You can't buy this publicity

Our local airport, University Airport (KEDU) at Davis, California, was
going to be closed 5 years ago. Local pilots formed a group--Friends
of University Airport--to defend the airport. We were successful, and
rather than disband, the group remained to continue promoting the
airport to the community. For 5 years we've held an Open House, and
our president has got us front page, above-the-fold publicity in the
local newspaper, the Davis Enterprise http://www.davisenterprise.com/.
You literally can't buy this, and we're getting it for the cost of
approaching the newspaper and giving the reporter and photographer
some flying time and interviews with local pilots.

Take a look at the original article at the above URL. There is also a
companion article, unfortunately not available from the website except
by payment, with interviews of three local pilots.



Visitors to get plane view: University Airport showcased at its annual
open house

By Sharon Stello/Enterprise staff writer

Have you ever dreamed about becoming a pilot, or do you just like
admiring aircraft? You're invited to meet some local pilots, check out
their planes and learn more about flight lessons at University
Airport's annual open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The event, at the UC Davis airport west of the main campus, is free
and open to the public. Friends of University Airport organize the
celebration to showcase this community resource.

"A lot of the neat airplanes are in hangars, so you never get to see
them," said Greg Lentz, historian and past vice president of the
Friends group.

At the open house, pilots throw open their hangar doors to give the
public a peek. Visitors will be allowed to step right up to the planes
and talk with the pilots about trips they've taken.

"You can get as close to the airplanes as you want," Lentz said.

In addition to planes housed at the airport, other classic and
contemporary planes are brought in to display on this special
day. There will be about 50 aircraft of many varieties including an
Air National Guard helicopter. Visitors will be allowed to sit in the
helicopter pilot's seat.

Classic cars as well as a collection of antique bicycles and
motorcycles also will be on display. A skydiver will make a parachute
jump above the event between noon and 2 p.m.

The Cal Aggie Flying Farmers will have a booth to explain how to get a
pilot's license. And food will be available for purchase.

"There's something for everybody," Lentz said. "It's sort of our
Picnic Day."

The open house aims to let community members know that "this wonderful
resource exists out here."

"This is not a playground of the few. This is a very valuable asset
that belongs to the community and the university. And it's open to
everybody," Lentz said.

"We want the community to come out and enjoy it and be aware that it's
here, use the assets that are here."

Friends of University Airport started the open house in 2003, in part
to celebrate the group's success in convincing UCD planners that
original designs for a university neighborhood, now called West
Village, would threaten the airport's future.

Pilots worried that the planned homes would be built too close to the
airport and its flight path. The Friends group formed in response to
those concerns to advocate for the preservation and enhancement of the
airport. UCD's Long Range Development Plan now calls for long-term
operation of the airport.

About 70 aircraft are housed at the 90-acre airport. As with most
small airports, there is no control tower and pilots regulate air
traffic through radio communication with one another. There are nearly
36,000 take-offs and landings each year at the UCD airport, as counted
by the Caltrans Division of Aeronautics.

Davis is the only University of California campus with its own
airport. Established in 1946 by C. Harold Hopkins, the airport and
surrounding agricultural land was purchased by the university in 1950.

The university has used the airport for a variety of purposes over the
years. In the past, the airport was used by planes transporting
research samples between campus and field stations throughout the
state. For a while, the department of mechanical and aeronautical
engineering had an airplane used as a flying lab for instruction.

Now, the airport is sometimes used to bring officials to campus. Some
fly to campus to attend an athletic event or bring their pets for
treatment at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

The airport is home to the Cal Aggie Flying Farmers, which was
established in 1947 and provides aviation training to the general
public at a reasonable cost. The group also rents aircraft including
several Cessnas and a Piper.

The airport is off Hopkins Road west of the main campus. From Highway
113, travel west on Hutchison Drive for about one mile and turn left
on Hopkins Road and left again at the University Airport sign.

For more information, visit the group's Web site at www.foua.org.

- Reach Sharon Stello at or 747-8043.

Thursday, April 26, 2007
--
"Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts,
corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence
services of other countries." --Secretary of State Colin Powell,
testifying about Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons
capabilities before the United Nations Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003