EAA's John Hovan On Closing Florida's Opa-locka West Airport

As Aero-News reported earlier, the folks who run Florida's Miami International Airport are hungry for cash... and they think they've found an answer: turn the Opa-locka West airport into a limerock mine.

Officials at MIA say the small two-runway airport -- which has been closed since Hurricane Wilma last year -- is rarely used, and is far more valuable as a source for minerals needed to make concrete and roadfill... especially as a federal judge looks at Florida's current source of the material, the so-called "Lake Belt", for possible environmental impact violations.

John Hovan is a member of the EAA's ultralight council... and president of the South Florida Fun Flyers. He spoke late Thursday with ANN's Jim Campbell. Hovan tells ANN that closing Opa-locka West would mean the loss of the only open North-South runway in the county... as well as much-needed airport for recreational flyers.

This feature is in addition to our daily news briefing -- available in either a quick "Touch And Go" format or an expanded Aero-Briefing.

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 05.26.06 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program)

ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 05.26.06 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program)

ANN Special Feature -- EAA's John Hovan: 05.26.06 (ANN Special Feature, with John Hovan of the EAA on the proposed closing of Opa-locka West airport.)

Our DAILY programs consist of (at least) three separate products... the first is a short synopsis of the previous 24 hours of Aero-News, in brief, spanning only a few minutes (max) and in a size/format that will allow it to be mailed as part of a Daily Aero-Cast subscription; a more comprehensive DAILY news product that will cover the previous 24 hours of news in a somewhat more detailed fashion, and a feature Aero-Cast that will center on one of the more important subject or topics of the day in considerable depth and detail. This is how these products break down...

• ANN's Daily 'Touch & Go' Aero-Cast: A quick look at the most recent news of the day... short, succinct and to the point. The usual 'Touch & Go' takes but a few minutes and is a summary, only, of the day's events. It only takes a few minutes of your time and will be available by subscription, shortly.
• ANN's Daily Briefing Aero-Cast: The Daily ANN Report (ANNRep for short), is a more comprehensive look at the day's news. We'll give you the whole buzz... the news and features that occupy the forefront of aviation news as well as solid background on the subjects that aviators and other aviation professionals need to stay informed on.
• ANN's Daily 'ASR' Feature Aero-Cast: ANN will be offering a Daily 'Aero-News Special Report.' This involves a more in-depth view of a story or two that dominated (or will be dominating) the day's news. Far more detailed than any single story in our standard ANN Daily Reports, this is a solid chance to get a close look at the stories and topics that matter. ASR features may include exclusive interviews with Aviation's Newsmakers, ANN's Special Investigative reports and solid analysis of the stories that will have undeniable impact on the world of aviation and aerospace. We're tremendously excited about this particular product in that it truly adds nuance and background to important breaking news stories and personalities. While our current news format allows for extensive reporting and information dissemination, ANN's ASRs should set the bar even higher. ANN has become a pivotal force in the world of aviation in the six years that have passed since we undertook the immense task of becoming the aviation world's DAILY news and information service... but with the all-new news services we're offering as part of our Aero-Cast line-up, we expect to become even more indispensable to the industry we serve.

Check them out, let us know what you think and be sure to keep those news-tips and program suggestions coming... ANN is ALL about what YOU want to know about in the world of aviation and aerospace.

FMI: www.aero-news.net/podcasts