Excerpt from:
Snohomish County airports note decline in aviation
By Bill Sheets
EVERETT, Wash. — By Bill Sheets
The skies around Paine Field might seem as abuzz as ever with small planes.
The numbers tell a different story.
In 2000, more than 213,000 takeoffs and landings of aircraft took place at Snohomish County's airport. In 2010, that number was 110,270 - a drop of nearly half.
Most of that decline was among small, private aircraft, airport officials say. Paine Field also serves Boeing test flights, aircraft maintenance businesses and some military and vintage aircraft.
The numbers fluctuated somewhat in between, but have reflected what's happening nationwide, in the state and at other airports in the county: Fewer people are flying their own planes, and fewer people are learning to fly.
Arlington Airport and Harvey Field in Snohomish report a downturn in activity as well.
The reasons are not surprising. A downward spiral that started after 9/11 has been accelerated by a deep recession and rising fuel prices, cutting into discretionary income.
"People just aren't spending their money," said Dave Wheeler of Everett, president of the Paine Field chapter of the Washington Pilots Association. "My personal flying has been darn near zero."
Wheeler also is co-owner of the Northwest Aviation Center, a flight school at the Arlington Airport.
Nationwide, general aviation flights declined more than 5 percent in 2010, continuing a decade long trend, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. General aviation includes all flights other than commercial airlines, air taxis and military.
Flying is down all over Washington state, said Jamelle Garcia, executive director of the Washington Aviation Association, a statewide chamber-of-commerce type interest group.
"You've got to put gas in your car, you've got to fix the leak in your roof, you've got to clothe your kids and feed them," said Garcia, who runs an airport management business based in Auburn.
Between the economy and fuel prices, "it's kind of a double whammy, and aviation is the first to suffer and the last to recover," he said. "People really think two and three and four times before they decide to take a private airplane."
The price of aviation fuel is more than $6 a gallon, roughly double what it was four years ago, flyers say.
Link to complete article:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015202964_apwasmallaviationdecline1stldwritethru.html
And yet Port of Shelton officials continue their legal battle against residential development bodering Sanderson Field airport. Talk about being out of touch! High fuel costs not withstanding, the airspace directly over my house continues to keep the same three planes aloft, almost on a daily basis. Kind of makes you wonder how some guys can afford to waste money doing loop-de-loops in private airplanes while the rest of us are trying to conserve gas. I know I do.
ReplyDeleteWith the decline in aviation, the Port might be willing to give it's attention to other port assets, say the Marina?
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose the fly boys at the Port like water much... but it is one of the port's assets, and therefore an asset of the citizens of the port district.