Wed, Apr 02, 2003
Daley Messed with the WRONG Pilots
AOPA is
PO'ed... and not just a little bit. The considerable
resources of the world's largest pilot's association are about to
go to war... and mind you, this will be an aerial engagement.
According to AOPA, "Mayor Daley may have won the battle with his
sneak attack on Meigs Field airport, but the war is far from
over."
Taking a line from Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones, AOPA
President Phil Boyer said, "We have not yet begun to fight. Pilots
around the world are incensed by Daley's wanton destruction of
Meigs. We're going to use every guerilla tactic in the book to
restore that airport. And if in the end that fails, at the very
least we'll make Daley feel the pain."
Battle planning continued Wednesday afternoon as AOPA General
Counsel John Yodice canceled a planned trip to Sun 'n Fun to
continue strategizing with Boyer, who also canceled his planned
trip to this major airshow. (Boyer instead will be traveling to
Chicago Friday to keep the heat on Daley in the local media.)
Working into the evening, Boyer, Yodice, and AOPA attorney Ron
Golden plotted the next salvo, while AOPA Senior Vice President
Andy Cebula and Legislative Affairs Director Julia Krauss worked
legislative strategy on Capitol Hill. "There are more than 600
panel attorneys in the AOPA Legal Services Plan," said Yodice.
"We'll ask them to be part of our 'brain trust' to develop new
legal arguments."
AOPA sued in the past, and that kept Meigs open for an
additional seven years. "The association is certainly prepared to
sue again," said Yodice. AOPA has already uncovered some legal
options that could cost Chicago money and impact the city's other
airports.
"Students of history may remember that John Paul Jones was
outgunned and nearly sunk, yet he forced the British captain to
tear down his colors and surrender," said Boyer. "Today's general
aviation pilots are no less determined than those sailors."
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