Must Clear Non-Aviation Items From Hangars, FAA Funding Hangs In The Balance

About 20 pilots that keep their airplanes at Glendale, AZ Municipal Airport (KGEU) have gotten together and filed a lawsuit against the City of Glendale after being told they must clear all non-aviation-related items out of hangars they own at the airport.

Many have used their hangars for storage for years, and the suit is intended to force the city to allow them to continue to do so. But the azcentral.com website reports that city official are caught in the middle between the pilots and the FAA, which has rules about what may be stored in hangars at publicly-funded airports.

There are six airports around the region, and while hanger and shade facilities are full and have waiting lists at other airports where storage is leased, storage rights are owned at Glendale by the pilots ... though the actual ground is leased ... and 200 of its 371 spaces are vacant, according to the report. While airport management attributes the decline in occupancy and activity at the airport to the sluggish economy and the loss of a flight school, the Glendale Pilots Association says management is the problem.

This is not the first time pilots have been told to clear their hangars of things not related to flying. Pilots on the north end of the airport have stored such things as motor homes and antique cars in their hangars for years, and some had been converted into "man caves" for the pilots. But in 2009, a pilot on the south end of the airport sued the city for allowing such storage. The city lost that suit, and had to pay nearly $2 million to the pilot who filed it. That got the attention of the FAA, which said it could cut off Glendale's grant funding if the practice was allowed to continue. That could amount to as much as $20 million over the next 5 years, azcentral.com reports. That money is intended for repaving, apron expansion, and other projects.

An inspection of the hangars turned up numerous violations, but airport administrator Walt Fix says he is down to just one. Some pilots, however, said that stuff was moved out of hangars for the inspection and then moved right back in. Fix would not comment on the lawsuit. Richard Goldman, the president of the pilot's association, said poor management at the airport has caused the value of their storage rights to decline sharply, and they are seeking $20 million to try to mitigate their losses.

FMI: www.glendaleaz.com/airport