6 InFlightUSACelebrating 34 Years December 2017
5565 TTAF. 550 SMOH. Immaculate Turbo Saratoga SP, recent
paint and stunning interior, clean airplane with great history and
attentive care. Air conditioning, 550 hours on an outstanding
overhaul, capable Garmin and King avionics and maintenance
by Fresno Jet Center. The aircraft is being sold on behalf of an
estate. The aircraft has had the same attentive owner and been
Northern California based since 1984. .................$189,Steve Feldman • Sales Manager
(650) 394-7610 • [email protected]
San Carlos Airport • 620 Airport Way • San Carlos, California 94070http://www.airplanesusa.com1981 Turbo Saratoga SP 1969 Piper Arrow2 003 Lancair Columbia 300 1 999 Socata TB-1145 SNEW. This beautiful Columbia 300 was purchased new in
2003 by the first and only owner. Based in Bend, OR since new.
This is the same airport where the plane was manufactured, and
the depth of local knowledge in type is beyond reproach. The air-
plane has been maintained since new by Lancair factory certified
mechanics, and for the last several years by Steve Hanson, a for-
mer Lancair factory certified mechanic ........................$179,559 SNEW. Cruise in style, speed, and comfort. Fully
IFR capable and ready for fast fun flights. Capable
airframe is complimented by fabulous avionics and
instrumentation. Always hangared, complete logs,
and no known damage history...................$174,TTAF 4015. 470 SMOH. 148 SPOH. A clean, well main-
tained, and always hangared Piper Arrow. Great step up for
pilots transitioning from a trainer to a single with retractable
landing gear and controllable-pitch propeller. Beautiful
cross-country IFR platform with low time engine. Garmin
GNS 430 WAAS GPS/COMM, Isham Extended Wing Tips
and Dorsal Fin. Located at KFTG Watkins, CO. ... $58,AirplanesUSA of Chicago
(847) 331-AirplanesUSA of Florida
(954) 491-Editorial ByEd Down s
L
et’s sta rt wit h a dis cl aim er. The
foll owin g tho ug hts ar e thos e of
this write r, ba sed upon mo re than
60 years of fl ying, bot h prof ession all y
and pri va tel y. The tea m atInFli ght USA
ha s been to ler ant of my opini ons in the
past, and hav e ext end th at toler an ce fo r
th is mont h’s ra nt. Why the disc la ime r?
Ma inly be cau se eve nIam so mew ha tsur -
pr ise d by the pat h of thoug ht tha t fol -
lowed rec ei pt of a promotionalan -
nounc eme nt sen t toIn Fl ight USAby an
adver tisi ng fir m repre sen ting the Sa nt a
Yne z Val ley, an idyl li c stretchof
Cal ifor nia lo cat ed just to th e nor th of
San ta Barb ar a.
The pr ess rel eas e in vite d reade rs to
vi sit thi s sce nic va lle y for the Chri stma s
se aso n, enjoyi ng th e va rio us ho lida y cel -
ebra tions of sma ll tow ns like Solva ng,
Lo s Olive s, Bue llto n and Lo s Ala mos.
Th eenti rear eais rich in Hi spa nic histor y
and tr aditions,but it is th e to wn of
Solv ang tha t bring s bac k fo nd me mor ie s.
Foun de d in the early 20t h cent ury by
Danis h imm igra nts, and ha ving al l th e
arch itec tur e and ch arm of a Da nish vi l-
lage (real de al , not a theme park),
Solv ang is the pe rfe ct pla ce to ki ck off
th e Chri stma s sea son. Bu t it’s no t just th e
char m, endle ss bake rie s and re sta ur ant s,
couple d wi th old Eur opea n shop ping that
enter s this writ ers mind wh en th inkin g of
Solv ang. The enti re Sa nta Yn ez Val ley is
serv ed by a wo nd erfu l ai rport, apt ly
na med “Sant aYne zAirpo rt.”
Whi le foundedpri vatelyin the
19 40’s , Sant aYn ez Airpo rt soon be ca me
th e prop erty of Sant a Barba ra Coun ty,
and it ha s flou ri shed. Sta rtin g wi ll onl y a
2, 000- foot ru nwa y, bu t late r le ngthe ne d
to 2, 800 feet , th is pil ot fi rst fle w into
San ta Yne z Airpo rt in the earl y 1960’s ,
rente d a 1958 Che vy for $5 and drov e to
Vande nbur g AF B fo r an ope n house ,
sh owin g of f the new spa ce la unc h fa cili -
ty un der constr uct ion.
