On Friday, September 1, 2006, at 01:04 PM, Benn wrote:
> It is OUR gummint that has made these rules, not the Taliban. How
> blocking racing at a small airport is effectively decreasing terrorist
> risks is beyond me (if indeed that's why the rule was made). But maybe
> if we wouldn't bring any gels, aerosols, or liquids along, they'd
> reconsider.....
> Benn
>
Ten years or so ago the Air Force closed K I Sawyer AFB -- a B-52,
C-135, and (used to be) fighter/interceptor base a few miles from
Marquette. They left a 14,200-foot runway for the seagulls and
crickets and wildflowers.
A few years after that I asked Mike, our county sheriff, if we could
use it for high-speed trials, and he told me that the government
wouldn't allow anything but air traffic on it because it was still
considered an "active" runway -- not decommissioned, or whatever word
they use, even though it wasn't in use. Eventually the county moved
the public airport from where it was -- to the old air force base, and
nowadays airplanes use it all the dang time. They've shortened it to
only 12 1/2 thousand feet, too.
Anyway, my point is that I was informed the runway couldn't be used for
non-aircraft purposes -- long before the current hysteria started.
Jon Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
Marquette, Michigan
(that's 'way up north)
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