Resident rebuts airport articles

On Oct. 11, 2013 you printed a long commentary written by John Brent, in which he opens by saying that Pahrump does not need a small general aviation airport, giving several reasons for his position.

Then he states that a Pahrump regional airport would be a good thing to have because it would attract small, scheduled airlines which would provide connections to larger airports such as McCarran.

He lists several things that both a regional airport and a general aviation airport do, all of which are beneficial to the town and its people by providing jobs and taxes, not to mention the development of light industrial companies which would come to Pahrump due to the improved transportation access to the town. It is logical to state that any regional airport would also serve the needs of general aviation.

He says that it will be necessary to locate the airport “a good distance away from any residential area.” He fails to admit, even to himself, that areas around airports tend to become developed. It is beneficial to plan these developed areas early on so that they guide how the area surrounding any airport would be served by it, not encroaching near it.

Then he suggests that Nye County negotiate to get land from Clark County near the intersection of Highway 160 and Tecopa Road. He does not mention, therefore I believe he is not aware, that Nye County was already given a couple of square miles of Clark County for the purpose of providing emergency services to an area of residences that were previously in Clark County, and not readily accessible by Clark County Emergency Services. He should be advised that Clark County will not be receptive to losing any area that would become a money maker for them.

He refers to air pollution that he says would be generated by an airport, but there is no visible, or otherwise noticeable, air pollution created by any small airport that would serve a town like Pahrump, and its surrounding area. He refers to the much larger airports which are served by international air carriers, such as O’Hare in Chicago.

He believes that a regional airport for Pahrump would be a good thing, generally.

What he is woefully ignorant about is that there has already been a lot of planning and studies done for the development of a general aviation airport which would serve Pahrump. The land was designated by the Bureau of Land Management, and most funds were provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.

A commercial consulting firm conducted studies for wind, soil, native plants and animals. The location was designated to be more than a mile south of the far west end of Gamebird Road, off of the far west end of Thousandaire Blvd., very close to, and parallel to the California border. Air traffic would be west of the runway, over California. It is far from any current residences and would not be a nuisance. It would be 5,000 feet long, paved initially, and lengthened to 6,000 feet in the near future. This would accommodate any business or general aircraft.

For a period of 15 years a commission made up of volunteers, as well as the consulting company, met frequently to discuss progress. The hold-up was that the BLM failed to provide the necessary documentation in a timely manner. Then, the FAA withdrew its funds temporarily. The town failed to press the BLM. There is pressure on the part of the town manager to renew the effort.

Then, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, you printed a letter from Vince Clark in which he refers to the above commentary. It is his belief that any airport serving Pahrump would be a water waster. Actually, any regional or general aviation airport in this area would need no more water than any restaurant in this town. It would need only one building, two restrooms and drinking fountains. Any airplane owner wanting to wash his or her airplane could easily do it by bringing his or her own supplies, many of which could be in small spray bottles.

Now, to address the article written by the Pahrump Valley Times, with no other writer’s identification, and the topic of which was the Young Eagles Flight, in which several very good color photos were displayed, was otherwise flawed.

The Calvada Meadows Air Park was identified as the Pahrump Valley Airport. There is no Pahrump Valley Airport! The Calvada Meadows Air Park is a private residential airport. Your mistake is one that frequently causes ignorant readers to believe that there is no need to develop a general aviation public access airport in Pahrump. You should know that our air park is similar to any other private facility, such as a country club. Anyone who wants to use our facility must first obtain permission from a property owner. It is not open to the public!

Additionally, the organization putting on the event was identified as the Experimental Aviation Association. It is the Experimental Aircraft Association.

Also, you stated that free rides are available to children, teens and “young adults.” For your information, these rides are limited to kids between the ages of seven years and 17 years, inclusive. It is not for “young adults.”

Originally I intended to write separate letters to address these submissions. It turned out that they are so common and overlapping that I decided to blend them.

It is sad that you have changed the format of the newspaper so that most “letters to the editor” are never printed, since there is no longer enough room for them. Obviously, you need a proofreader.