer who is building houses all around the airport and selling the area as a "flying community" but most of the people buying the houses have no interest in aviation. A family member co-owns an aircraft based there, and he now tries to avoid doing any circuits at that airport to avoid making noise, so when he wants to do any training such as circuits he flies to the next closest airport, does his training there, and flies back. I can understand the logic, but at the same time I think having less traffic at an airport gives people more ammunition to petition to close it.

So, what do you think? To make an airport more closure resistant is it better to have:
a) More traffic - This shows that the airport is actually being used and isn't just wasted real estate. An active airport can be shown to have some economic benefits to the community.

b) Less traffic - Less noise and nuisance for the neighbours. They may be tempted to just leave it be if they don't have to deal with airplanes flying over their houses at all hours.

[ahramin]

From my experience it isn't airplanes taking off and landing that bothers people. Even a moderately busy small airport just doesn't have enough movements to generate enough noise. The constant noise of the same airplane staying around the same airport, that's a different story. Circuits, glider tows, and operation that keeps aircraft flying the same route over and over again will wear on even the most avid plane lover.

[plhought]

Ya talking about Okotoks?

[Posthumane]

Yes, Okotoks is the airport I mentioned that inspired the post, but it's probably an ongoing thing for many airports across the country.

[photofly]

If I were your family member I'd be building an airport residents and users association. There's no reason to guess people's attitudes towards airplanes and noise when you just have to ask them.

[Flybabe]

Would be an incredible shame if Okotoks were to be shut down. Hope that doesn't happen. My adventure in aviation started there in 1993.

Same old story, though. People move near something that was there way before they were, and then complain.

[cpknight]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Okotoks Air Ranch has a lot more than just a lack of interest from local residents going against it?

I think maybe there isn't the critical mass of aviators in that community that the developer had hoped for, but that's not necessarily going to kill the project. Heck, local residents (aviators and non-aviators alike) have moved into a community called "air ranch" and many of them (even in the new development to the East coming online now) actually overlook the runway. Probably they wouldn't have purchased if they weren't ready for some sort of aircraft noise. I don't know, but I don't think local residents are actively opposing that field at the moment (maybe people will start to in the future if it's all circuits all the time, who knows?).

Problem now is that OAR is dead. I looked at hangar space there recently. Price isn't great. Lots of uncertainty with the status of those buildings. No fuel now, apparently. No nearby restaurants within walking distance. The school left, and so did much of the GA peeps down to High River. I think the real issue there is that there isn't a GA community there anymore, and that'll probably be the end of the Air Ranch, ultimately.

What (IMHO) Air Ranch needs is a some GA-friendly facilities, so that people will make it a flying (and driving) destination. Fuel, at good rates. Decent parking. Reasonable hangar space, and tie-downs with some sort of protection from hail. GA owners and pilots will be attracted to it as a base of operations. Add in a decent restaurant and got rid of PPR and landing fees, and GA owners and pilots will make it a destination to visit during Sunday flights. Have inexpensive space for clubs and the Air Cadets, and more people will be attracted. Highlight all those things and outreach to the local community to make the increase in vehicle and aircraft traffic seem like positives. Would be really nice to see there.

I'd really like to be a part of making all that happen, but I think there is not a lot of impetus from the Town in moving such initiatives forward, and I think the developer has had a run of bad luck with the whole project and isn't about to sink more cash into the mix (understandably). Too bad, because the place could really be great. Hopefully somebody else has some good ideas. Like I said, I'd like to help make it happen... just not sure where to start.

[plhought]

I wouldn't waste any effort on Okotoks. I know it sucks to drive all the way down to High River if your YYC based or deal with the Springbank crowd - but since the school has left the 'Toks everything seems to be going downhill there (well the one runway...literally! Hehe).

Family brought a King Air down in there for the bosses once (they ranch near Okotoks and loved avoiding YYC) but was promptly told off by some local for bringing noisy big turbine there...Pfft. Fine then.

If ya don't mind soft-field and getting your gas in High River...Indus is a great little outfit.

[cpknight]

I was at an airport somewhere in the states and a GA guy sitting next to me (really interesting fellow - got me thinking about Van's aircraft) got to talking about how he lived in Calgary but hangared down in High River - at first I thought it sounded like a crazy distance, but I drove it one day and it turns out that High River is really only 10-15 mins extra on Hwy 2 south as compared to Okotoks. So I guess for a guy like me coming from central Calgary, CFX2 or CEN4 doesn't make too much of a difference. And I guess the extra 21 mins from the CYBW that I'm used to (49 mins vs. 28 mins [source: Google]) isn't too much of an inconvenience. I noticed High River has (i) the critical mass of GA assets (school, maintenance, fuel), community and outreach (including cadets, clubs, etc.), and (ii) no immediately surrounding residences. Not sure if there is a restaurant there. Maybe it's the better option to getting my hopes up about Okotoks.

Haven't checked out Indus. Google says 29 mins from my house (same as CYBW), so maybe it could be a winner. Will check it out. Thanks @ plhought!

