With a population nudging its way up to 15,000 residents, the city of Tavares, Florida, is a small city with big dreams. Nestled in the green expanse of aptly named Lake County, there is arguably more water in the western side of the county than there is dry land. Perhaps that realization was the impetus […]
Carpe Diem: A new mission statement
Winter Haven’s Gilbert Field (GIF) is located in the heart of central Florida. This part of the world is bathed in sunshine and warmth, and dotted with dozens of lakes custom made for fishing, boating, skiing, and seaplane flying. But there is another geographical benefit that has been lost on the administrators of this outstanding […]
The surprising secret to negotiating a good hangar lease
With the possible exception of that ego-enhanced titan of real estate and self-promotion, Donald Trump, most of us don’t particularly relish the idea of sitting down to hammer out a new contract. We don’t care for the process at the car dealership, we’re skittish in the lawyer’s office where we close on our homes, and […]
Uh, can anybody help me…please?
Situational awareness is a big deal at the airport. Just as pilots need to have a clear picture of what’s going on around them in the ether, airport managers need to have a solid grasp of the condition of the field they are responsible for. Similarly, airport advisory board members, and their support staff, need […]
New blog debuts: Politics for pilots
The story is a familiar one. In fact, it’s nearly universal. The local airport is languishing. From the perspective of the municipality that owns the field, it’s an underperforming business entity populated by a collection of spoiled individuals who feel entitled and tend to be territorial. Taken from the point of view shared by so […]