Dear editor,
Re: May 19 editorial, Dangers of inner-city airstrips are real.
There was once a time when Vancouver International was a private airfield, used only by general (recreational) pilots.
It was way out of town and was considered an all day excursion to look at the flying machines. Then somebody decided to use it for commercial purposes. As time went by the airfield became more commercial and less general. Finally, general aviation, for the most part, was pushed out all together. As the now “Air Terminal” became more popular, the city grew more and more towards Richmond.
The end result was noise bylaws for the big planes, and simply the lack of general aviation, because the “local residents” didn’t want to be bothered by those infernal contraptions in the air.
This has happened all over the continent. Because of this, general aviation is in a shambles.
There are other reasons as well, but this is a big one. Courtenay Airpark is no different. It used to be surrounded by bush, and no fence. Now there are hotels and residences. What needs to be done is to stop the commercial cancer that is called development. Or maybe the hotels/residences should move out to the rural areas, since they came after Courtenay Airpark.
Patrick Riley
Powell River