ANN Reader Gregg requests your help, to keep a favorite airport alive. If we all do what we can, perhaps we can make a difference.

Dear fellow pilots,
I am requesting your help to keep a valuable South East area airport open. Chapel Hill (IGX -- Horace Williams Airport) is about to be closed. A simple email, letter, or call from you to the State Legislators may be enough to reverse this decision. If you have ever flown into IGX, or feel this airport is a valuable asset to the South East area aviation community, then I ask you to email or contact the following individuals and request this airport remain open. Many thanks in advance. --Gregg McKnight

A call to the AOPA's Warren Morningstar brought in a little history. Warren told us, "We've been working on the Chapel Hill issue. [AOPA President] Phil [Boyer] went down there himself, working every available angle, to at least extend the life of this airport, if not save it altogether.

"This is a provately-owned airport (owned by the University), so there's no federal grant money. Therefore, there is limited leverage to bring to bear.

Morningstar explained a little of why the the University wants to shut it down. "UNC-Chapel Hill has development plans for that property that don't include the airport," he said, "coupled with some community pressure." The regular stuff, noise, the NIMBYs, the Chicken Littles, etc.

F or public consumption, the University has used all kinds of excuses -- that the FAA was going to force it to spend multiple millions to comply; but the FAA hadn't done so...

Warren continued, "What it comes down to, is the university just wants to use it for something else. We've done just about everything there that we can do." About the only thing that would keep the airport open, he thought, would be "...direct State Legislature action."

Senator Eleanor Kinnaird (D)
Office: 2115 Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: (919) 733-5804
Email: Elliek@ncleg.net

Senator Howard N. Lee (D)
Office: 629 Legislative Office Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: (919) 715-3030
Email: Howardl@ncleg.net

US Representative David Price
Chapel Hill Office
1777 Fordham Boulevard, Suite 202
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919-967-7924
http://www.house.gov/price/Email_David.htm

Representative Joe Hackney (D)
Speaker Pro Tempore
Office: 2207 Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
Phone: 919-733-5752
Email: Joeh@ncleg.net

Representative Verla C. Insko (D)
Office: 2121 Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
Phone: 919-733-7208
Email: Verlai@ncleg.net