Massachusetts Dems Propose $1,000 Per Landing "Climate Impact Fee" On All Private Planes

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FlyingElvii

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
804
Display Name
Display name:
flyingElvii
Make it look like Europe...
 
This has been discussed other places. Legislators will introduce bills like this at the behest of constituents. The AOPA responded that this was the case on this bill and it has zero chance of becoming law, which is probably accurate.

The lesson here is that there are people and even legislators actively working to remove those noisy, lead spewing nuisances from the sky. There is a group of individuals near me who, lead by a lawyer who has been at this for at least 20 years, have been gaining some limited traction complaining about airplanes flying over their houses. They are focused on Hanscom field and a particular flight school there.

They have better tools now than they did 20 years ago, namely flight aware and other similar programs that allow them to track and memorialize flights, claiming normal training maneuvers are attempts to harass them on the ground.

Unfortunately, 20 years ago, there were some rocket science pilots who decided to harass the lawyer, routinely buzzing his house. Well, the lawyer was no dummy and had some cash, being a lawyer and all. He bought a camera and video camera with a good zoom lens, not cheap back then, and got video plus tail numbers of 3 of them. He filed a complaint with the FAA which resulted in one or two certificates being pulled and one guy giving up flying. The complaints sort of went away after this, although probably not. Now with Facebook, they are back at it again, this local group. They use this action from twenty years ago, plus flight tracks from tracking websites to claim that pilots live to harass them. I believe the flight school they targeted at Hanscom has told it's renters and pilots this airspace is "TFRed" for them, but I don't think all the customers have gotten the memo yet.

This bill is making the rounds on Facebook. On one of the pilot pages someone linked to the complainers page. So a few, ahem, "concerned" pilots took it upon themselves to post on this page and essentially posted that they would be going out of there way to fly over this area, you know, to teach this guy a lesson. Unfortunately what they have done is given this lawyer the exact ammo that he needs to cause more trouble. They put in writing, what this guy has been claiming for 20 years, that pilots are targeting him.

A few weeks ago, the complainer group posted a video, along with flight aware tracks (and N number), of some rocket scientist, doing figure 8s at about 300 feet agl over the problem area, most of which is charted as a populated area on the sectional. You can't make this stuff up.

This group has the ear of several if not more, Mass. legislators who also believe that pilots are causing issues on purpose and need more regulation. They are trying things like revoking leases at state owned airports. They have been unsuccessful so far, but sometimes we are our own worse enemies.
 
Last edited:
PaulS said:
....

Unfortunately, 20 years ago, there were some rocket science pilots who decided to harass the lawyer, routinely buzzing his house. Well, the lawyer was no dummy and had some cash, being a lawyer and all. He bought a camera and video camera with a good zoom lens, not cheap back then, and got video plus tail numbers of 3 of them. He filed a complaint with the FAA which resulted in one or two certificates being pulled and one guy giving up flying. The complaints sort of went away after this, although probably not. Now with Facebook, they are back at it again, this local group. They use this action from twenty years ago, plus flight tracks from tracking websites to claim that pilots live to harass them. I believe the flight school they targeted at Hanscom has told it's renters and pilots this airspace is "TFRed" for them, but I don't think all the customers have gotten the memo yet.

[snipperoo]

This group has the ear of several if not more, Mass. legislators who also believe that pilots are causing issues on purpose and need more regulation. They are trying things like revoking leases at state owned airports. They have been unsuccessful so far, but sometimes we are our own worse enemies.
Click to expand...

No doubt you've heard about the dirt bike moroons in Franklin Park... hopefully those oxygen-theives won't grow up to be the "rocket scientists" you speak of.
 
I can understand if the original thread was on the second page or even at the bottom of the first page of threads. But it's literally about three or four down on the first page.

Couldn't you have at least glanced before creating the duplicate thread?
 
The global warming crowd has slid off its cracker.

They actually think by charging a $1000 landing fee they will save the planet.

One giant leap backwards for mankind is what I say .

The use of fossil fuels is the best thing that ever happened to mankind

Before that we lived in huts and caves and cooked over dung fires.

Talk about bad air .

..
 
donjohnston said:
I can understand if the original thread was on the second page or even at the bottom of the first page of threads. But it's literally about three or four down on the first page.

Couldn't you have at least glanced before creating the duplicate thread?
Click to expand...

oh heck, it was only the third one, right? (or was it the fourth one...)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top