Let me tell y'all a true story.

In the mid '50's at Moffett Naval Air Station (south of San Francisco)
a older lady lived just across Hwy 101 (bloody bay shore as it was
known). The location of her house was in the pattern Navy single
engine (fighter type) aircraft made a low base and turn from base to
final (like coming aboard) that went over her house.

She wanted the navy to buy her property (at a outrageous price) due to
aircraft flying over. She started calling Base Operations ever time a
bird went over. This ended up with the Navy setting up a duty roster
of Officers who took her calls and logged them 24 hrs a day.

In time the Navy went to her and said that the pilots couldn't pick
her house out from the others and they wanted to put up a beacon to
help the pilots know where she lived.

She agreed and the Navy took three telephone poles (longest I have
ever seen) and planted them in a 6 foot triangle and built a platform
on top and put a red flashing beacon on the platform. The most ugly
thing I have ever seen.

This caused the Navy Pilots to report the red light on base as they
flew over it and used it as a reporting point. G

At the end of my year of exchange duty with Navy, this was still going
on. A year or two later some of my Navy friends let me know that the
Navy had caved and met her price and bought her out to abate the
problem. I flew over one day and the poles had been taken down as a
obstacle to air navigation. You were only about 100 feet above them on
a normal VFR pattern and they were an accident waiting to happen.

All I can say is that the old gal was tough. She outlasted the Navy
which is hard to do G

I heard she died shortly after she was bought out by Navy. Shame.
Don't have many tought old birds like that any more.

Big John
Point of the sword


On Wed, 9 Jul 2003 15:38:55 -0400, "Ron Natalie"
wrote:


"Kevin McCue" wrote in message ...
On a large sign at an established dairy farm (Phoenix area), directly
opposite the entrance to a new residential development across the road. "If
you don't like agricultural fragrances, insects and dust, Do not buy a house
here." Maybe airports should do the same?

Doesn't help. We have houses near airports that have the notice in the deed and
they still complain.