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----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Thanks for the heads-up, Hank. I just sent e-mails to my congressman and both my senators. They're easy to find. http://www.house.gov <http://www.house.gov/> and http://www.senate.gov <http://www.senate.gov/> Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Hank Gallagher [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 8:41 AM To: Ercoupe List Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] College Park Got this from another list this AM. For all of us that enjoyed a wonderful time at the Homecoming Convention, and the class act Lee supplied, this is a sad day! To hear this bastion of enthusiasm give up, well it's disheartening to say the least. This is what happens when you get small minded men in positions of power! Hank Gallagher Austin TX IMPORTANT READING: 'Requiem for an Airport' ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, received this letter late Tuesday afternoon and decided that this MUST be published immediately, widely, and prominently. We urge you all to PLEASE read this... and act accordingly! --ANN Editorial Staff Dear Jim, It's over. College Park Airport, the World's oldest airport in continuous operation, is on its deathbed, moribund, fighting for its very existence. At the same moment, our federal Protectors of Freedom are working feverishly to yank-out the few life-support tubes that remain. Should the feds get their way, College Park Airport will be history in the truest sense of the word. After 93 years of operation, our federal government has decided that this bucolic little general aviation facility must be slowly choked out of existence and sacrificed on the holy alter of National Security. The year-old temporary flight restrictions imposed upon College Park Airport(CGS), Hyde Field (W32) and Potomac Airfield (VKX) have now been arbitrarily extended for another two years. That action may very well destroy three previously vibrant general aviation airports, no doubt to the subtle satisfaction of our federal architects of security. The airports' assassinations will not be quick and humane, but slow and drawn-out, Inquisition-style. Not wanting any bureaucratic blood on their hands in the event of negative press, the feds are now free to shrug their collective shoulders and claim "lack of market response" as the "real" culprit leading up to the government's Final Solution for these airports. The fact that federal zealotry resulted in the seizure of 99+% of their customer-base won't even qualify as a footnote in any future administrative autopsies. What a shame. It didn't have to happen. Make no mistake; the effective closure of these airports was NOT a result of terrorism. Rather, their operational demise came at the hands of a federal government mindset largely devoid of commonly accepted standards of analysis, principles of risk management or any pretense at objective deliberation. While "knee-jerk" is a common and over-used lexicon in today's vocabulary, knee-jerk is the best description when reviewing our government's performance and unspoken agenda. Don't think so?.... Picture Osama, addressing his henchmen and working them into a lather.."OK, guys, here's the deal - We hijack these big, fuel-laden commercial airliners and crash'em into some New York skyscrapers. The infidels in charge will immediately shut-down the three little airports around Washington.... Talk about bringing Western civilization to its knees!....." (i.e.: knee-jerk). Bin Laden's Bad Guys must be rolling around on the cave floor, clutching their sides in hysterical laughter. History shows that airliners, trucks, cars, and speedboats are the terrorist's weapons-of-choice. History also shows that small general aviation aircraft are Uncle Sam's victims-of-choice. While it's an incredible stretch to try and connect the dots, grounding the notorious Piper Cub and its kindred ilk seems to make perfect sense to those deep within the bowels of government who believe that protecting our freedoms must be prefaced by first taking our freedoms away. Unfortunately, the federales also believe these issues can be resolved at the same level of awareness that created the problems in the first place. The result? It's too late for facts, analysis and reason. No time or need for aviation expertise or input. Rabbit hunting with an elephant gun always gets the job done. Reasonable discourse and consideration of citizen freedoms? Sorry, those issues are just acceptable collateral damage as our government struggles to protect our way of life. What a shame. It didn't have to happen. Way back in 1928, Justice Louis Brandeis warned, "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." You were a smart man, Louie. How did you ever know that, 75 years later, they would create a Transportation Security Administration? How could you have realized that general aviation security would one day be implemented and foisted upon us by career security-troids, many unable to distinguish the difference between a propeller and a hubcap, not to mention any real familiarity with the industry? Yep, you were a smart man. Sure wish you were still among us to help throttle this New Order juggernaut and demand some regulatory approaches different from Slash-n-Burn and Scorched-Earch. To those who took up our cause, and the cause of general aviation freedom all over, I extend the grateful appreciation of the aviation community inside the Washington TFR. To those who may have felt it was not their battle, let College Park Airport be your canary in the mineshaft. This little airport's demise should indicate to you that bureaucratic toxins are in the air, and they'll eventually get to you too if you don't take action. One of the specific charges against King George in our Declaration of Independence states: "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." Yep, that's it in a nutshell. College Park Airport has been swarmed, harassed and its substance eaten out. What a shame. It didn't have to happen. Lee Schiek, Airport Manager College Park Airport (CGS) "...Since 1909..." FMI: www.aajp.com/maryland/airports/college.htm, www.avialantic.com/collpark.html, www.tsa.gov ========================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/ ========================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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