Wed, Sep 14, 2011
TTF Fees Jump 900%, Runway Access Blocked By Tractor
What's it worth to have access to a municipal airport runway for
tenants of your private hangar? There appears to be a considerable
difference of opinion on that question between a private hangar
business called the Taildragger Inn, and the landlord, the town
council which administers the Hammonton Airport in New Jersey. A
dramatic escalation in the gate fee has the hangar owner balking,
so on September 3, the town blocked his runway access with a parked
tractor.
The Press of Atlantic City reports the tenants say the
city charged $100 per month for runway access going back to at
least 1992, but is now suddenly demanding $1,000 a month. The city
also got the FAA to close the aerobatic practice box over the
airport on August 22, following a mid-air collision which produced
one fatality.
Airport officials tell The Press the stunt pilots who use the
aerobatic box have become a liability as the facility grows and
tries to attract commercial flights. Joseph Flood, who operates an
airplane restoration shop housed in the Taildragger Inn, is puzzled
by that claim, noting the number of aircraft based at the airport
has dropped from 50 to 14 over the last decade.
Barry Straga, who owns the private hangar, says he's confident
the problems can be ironed out in the next week. Flood certainly
hopes so. He says of the blockage by the tractor, "I’m out of
business. How can I operate if I can’t get airplanes in and
out?"
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