Pennsylvania DOT Finally Issues License

The battle between Troy Beam and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is finally over. Beam can now fly from his own private airstrip.

It's been a years-long fight, a sort of David and Goliath conflict that spanned three years and ultimately ended up in court. But in the final analysis, PennDOT licensed the strip in Hopewell Township, allowing Beam to store one aircraft on the site and have others come and go as they please.

At the heart of the battle was the question of whether Beam needed a license at all. The Carlisle Sentinel reports the courts ordered Beam to stop operating from the grass strip in May, 2002. Beam argued the state violated his property rights.

But eventually, Beam agreed to get the license, if for no other reason than to end the fighting. "I still feel like I did before, that this violates my individual freedoms," he told the Sentinel, "but safety was always one of the state's arguments, and you can't argue with safety, especially in light of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. It just wasn't worth the fight anymore."

PennDOT said Beam paid a $55 inspection fee and got his license. It's valid until 2007.

FMI: www.dot.state.pa.us