August 15, 2011
A pilot in Detroit, MI will use a No Gain, No Plane advocacy campaign video this month to help convince neighbors of Michigan’s Oakland County International Airport (PTK) that business flying is an essential part of the local economy.
“I don’t want this airport to die,” said Manuel (Manny) Garcia.
The 62-year-old pilot arranged with PTK airport manager Karl Randall to show the No Plane, No Gain advocacy campaign video Business Aviation Works at the airport’s annual Open House and Airshow on August 28.
The video, produced by NBAA, will be shown along with a second video from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on the importance of local airports. Both will run continuously during the event on wide-screen television monitors in the airport’s terminal building. More than 10,000 local community members are expected for the event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The still-turbulent economy has continued to impact the entire aviation community, including business aviation, in cities across the country.
“We’ve been hit especially hard here,” said Garcia, citing the loss of three flight schools at PTK in the last two years. “My fear is that the economy will cause people to turn away from general aviation airports like PTK. That’s why I’m doing this, helping out the airport, using this video to show people here that business flying isn’t what the politicians have led them to believe. They deserve to know the truth.”
PTK has been aggressively pursuing a “good neighbor” policy for some time, with regular open house displays and in-depth explanations on the airport’s web site about how noise is minimized, and how the airport contributes to the community’s well-being. Airport management constantly reminds local residents that PTK provides a source of tax revenue for the community, contributing more than $100,000 in taxes each year, and supporting airport businesses that pay approximately $700,000 in taxes annually.
On PTK’s web site, in continuously-ticking letters, is the number of days, minutes and seconds until the start of this year’s open house. Other details, including a list and photos of airplanes and aerobatic acts scheduled in an airshow that day, are listed at www.airfairocia.org.
The No Plane, No Gain advocacy campaign video is particularly useful for the PTK airport, which serves southeast Michigan and supports both business and recreational flying in approximately equal proportions. The 24-hour airport has excellent instrument approaches and an FAA tower with advisory radar.
The video Garcia will use at this week’s open house, Business Aviation Works, promotes the themes of the “No Plane No Gain” campaign, which since 2009 has been educating policymakers and opinion leaders on the value of business flying. The campaign highlights how business aviation, an essential American industry, is a job generator, a lifeline for towns across the U.S., a vital productivity tool for businesses and a lifesaver for people and communities in crisis.
For More Information
To order free copies of NBAA’s Business Aviation Works video, as well as other advocacy videos, in DVD format, visit the NBAA Publications Store.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.