Brown/Supportive of City AirportAfter reading all the negative comments on Kalispell City Airport, I felt compelled to respond. We, as a
society, sure seem to dwell on the negative sides sometimes. Surely there must be some positive,
supportive folks out there that want to improve our communities. As a youth I spent a lot of time around
Kalispell City Airport. My Grandparents had a house by the North end and I spent countless hours
fascinated at the activity there. I hope there are still lots of kids interested enough in the marvel of flight to
be our future aviators and astronauts.
To start with, nobody seems to like change. But, the world around us is constantly changing. Look around
our communities at the changes that have occurred. Before those changes there seemed to be a lot of
negativity too. Now that those items are complete we look at them and say, boy that makes the traffic flow
better, or that sure makes our communities better.
The Kalispell City Airport is in the same situation_ Folks are trying to make it better and safer. To make a
larger safety zone between aircraft and buildings, the touch down zone will be moved farther South. Yes, it
is proposed to be longer too. That will add more area for the pilots if there is an issue to deal with, making
that safer too. I saw a comment that "jets" will be using the airport then. The word "jet" makes us think
we are all talking about big commercial airliners. But `jets" could be anything from small personal jets to
big 757 jets that areas long as a football field. Some of these bigger jets are not even able to use Glacier
Park International Airport, due to their size, so you know that that type of aircraft will not be using
Kalispell City Airport. I don't know if the planned improvements of City Airport would accommodate the
smaller jets or not. But, I don't care. If they can use it, go ahead and use it.
Noise seems to be a big issue around Kalispell City Airport and I understand that. The pilots I have talked
to are also cognizant of noise and do their best to be neighbor friendly. An airplane landing makes little to
no noise. The engine is throttled back and they are gliding down on their approach. There is noise on
takeoff though only for a few seconds. The pilots I have talked to do their best to minimize that by trying
to pitch their propellers back and not flying over the congested areas. I spent lots of time by City Airport. I
live by a busy highway and railroad tracks where there is lots of noise. The human brain seems to tune out
or ignore constant background noises after only being around it for a short period of time. Ever notice that.
Sure, a train going by is an inconvenience during a conversation but you just wait a minute and continue
on. The train is forgotten about. Unless you are making yourself get mad every time you hear something.
Then you have trained your brain to get fired up for a certain stimulus received. If you are going to live by
an airport, train track, or whatever, I would either get used to it or if it bothered me that much, I would
move.
Let's talk safety. Along with what I stated earlier, aviation is one of the safest forms of transportation out
there. For one, the aircraft goes through vigorous scrutiny for safety. The FAA requires aircraft to go
through maintenance inspections every 100 hours, every year, and some items sooner then that. This is to
insure the machine is as safe as it can be. Secondly, the pilot is required to have the appropriate training
and license for what they are flying, pass a flight review frequently to make sure they are current and
proficient at flying, and pass a medical exam stating they are healthy. I can't think of any other way to
make it safer. Maybe we should require this much for our highway drivers also. Yes, accidents can and do
happen. Enormous effort is made to minimize this but it doesn't seem like we can eliminate it no matter
how hard we try. You bring up the airplane accident that crashed a few years ago in Kalispell. Errors in
judgment are made and equipment can fail. Then there is talk about moving the airport somewhere else
and using the land for a "farris wheel". Where are you going to move it to? Kalispell City Airport has
been there for many, many years. It was out of town until town moved around it. Town is moving around
Glacier Park International too. Should we move that one too? I have looked at airports and how close they
are to buildings and was amazed at places like Dallas Fort Worth, San Diego, Chicago, Minneapolis Saint
Paul. The commercial airliners and small aircraft fly right in between buildings to land and take off. One
every few minutes. And their safety record is very good. No comparison to Kalispell City. Effort is being
made to make this airport safer so let's let them do that.
Weather is an issue also. Glacier International tends to fog in more often than Kalispell City Airport.
Occasionally, when this happens, planes divert to Kalispell City Airport. Airliners get delayed somewhere
else until the weather improves but others have to fly to an alternate spot, such as Missoula, Great Falls,
etc. Besides general aviation aircraft looking for a safe place to land, UPS, LISPS, FED EX, medical
flights, etc. go to Kalispell City Airport. The improvements would help these folks too. If the Flathead
valley did not have this option these planes would have to go elsewhere. Increasing the cost of our
shipping orders and availability of medical aircraft. Just makes sense to have a safe alternate airport in the
valley.
Talking about medical aircraft. I constantly hear Alert flying around the valley. This has never bothered
me, or anybody else that I have heard of that this noise is taking place. They are helping save people and
make the valley a safer place. I appreciate hearing Alert at work.
Flight training seems to be another issue that has been brought up. Some have suggested that this should be
done at Glacier Park International Airport. Glacier is a busy airport with a control tower. General aviation
is allowed to take place there. Commercial airline service is also taking place. I don't think we want to
over burden Glacier Park International to the extent to cause delays in the airline industry. That is, unless
we all want to start paying more for an airline flight. The instructors I have talked to at Kalispell City do
use Glacier International along with Whitefish airport, Ferndale airport and others in the local area to do
their flight training and to be neighborly around Kalispell City Airport. Some of these other airstrips are
grass strips and are not useable during wet periods or winter conditions. Effort is being made by the pilots
to be neighborly around Kalispell City Airport. Maybe others could be neighborly about Kalispell City
Airport! After all, it was there first. Also, during these economic times, folks that have been laid off and
our youth, working towards a career, are trying to further their education by taking flight training.
Kalispell is even attracting some out of town folks to come here, take flight -training, stay in our hotels, buy
our food and other items, etc. Their hope is to secure a job in the aviation environment and advance that
way. Do we not want to help our communities get a better education?
The pilots I have talked to love to come here. Not only the Flathead valley, but also, the attraction of
Kalispell City Airport being so close to the community. And most of them are bringing others with them.
Most small airports they fly to are miles from the community's downtown areas. Housing developments
are usually around these other airports but not businesses. These folks love to come to Kalispell City and
shop. They are bringing economic help to our area. Do we want to shunt them away?
Lot's of effort and community thought has been put into the plan for the improvements of Kalispell City
Airport. They have taken into consideration peoples concerns. Let's let them continue and make this a
better, safer airport.
I think if I wanted to concentrate my efforts on how to make the Kalispell City Airport a better place to live
around, I would focus on the sewage treatment plant right there. How can you folks put up with that
stench? That would bother me way more than anything the airport has going on!
Perry Brown
Columbia Falls