Your Ten Year Airport Vision
I am not one who grew up at Vacaville's Nut Tree Airport. There are several Vacaville Citizens who actually did spend their childhood at the airport. We need to hear from them about their "airport vision a decade away". Mine is one from someone who loves flight, mechanical things like airplanes, the excitement of pre-flight inspections and the rush of the throttle to the firewall takeoff roll. I also like the people that frequent the place. From the families that accompany the children participating in a Young Eagles Fly Day to the crusty hangar fellows who spend way too much time in a lawn chair looking at their airplanes, I like all of them. The people who fly in for fuel from far off places. They spend a half hour here, telling anyone who will listen about their flight and the aircraft that lifted them. There is a wide range of our neighborhood that visits just to look around. The Duncan Miller hangars are a prime attraction. A little harder to find now that our soil is secure. Easy enough though but we could invite some ideas on how we can be secure and invite visitors as well. At Duncan's hangar you will find a group of men, much aviation history between them, willing to show you around. A "museum" of sorts, old aircraft all polished and restored. I see the education oriented aviation types too. Young and old, consumed by the science and craft of aircraft maintenance. Students at our Solano County Aviation College. They spend days and evenings in a big hangar, a lot of blackboards and test equipment. Parts of a variety of aircraft, engines, wings, you name it. They attend lectures and have hands on lessons on aviation engineering. The private and rented hangars are also a source of activity, people busy doing what they love. Business abounds as well. Plans for more are in the works. A new FBO is in our future. An FBO is another way of saying a training/repair/fueling/aviation store and maybe a restaurant business. Too early to tell as the county is dealing with the preliminary paperwork to invite interested parties to submit a proposal. After summing up what we have now, I see that it is a pretty cool place, as it is. But, as you know, nothing stays the same. In ten years, I hope that most of what we enjoy today will remain. I see a need for bringing more commercial interests along the north/east border. Retail space along the road and commercial hangars that support GA and light turbine or jets. I would like to see a longer runway to allow light jets to actually purchase full tanks of fuel regardless of the time of year or temperature. I want better services for our tax paying aircraft owners. Maybe even a hotel and convention center on airport land. Encouraging tourism along with professional and technical conferences. The new Airport Master Plan should outline visions like these. What do you want your local airport to be like in a decade?
Article addicion made 01/06/2008.... I have been reminded that I did not mention the housing of the original Nut Tree Post Office on the airport grounds. That would be great and I wish it would happen!
Article addicion made 01/06/2008.... I have been reminded that I did not mention the housing of the original Nut Tree Post Office on the airport grounds. That would be great and I wish it would happen!
i have been on the field for 20 years.i think i may have been excited about the airport 20 years ago;much like dr. dave.unfortunately i am now 20 years older and more of a realist.there is absolutely no comparison between now and then.
the nut tree resturante was open and it was not unusual to have 10 aircraft in the pattern at one time.the ramp was so full of tennants that my first parking spot was in the gravel.there was less county hangars and it still took the usual 5 years wait.
we had weekly summer bar-b-ques at the different hangar rows.often groups of 60-80 pilots and their families joined in.a jet visiting was rare.for the most part many of us are not jetters.
the thoughts of a new FBO that someone invests $2-5million is not real. anyone interested will not get a proforma to pencil out.
i have over $1m invested in corporate hangars.based on the direction the airport is going for joe blow GA pilots i question my business decision.
the long and short of it is:the old airport was groovy,and today it is getting to be a bummer.the pavement is nicer now ;but that's about it.talk to mr. duncan miller about what was better.
barry wells
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Barry Old Man:
No one will argue that it was better with the old Nut Tree. Our community and the "family" let that jewel go. We shouldn't let the remaining part of what is left go, should we. Everyone thinks of yesterday as better, in most circumstances. A simpler, less regulated, less crowded life. But most of us are still living for the future. Cheer-up Barry! I am sure that someone out there has a positive comment about our airport's future. If not, I stand alone, I AM LEGEND....... (you've got to see the movie to see how lonely it is out here.)
