Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
If you want to see a surge, come to my house one mile due west of runway 26R at LBG. Sometimes 4-5 student pilots are doing touch and go exercises at the same time. A round trip averages 7 minutes and they do one hour lessons. That can be 28 to 35 operations per hour typically occurring during the 2 'happy hours' of noon and 5 pm. During those periods it isn't unusual for a plane to pass overhead at 500 to 800 feet up every minute and sometimes as much as 3 per minute when they get stacked up. Noise levels are typically high 70's to 90 dB. They aren't reportable unless they surpass 90 dB. I have a dB meter.
I wonder where they get that kind of money when it takes around $8000 to 10,000 to pay for lessons and a plane. And then what? The cost of owning and insuring a plane is not hobbyist money anymore.
The lady in the article makes good money and likely writes flying off her taxes.
|
The small vfr tower that I was facility manager at had 14-15 airplanes in the pattern at once, all cirruses, while conducting simultaneous opposite direction practice approaches.....5 days a week, 8 hours a day. Prior to that gig, I was a controller at LA Center, and lgb was one of the less busy airports in socal. VNY was king there for GA.
That being said, managing a small vfr tower was much more nerve racking then my current job as the night facility manager at the busiest artcc in the country (during mid ops). As a former 121 pilot, I cringe at 90% of weekend warriors out flying.