AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2013 - 65

THE TOP 10

Airports AOPA is most concerned about
Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport (FHB), Fernandina Beach, Florida. Increased residential development in this tourist area pits commercial growth against the airport.
General Mitchell International Airport (MKE), Milwaukee, Wisconsin. GA hangars are
under pressure from proposed Air Force expansion.
Hilton Head Airport (HXD), Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Opponents of the airport
do not want improvements, which include runway extension for increased jet traffic.
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boat from Northerly Island and
his wife’s anger over airport noise
sometimes were cited—he wanted
it closed. And in 1996 when the
city’s grant assurances to the FAA
expired, he had it closed for the
first time (see “What’s a Grant
Assurance?” page 64). AOPA took
Chicago to court, sought the city
residents’ support, created a major
PR campaign, and enlisted the
aid of members of Congress. The
association lobbied the Illinois legislature for a law allowing the state
to take over and operate Meigs.
The “Meigs Act” was passed that
December, allowing a five-year
reprieve for Meigs and giving its
supporters time to demonstrate
the importance of the airport.
“For years, AOPA had emphasized the rate at which small
airports were disappearing from
the U.S. landscape. Meigs Field
was—in some ways—the prototypical example of the phenomenon,”
says Steve Whitney, past and current president of Friends of Meigs
Field. “And because it served such
a high-value market (commercial
flights, business aviation, search
and rescue, as well as smaller GA
aircraft), it was almost incomprehensible that it could be slated to
close.” In mid-1995, the Friends of
Meigs Field group was formed and
published The Case for Meigs Field.
AOPA helped pay to distribute it to
the Chicago City Council.

Norwalk-Huron County Airport (5A1), Norwalk, Ohio. County commissioners want to
close the airport for a speedway.
Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Portland, Oregon. An environmentalist not-so-local
neighbor consistently complains about airport noise.
Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO), Reno, Nevada. GA access to the international
airport may be compromised by the removal of hangars.
Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), Santa Monica, California. Residential neighbors
want this historic airport closed because they fear pollution and potential accidents.
St. Clair Regional Airport (K39), St. Clair, Missouri. City officials want to close the airport
for retail development.
Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), Tehachapi, California. The city wants approval for a
hotel in the airport safety zone.
Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California. Redevelopment would displace GA hangars.

The group discovered that
Meigs Field was—in an odd but
important way—the ‘home’ airport
to aviation enthusiasts around the
world. The creators of Microsoft
Flight Simulator used Meigs as the
default airport. When you fired up
MSFS, the first thing you saw was
the Chicago skyline, viewed from
Runway 36. “This notoriety helped
turn what was originally a small
group of local aviators and enthusiasts to a worldwide organization,
with members on five continents,
and in all 435 U.S. congressional
districts,” recalls Whitney.
For five years, AOPA and the
Friends of Meigs kept up the
pressure and although there were
times it appeared that the airport
would be saved—a U.S. House bill
in early 2002 nearly assured its
status for 25 years but was blocked
by a filibuster in the Senate—Daley
was not deterred. His quest to
destroy Meigs never wavered.
“We concentrated on promoting and holding events at
the airport, but without serious

effort in the political or legislative
arena,” said Whitney. “What we
hadn’t counted on was the nearobsession Daley had with closing
Meigs. Even though opinion polls
in the city showed widespread
support for the airport, Mayor
Daley was bent on closing it. He
hoped to turn it into green space,
and even put his wife in charge of
the commission to design the new
park. He never agreed to meet with
our organization, but all reports—
including from many of the city’s
top business and civic leaders—
indicated that he was unswayable
on the issue.”
And so, the early morning
destruction took place—a Chicago
fire truck blocked the web camera that could have recorded the
crime by blinding it with a spotlight. Again, AOPA went to work
against the Daley machine. In May,
then-AOPA President Phil Boyer
proposed a buyout plan, calling for
the park district, the current owner
of the land, to sell Meigs to the
city of Chicago for $41 million. As
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2013

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