Skylune wrote:
That is the free market in operation, much to the dismay of AOPA. The
closures of the private fields are evidence that the economics of this
business do not work.

The FAA predicts increased use of smaller airports as the VLJs make
air-taxi operations more realistic and economical than they are today.
That may change the economics of this business, but it will be too late
for the landowners who've decided that more houses and stores and fewer
airports are a good thing.

The airports that receive tax subsidies (FAA, state and/or local) are, by
are large, still open. Without the tax subsidies, the charges necessary
to operate a private plane would be beyond many pilots' ability to pay.

What are these tax subsidies?

But times they are a changin', thanks in large part to internet technology
which helps grass roots organizations fight back against special interest
groups like AOPA.

These "grass roots organizations" are really just fighting for the
benefit of other special interest groups, like developers of
residential and commercial properties. And in the case of homeowners
near airports who complain of noise, I have little sympathy -- they
acquired their land knowing about the nearby airport, probably because
the land's value was depressed by the airport's presence. If they
didn't know about the nearby airport, then they weren't very diligent.
To reward either type would be unfair to the other landowners who did
their due diligence or decided to pay a premium for property farther
from the airport.