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Dave, you were very eloquent in summing up what you would like to see at our Nut Tree airport 10 years from now. I agree with most all you said except the part “After summing up what we have now, I see that it is a pretty cool place, as it is.” I would have said “as it used to be.” 10 years from now, I would like to come to the airport, visit Hangar E row, find Duncan Miller there trying to give a coke or a cookie to any & all who would accept, of course no charge, still trying to instill in the youngsters the thrill of aviation & flying. He would still be offering his cub to teach some youngster to fly, he would buy the gas of course, and saying that "we don’t exchange money on E row." Then if you hung around long enough, he would want someone to “prop” the cub so he could get his almost daily flight around the pattern so he could clear all the “Taliban bogies” from the skies. To any & all who would ask to use his hangar E-3 for a birthday party, wedding, anniversary, whatever, the answer would be of course, & I’ll clean the hangar, mop the floor, just show up & have fun. In 10 years I would like to come to the airport and see Duncan riding his bicycle up & down the Apron, stopping to talk with everyone, a smile on his face with a smile and encouragement if needed. In 10 years I would like to come to the airport and find lots of young & old doing what they like to do, be around airplanes & people who love airplanes & flying, that there would be numerous pilots who would offer the youngsters hanging around wanting to fly, a trip around the pattern or maybe to Jonesy’s at Napa for a hamburger. In 10 years I would like to come to the airport, stop by a thriving FBO for a cup of coffee or tea, discuss the latest in happenings of the aviation world. In 10 years I would like to come to the airport & find the airport manager out mixing it up with the tenants & users, offering advice & encouragement on how to make our airport an even friendlier environment. Many of the other improvements that Dave talked about are great and would add to the enjoyment we seek, but the happy folks in love with aviation are what make an airport.
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Moderator: Thanks Lloyd. You nailed what it is that is so good about what goes on at and around E-3. God help it continue. I agree, the people are what it is all about. The memories are all that we are left with after-all. I try to make as many good ones as I can. I hope the Airport will serve as a backdrop to those memories for a long time. My Grandbabies are 2.5 yrs and will fly next year with grandpa. It would be nice if we could preserve as much of the open structure (design into the new plans as well) to allow for the freedom we have all enjoyed. We all agree to that.
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Wow Dave, that was really beautiful. Stirred my heart.
Ten years from now, I'd like to see George Atondo either still driving his tractor, or managing the airport. Ten years from now, I'd like very much to know that Andy Swanson was fired ten years ago.
Other than that, I think Barry's right. The magic of Nut Tree is gone forever - maybe along with the magic of pleasure flying itself.
I'm thinking very seriously of selling my planes and going searching for a new hobby. $5 avgas means it now costs for fuel alone, $100 to fly my C-140 for four hours, $260 for my Navion. And it's not just the money, but all the FAA and TSA idiocy that have bled much of the fun out of basic flying.
I think maybe I'm done with it. Sad to think so, but the money and pain-in-the-butt factor has increased to a point where I'm not having anywhere near as much fun knocking holes in the sky as I did in say, the year 2000.
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Moderator: Paul mentions two individuals in his comment. George Atondo is an employee of Solano County who is currently on administrative leave. Andy Swanson, the other person mentioned, is the manager of the Nut Tree Airport. Thank you for your comment.
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dave:
is george coming back???what is administrative leave???is he being paid???
barry wells
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Barry: I assume it is administrative. What did the original letter from Andy say? I have misplaced it. For questions about this please ask Andy Swanson. Since this comment was made in a different thread I wanted to mention who the people in the comment were. When a thread is "mingled" the readers may not know who or what. Just house-keeping.
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Dave,
What things are being done to get the public interrested in the airport? Any fly-ins or other things? There are websites dedicated to the airport, but I have not heard anything about the airport's happenings except for searching and finding your site. I have been in aviation for years, but not a pilot (yet) and would love to see the airport thrive. My house is directly under the pattern and I love staring up at the planes from my back yard. Hopefully, licensed soon so I can use the airport. Any ideas how I can help?
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We are just starting to plan an open house for the public. A fly-in for several experimental aircraft groups, a pancake breakfast and an airport community open forum. The forum would bring the airport manager, county supervisors and city officials to the mike to update everyone on the actions they are taking to strengthen the airports vitality. Several groups from the Nut Tree Airport would also give presentations about their activities. We are thinking of a car show as well as aircraft displays. That would be for late summer or early fall. You could volunteer to be on that committee. The websites that you mention do cover upcoming meetings and political stuff. I am glad that you have taken the time to participate in this blog. Come out to the next EAA1230 meetings or to the next SPA meeting and meet some of the people active at our airport.
Dave Aronson
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With all the talk about Airport expansion, I'm surprised no one has brought up the possibility of an Airpark or even a Ramp at the new Nut Tree complex to help assure the viability of the airport years down the road. From my own conversations I know that the county is against asking the FAA for anything, however Airparks around the country have helped many failing airports to survive if not thrive. To further that, not only would an airpark bring in more revenue for the airport (ie yearly runway use or maintenance/access fees) it would help bring the county and the city more revenue through taxes on the homes and land. (Of course you can talk about the jobs created for the construction, the potential to bring in more pilots to the area, putting Nut Tree back on the map for a useful and visited airport). If Modeled after one of the nicer airparks in the U.S. Nut Tree could become one of the premier Airpark home and $100 hamburger stops in the country. So the Question is, Why hasn't anybody approached and fought for this type of expansion? Once people are living next to and with access to the runway, it would be next to impossible to ever consider shutting down the airport or encroaching on its lands.
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