McKinney – the city next door to us – is putting proposal in front of voters next spring to put a commercial air terminal at what is known as McKinney National Airport. It’s an interesting proposal with definite benefits, but for my little corner of the DFW Metromess, it may be problematic.
Don’t get me wrong. I love aviation. I even went so far as to purchase a study guide so I could perhaps pursue becoming a pilot. I’ve even had the opportunity to take the controls of a small airplane owned by a friend of mine in an incident I call “Thirty Seconds Over Beaver Ohio.” I’ve hung out at small airports – can tell you where to find several landing fields you never thought were there and can probably tell anyone who would care to listen more about aviation in general much more than they would like to know.
But proposing an addition to the local airport to support commercial traffic? Well, I would like to think that calmer heads will prevail when it’s time to vote on the proposal… a vote which I will not participate in because I don’t live in McKinney Texas. No vote on a proposal which may affect me if the proposal is accepted. The skies are already a bit crowded around here.
To begin with, the Federal Aviation Administration issues maps showing airports, air lanes, and traffic control zones (that’s how I know where the airports are). There are three air lanes coming almost directly over my corner of the Metromess from airports to the northeast. I’ve flown from Columbus to both Dallas area commercial airports (DFW and Love Field) and know that when I spot McKinney National I’m almost home. Almost all day, I can spot airplanes coming into the local commercial airports. Nights, and early mornings, I can see the landing lights of approaching inbound airliners. The airport in McKinney is a touchstone of a sort. It’s fun, really, to see those planes headed to the major airports – and to a certain degree, it’s fun to see some of the smaller aircraft in the pattern to take off and land at McKinney National.
For the most part it’s fun watching aircraft headed to or from McKinney National. There are days, however, when a pilot or two forgets that they need to be at least 500 feet above the ground while zooming over a residential area. The smaller prop jobs can be forgiven – the occasional business jet flying low to the ground is cause for concern. A 737 flying as low as some of the business jets fly would be super scary.
Still, it’s fun to watch the variety of aircraft plying the general neighborhood. South of town there’s a patch used by people with motorized parachutes. There are the occasional hot-air balloons, like the one which followed the dog Filbrix and me on Sunday – landing in a field next to the Tractor Supply store just around the corner. And there are the occasional sightings of older aircraft. A regular visitor is a DC-3/C-47 which is a frequent visitor to McKinney National. Monday, there was an overflight by a B-29! I was seriously surprised.
The prospect of having regular passenger service so close to the homestead is just a wee little bit frightening – however, as has been pointed out time and again, one is more likely to be involved in an accident on the way to the airport than when flying a plane.
I’ll take that into consideration when it comes time for the proposal is put to a vote next spring. As if the people here in my little corner of the DFW Metromess would be allowed to vote on a proposal which could have a major impact on us.
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bdharrellauthor 