[PilotDAR]

We went through something similar with an airfield a few of us shared. It had been low utilization for decades, so when we ramped up a little (not a lot though) that got noticed. We met with the concerned citizens, and came to some agreement, which was use by aircraft based there only, and no circuits, just go and return later. That went fine for us as long as we wanted, and eventually the natural evolution of things saw us all move on anyway. It is now disused.

Though there were some simmering hard feelings, we kept to our word, and I had no reason to think that the local citizens did not keep to theirs. Our operations were not prevented, just minimized, and I could live with that.

Prior to my buying the property I still own, I borrowed a 185 amphib, and beat up precisely where I would put my runway, were I to purchase. I then drove around to all the neighbours and introduced myself as the guy in the loud plane. I explained that mine was not that loud, and I would keep the noise to a minimum. Everyone stated they were fine with that, and 25 years on, no problems.

We noise makers are the drastic minority, and the noise sensitive people are the vast majority. If we don't respect their sensitivities, we will eventually loose. The "you can't touch me" attitude will not survive public pressure. Effective co-operation has a hope, and demonstrates respect. I minimize the affects of noise at my home aerodrome as much as I can, and while flying elsewhere near people, I try to make the smallest noise footprint that I can.

I am aware that some "air ranches" require that prospective purchasers of lots or houses must be a pilot, and own a plane when they purchase, a long with signing various commitments to not complain about aircraft. But, it sounds like it's too late for that with the aerodrome under discussion.

[Panama Jack]

Here is my take. First of all, there are way too few airports in Canada. I say that when comparing what happens just within a few mikes north and south of the 49th parallel.

Second, i am with option a). Fly respectfully and taking due precautions to not annoy the neighborhood, but we have rights too. They moved next to an airport and should expect some aircraft noise. It is like somebody moving to a lakeshore property and not expecting powerboat noise on a beautiful summer's day.

[Shiny Side Up]

So, what do you think? To make an airport more closure resistant is it better to have:
a) More traffic - This shows that the airport is actually being used and isn't just wasted real estate. An active airport can be shown to have some economic benefits to the community.

From my experience every little airport to be sustainable in this country needs as much usage as it possibly can to not be closed withing our lifetimes. Its very simple. Since most urban development in Canada has very little restriction, or planning for that matter, communities have a tendency to grow outwards and swallow up land. Couple this with the fact that farming, such as it is, will become less and less a family business, and often the best way (or at least quickest way) for farm owners to make money is to subdivide. Parcels of land near airports will always be under the eye of land developers, aiming to make a quick buck.

In the case of Okotoks, you only need to follow the money to determine what its future is. Ultimately the idea of a "aviation oriented community" and making a fast buck in real estate are two incompatible goals.

Airports now need people at them motivated to mount a spirited defense, preferably with monetary backing. Hoping to escape notice is not a defense that will work long term.

[brooks]

Banff had a lot of potential. It reminds me of Hope airport. It is a real shame that people can't fly into there unless they are declaring an emergency but just imagine the amount of general aviation that would be flying around the bow valley if it were an option.

wiki,

Banff Airport, (IATA: YBA, ICAO: CYBA), is located 1.7 nautical miles (3.1 km; 2.0 mi) north northeast of Banff, Alberta, Canada. It is operated by Parks Canada, as it is located within Banff National Park

After about 10 years of being closed the airstrip was re-opened in 2007. Local environmentalists criticized the decision, saying that the decade of closure had positive effects on local wildlife. The airstrip is only used for emergency and diversionary landings.[2]

[Shiny Side Up]

Banff was another key example of the danger, and while a victory has sort of been won, don't believe for a second that environmental concerns were the real reason to push for its closure. At least not in the way one might think. Again, land values and developers. Don't for a second think that the battle won't come up again.

[Posthumane]

The environmental argument against keeping Banff open is a (bad) joke considering it it a short runway, a stone's throw away from the busiest highway in western Canada. The only benefit that it had was that the deer could now eat the grass on that particular field instead of the one a couple hundred metres over. Jasper managed to stay open even though it was subject to the exact same conditions.

As far as airfields near Calgary, there are a few that seem to be doing well. Indus is a good example that I'm well familiar with, having started my flying there, but while I don't mind landing on grass I understand that some people don't, or can't if they have a fast bird. High river seems to be the only decent option in the southwest. Springbank isn't a bad place to fly into when I'm coming there in the evening, but I wouldn't want to be based there if I lived in Calgary. I've flown into Airdrie a couple of times and didn't mind it there, though they've recently implemented some additional fees I think. I've actually never flown into high river as it always seemed like a ways out of town, but it's true that it's not actually that much farther out than Okotoks.

I had made okotoks my go to airport for a while when flying to Calgary due it being conveniently located, but now I don't bother going there. I used to simply call up the flight school to confirm that I was still welcome (cuz you never know...), fly in, get fuel, and park for a night or two on the ramp. Now I'd have to fill in a multi-page form and send it to the airport manager to "register" my aircraft with them, pay their fee, and cart in my own fuel in jerries or go to another airport to fill up first.

[CpnCrunch]

What kind of an "aviation community" tells visiting pilots to essentially f*** off, and has no fuel, restaurant or flight school for checkouts? Seems kinda strange, although that appears to be the way they want it. Certainly not the kind of place I'd want to live.