List,
I've been reading with great interest about the "East
meets West" ideas. Finding a site is not as easy as
one might think. When John and I began "the search" in
1994, we found difficulties galore. I thought it would
be simple. Wrong. If you want to begin a "search" I
can save you some time if you care to read on.
If you have a location in mind such as an abandoned
runway, find out if it IS abandoned. Do this by
looking in an FAA handbook. The FAA lists all active
airstrips in this handbook. Keith may help me here in
naming this handbook correctly. If the location is in
the handbook and is described as "active", you will
not get permission to use it. Not from the FAA. If
you don't have access to the handbook, then call the
state gov't. the runway is located in and speak to the
State Aviation department. This office governs the
functions of airports in the state. This office will
cut your search time down considerably. they can tell
you almost instantly of abandoned fields. We did not
do all this prior to holding events in Georgia. I
contacted the State Dept. of Travel and Tourism. Gary
Womack was the director and he knew the then Gov. Zell
Miller and the governor knew the Congressman from the
district and he knew the county commissioners and they
knew the City Manager of Moultrie, Ga where Spence
Field is located. This is just the way it worked. And
all this took time. John and I went to Moultrie
several times before we were able to arrange speed
trials there. Spence Field was an active runway.
During one of our events a plane taxied out on to it.
)Wonder if John remembers that.) Any way, even after
we got permission to use the runway, we had the
formidable task of getting insurance. We were required
to send diagrams and pictures and application forms.
Insurance companies were interested in ECTA as a
business, they wanted to know about distances from the
runway to spectator areas, any fences between the two
areas, obstacles, who was the sanctioning body, etc.
They had lots of questions that all had to be
answered. We went to two or three insurers before we
found one. That company was in California and
ultimately it informed us we could no longer be
insured by it because it was not listed in Georgia.
Then to operate as a business in Georgia we had to
have an address or office there. My twin brother
served that function for us as he lives in Georgia. We
had the Nov. '94 meet and then planned on a schedule
for the next year. In Jan., '95 John and I were asked
to come to Moultrie and meet with the City Manager. he
told us we could have one more meet at Spence Field
and that would be the last one. He said it was because
the runway was active and he couldn't allow the
continued use by ECTA. We had the last meet there in
April '95 and we began looking again. We looked at
Burns Flat in Oklahoma. Well, Peter Deane did for us.
He had a real nice tour of the facility by the Runway
Captain. He brought back lots of pictures of C-141
Starlifters and T-38s taxiing down the airstrip. In
the end the Runway captain told him there was no way
ECTA would ever be allowed to bring a car out onto the
runway. We the looked at Edenton,NC. They had 8000
feet and we were all set to go there in May '95 but,
two days before the event the city manager told me on
the phone "Not on my runway." To this day I do not
understand what happened. I did everything she said to
do and arranged it the way she said to arrange it.
But, in the end all I got from her was "Not on my
runway." She offerd NO explanation. She just stopped
talking. Go figure.
I then called the State Division of Aviation in
Raleigh and spoke to the director and he told me to go
down to Maxton and see the airport manager. I did.
In your search, be aware that the Federal gov't.
doesn't just abandon airstrips. Take Cecil Field in
Jacksonville, FL. I was told the Navy was shutting it
down. The rights to the field were being given to the
city and they told me they were turning it into an
industrial park. At Maxton, the Army "abandoned" it in
1955 and the rights were given to the
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport Commission. Any improvements
or even just plain interest in use of the abandoned
north-south runway had to be addressed thru the
Commission. Even to this day the events at Maxton are
scheduled with the Army in mind. ECTA and the Army
submit schedules for their respective needs for the
coming year and the Commission approves them or
re-arranges the schedules and approves them. We have
been there during military exercises and met some
super people, but, they've got guns and you've got yo
be nice right back at them. I guess all I'm saying is
to be thorough in your efforts and you will lessen the
frustration during your "search".
I hope this has been some help. There's so much more
to this story but. I tried to highlight the important
points. Jim Bodenheimer and Peter Deane and I have
thought of writing a book complete with before and
after pictures of Lionel Williams. Just haven't gotten
around to it......yet.
Your pal,
Tom
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