EAA Steps In For Second Time In Two Years

If the folks who work each year to organize the Western Michigan Fly-In feel a little put upon right now, perhaps they have a good reason... as for the last two years, they've had to call in outside help to ensure the FAA would provide a temporary control tower for their event at Padgham Field (35D) in Allegan, MI.

Whereas last year the FAA blamed its initial decision to yank the tower on an administrative snafu -- which was cleared up after a friendly call from EAA officials -- this year, organizers of the fly-in were told that sure, they could have a tower... but it would cost them $3,200 for the one-day event.

Fortunately, fly-in officials have the EAA on speed dial. EAA Government Relations Director Randy Hansen went to work on the issue, and within one business day had received assurances that a temporary tower and the controllers would be provided as part of the FAA’s normal services, with no charges to the fly-in.

"I talked with Nancy Kort (area terminal operations manager at the FAA Great Lakes Regional Office) and Dave Ausherman (Acting Manager, Airspace and Procedures Branch Central Terminal Operations), and we jointly resolved the issue," said Hansen. "The FAA fully realizes that the fly-in is a non-profit event designed to promote the airport and its activities to the local community, and that they don’t charge community members a fee to enter the airport grounds for the fly-in."

While it all worked out in the end, to EAA member Andy Millin -- a member of the airport’s advisory board who arranges for the fly-in’s tower each year -- the proposed charge sure sounded like the first implementation of user fees... and an expensive one at that.  

"This turned out to be a whole lot more about pilots, the FAA, and user fees than it was about a regional airport holding a fly-in and wanting a temporary control tower," Millen said. "When you’re in the air with that many airplanes, you need to have a tower. We really felt like we were trapped between a rock and a hard place; we could not safely hold the event without a tower."

Of course, the EAA -- like many of the aviation "letter groups' (with the notable exception of the ATA, of course) -- strongly opposes user fees as a funding mechanism for any air traffic control services.

Temporary towers are authorized "to provide for the safe ingress and egress for the aircraft involved and for maximizing flight and ground safety for the users and the spectators" -- a condition the Western Michigan Fly-In certainly meets, with as many as 60 operations at the field per hour at peak times. That includes as many 300 Young Eagles flights, as well.

"We had quite a bit of feedback from other fly-ins, people concerned about this ever happening to them," said Millin, who added that 35D becomes Michigan’s busiest airport during their fly-in. "From the pilot side, many responded angrily that we would ever capitulate and pay the fee. They would rather have us not have the tower because they didn’t want anyone paying the first user fee."

"I can understand that, and I respect their position, but we feel that a tower is needed for our event given the high volume of traffic that occurs. We have to be safe." Millin claims that Allegan is the state’s busiest airport during the fly-in.

Before the FAA cried uncle on the matter, people and companies stepped up and pledged donations to help cover the tower charges should they have been upheld. By Monday afternoon, Millin said they had received pledges to cover about 90 percent of the $3,200.

"But if we had paid this much this year, how much was it going to be next year? What other things are we going to be paying for? Nobody liked the direction this was going," he said.

"We’ve held them at bay for a little while," said Millin, "and if it’s not us next year, who is it going to be?"

FMI: www.eaa.org