Um, no… Demise was not hiding behind an icon… Demise was right out in the open with an icon. Good lord, are you really getting that upset over a “smiley”?
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Towers also control a volume of airspace around and nearby an airport, too. There are still airplanes flying along the lakefront because it is still the designated VFR flyway. The only difference is that now it’s become uncontrolled airspace.
No, it’s not. Just what do you think “regional ATC” is? The TRACON? That handles high-altitude traffic on an instrument flight plan, not low-level visual flight in or around airports. Once again, you display an ignorance of how the system works.
The alternatives, at this point, are either Midway or O’Hare ATC. Two problems with that - one, their radar can’t see through the big, tall buildings everyone is so concerned with, and two, neither group wants it. Of course, you’ll probably discount that, nevermind I got that information from two air traffic controllers I spoke with last week (Wednesday, to be more precise). You could look up either Midway or O’Hare’s tower in the phone book and call them and ask but I expect you won’t believe them, either.
So tell me what horrible thing were those pilots doing at Meigs? Standing on the fence making faces at KoalaBear and going “neener, neener, neener”? Seriously, what harm were those aircraft doing?
Let’s see… business, transportation, medical care… wasn’t Meigs involved in those three items on your list?
No, but Chicago is well on it’s way to topping the list of murders this year. What, seven people shot over Easter Weekend? And more since? Then again, if the Mayor and City Hall don’t respect the law why should anyone else?
Gee, I dunno… if there were that many opera enthusiasts in my city, and it was that much a part of the economy, maybe I would. If you don’t support your local businesses one day you’ll wake up and they’ll be gone.
Well, not really. You see, it’s true the “average small plane” can’t distribute powders or liquids efficiently where it is false that “the average large plane cannot fly at supersonic velocity”. Those Boeing 747’s and 777’s, and the big Airbus types can fly in excess of Mach 1. Although they can not do this in level flight, it would not take much of a dive while at full power for them to break the sound barrier. But I’ll give you a pass on that one, Koala, since even many aviation enthusiasts don’t know that.
Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Can’t defeat me in open debate, so you’d make a false report to the authorities. Wow, what’s next, sending a backhoe to my driveway? Excuse me, are you Mayor Daley? Because that’s a very Daley tactic.
I already did, several times. Perhaps you can go back and actually read those posts.
Why not? And don’t say “because you’re a liar” because you have demonstrated that. PROVE that O’Hare and Midway are not up to capacity.
No, they have no means of getting there. Those “alternative airports” as you describe them are not as convenient or easy to get to. This adds time, expense, and aggravation to getting them to and from. You have obviously never been dirt poor or you would appreciate the difficulty posed by this.
Of course, that totally blows past the fact that Meigs was easy for kids in the projects to get to. In fact, they didn’t have to wait for a tour group to organize. If they had set up a mentor/mentee relationship with a pilot (as I stated has happened) they could go down to Meigs frequently, on their own, just as they could visit the Field Museum or Shedd Aquarium or Adler Planetarium on their own for an educational experience. Or just someplace to go other than a gang and drug infested neighborhood.
Renting a bus costs money, Koala - care to donate?
Gosh, darn, those pilots just can’t win with you, can they? They’re either “high and mighty” or “slumming it”. Just admit it, Koala, you don’t like people who fly. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or phobia or just out and out bigotry, but you don’t like us.
I’m not mad, Koala. Or angry or upset or whatever you think I am. This really IS entertainment for me. Do you WANT me to be angry? Why?
They may have asked for one - but the Mayor has spent the last 5 years manuvering to eliminate everyone of the reasons it was re-opened last time. They would not have gotten an injunction That’s the stupid irony of it. If the Mayor had said “Meigs will be closed in 30 days” (not a week - it would have to be a 30 day minimum) there’s not a darn thing anyone could have done about it. But he couldn’t wait another 30 days to get his way.
By destroying the runway as he did the Mayor broke both state and Federal law, opening himself up to possible criminal proceedings, not to mention considerable liability from the inconvenience posed to the 16 pilots trapped there.
You also underestimate the opposition. It’s not one group, it’s several. Well over 600 aviation lawyers have stepped forward to offer their services. This is not some small, pissant community group taking on the Big Bad Mayor, it’s a lot of people, and a number of groups who are used to dealing with politics on local, state, and Federal levels. It’s not just “Friends of Meigs”. The Meigs defense fund has received donations from not just around the United States and North America but also Europe and Australia. Which is a little fact that both you and Mayor Daley don’t grasp - that this little airport matters to people all around the world, it’s not just a local issue or attraction.
Are they going to win? Who knows? But it won’t be a matter of “spending into the ground” a local community group. These guys have access to the funds to keep this going until the bitter end - and they will. When will that come? Darn if I know. I know the rubble stays put at least until the 16th of this month, after that, who knows? But it’s hardly the cut-and-dried victory Daley (and you) are making this out to be.
Well, you have.
It doesn’t cost me a dime to post on the Straight Dope, and it is entertaining - why else would I do it?
Please do. It would be much more fun to discuss this topic with someone who actually has some grasp of the issues at hand and doesn’t resort to “You’re wrong!” and “You’re a liar!” or “I don’t believe you!” when caught in their ignorance.
In just about every one of your posts, too. It’s amazing. Seriously, Koala, a simple call to the local Flight Standards District Office could clear up a lot of confusion on your part. They’re in the phone book, and talking to the general public is part of their job. Why don’t you give them a call? The one for Chicago is the DuPage FSDO, located at DuPage airport. I’d say drop by for a visit but you do need an appointment first.
Well, yeah, that’s all true.
See, the difference is, this topic is about Meigs field, terrorism, that law-breaker Mayor, and related aviation topics such as air traffic control and the capabilities of various aircraft. The only way in which sex is relevant to Meigs is, perhaps, the “Mile High Charter” company that used to operate out of that field, but they moved to Palwaukee in 1996 or 1997 (don’t remember exactly). Which, by the way, I never flew on, just to set the record straight on that. Your sexual inneundos are on the same level as remarks such as “you’re ugly” or “you’re just a girl” or the like - totally irrelevant to the subject at hand, and spoken just to cause offense and/or anger.
And you ARE ignorant about aviation. That is painfully obvious. You don’t have to be - there’s no reason you can’t learn about aviation. As I said - you can talk to the FSDO, you can call an ATC tower (try to avoid the rush hours, though, they are busy a lot of time and traffic control does come first). Go to a library and read a book or two. Crusie the web, for goodness sake. Educating yourself is not going to tempt you to the “dark side” or make you like us, but it would make you able to discuss and argue based on facts instead of your fears and phobias and the inaccurate crap fed to you by the cheapher mainstream media outlets. Or just read Forbes and Crain’s Chicago Business on the issue - they’ve got a different take than we pilots but they, too, think it was a bad idea. For completely different reasons.
Unless, of course, your postings here full of calls of “Liar! Liar!” and sexual innuendos is YOUR idea of cheap entertainment…? If that’s the case, let’s take it to the Pit where we can really cut lose, hm?
How can he seize land that is outside of his jurisdiction?
>sigh<