It was th is tri pth at ledtomyper son -
al di scov ery of Solva ng. Und er th e tute -
la ge ofSant aBar bar aCou nty,the fl ee tof
“58” Che vy’s surv ived up thr oug h the
la te 198 0’s and Solv ang be cam eare gul ar
po int of fun for this writ er an d my fami -
ly. My little Gr umma n and , lat er, Tri -
Pac er ma de many vis its to Sant a Ynez
Airpo rt, a sh or t flig ht from my ho me
ba se in the Sa n Fer nand o Va lle y. Ashor t
“Ch ey” dri veinto Solv ang allow edmeto
reco nne ct with my her itag e, ori gina ting
fro m 17th ce ntur y Holla nd, through
Nova Scoti a, Cana da and la te r hookin g
up with Br its in Sale m, Ma ss. Yep, mygan g was par t of th e “wit ch trials ” and
later, mainplayers in James A.
Mic he ner’s bo ok,Hawaii. To be sure,
tha t li ttle air port and the town s aro und it
ar e worth rem ini scin g abo ut. Santa Ynez
Air por t is a fine ex ample of what a coun-
ty government and electedboard of
Air por t Sup ervi so rs can do when avia-
tion know le dge ab le people trul y un der-
sta nd how an airp ortcancon ne ctaregi on
to the wor ld.
But this is wher e my mi nd bega n to
dri ft .Ho wmany ot he rai rpo rt sare re mem -
bered for fin e mana ge me nt, will in g to
act iv el y imp rov e an ai rpo rt ’s re sou rc es
and pro mote wh at it ha s to off er? So me
comm unit y airpor ts do com e to mind, bu t
in gen eral , th is write r ha s se en a de cl ine in
smal l ai rp ort servi ces ove r th e la st 25
years. To be sure , th e econo mic dow nt urn
ingen er al avi ation th atbeg an in the mid to
late 80’s has had a lo t to do wit h tha t, as
FBO ’s and flight schools strug gle to
rem ai n pro fit ab le. Prom oti onal dol lar s are
hard to fin d, adve rti sing bu dg ets ar e cut ,
and sma ll av ia tion busi ness es ten d to
“sh el ter in pl ac e,” waiti ng for the st orm to
pas s. Ma ny av iati on bus in es ses see m
unawa re of wh at the big re ta ile rs and mar-
ket er s have kn ow n fo r yea rs; whe n tim es
are toug h, you need to get ou t an d make
noi se, brag ab out wh at you have to offe r
andagg ressi vel ycom pe te.ButSa nta Yn ez
Airp ort has flou rish ed , wi th go od FBO
ser vices , new han ga rs, exc el le nt fu el sa les
and incr ea sed ser vices , pl us an act ive
tou ri st trade. One mus t not loo k at jus t the
bus in es s on the airp ort , but als o at ai rpo rt
manag em ent. Ofte n pa rt of a cit y or co un-
ty bureau cra cy, a communit y airp ort can
become a vic tim of dis inte rest ed ci vil
servi ce employe es wh o kn ow little to
not hing ab out pri va te and bu si nes s fl yin g.
Sma ll er com munit ies, es pec ially in
middl e Americ a, tend to und erstand the
val ue of the ir airports. These tow nsh ip s
re co gniz e tha t a community air por t is a
link to a muc h larger world, and market -
pla ce. But sma ll comm uniti es are oft en
unde r fina nc ed and staffed by vol unteers
tha t are not avi ato rs. Frequently falling
under the jurisdictionof a “City
Man age r,” not th e Mayor’s office or
Cou nt y Com mi ssio n, ai rp ort ma nage-
me nt be com es si mp ly a bean counting
enterprise. In otherwords, leasing
tie dow n and han gar space and taking a
per cent age of fue l sa les. It see ms alm os t
gen eti c, that ac countant s ar e ter rible at
extroverted promotional activities.
Pe rhaps Cha rl es Dic kens had it righ t,FROM REMIN ISCIN G TORAN T
Cont inuedon Pag e