[JYO] Leesburg, Virginia, asks FAA to withdraw proposal to make ADIZ permanent

 
Leesburg, Virginia, asks FAA to  withdraw proposal to make ADIZ permanent
 (http://www.aopa.org/images/whatsnew/newsitems/2005/050915adiz.jpg) 
The Washington, D.C., ADIZ
with Flight Restricted  Zone 
As pilots around the nation urge the FAA not to make the Washington, D.C.,  
Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) permanent, one community that has been  
directly affected by the restrictions is taking action of its own. 
The Town of Leesburg, home to Leesburg Executive Airport, has passed _a  
resolution_ 
(http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2005/051031leesburg-resolution.pdf)  
strongly urging the FAA to withdraw the notice of proposed  rulemaking 
(NPRM) that would make the ADIZ permanent, reduce the airspace  restrictions 
as much as security concerns will allow, and consider the economic  and 
political impacts of the airspace restrictions. And the local airport  
commission has 
sent _a  letter_ 
(http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2005/051031leesburg-letter.pdf)  to 
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta detailing the financial 
 hardships the ADIZ has created and urging him to stop the hemorrhaging by  
eliminating the ADIZ. 
"If you want to know what kind of harm an ADIZ could cause in your community, 
 you need look no further than the dramatic losses sustained by Leesburg," 
said  AOPA President Phil Boyer. "This is a community that was poised to grow 
its  airport and its business infrastructure â and now it's just trying to 
hold 
on to  the businesses that remain." 
In its October 25 resolution, the town council pointed out that federal,  
state, and local governments have invested more than $20 million in Leesburg  
Executive Airport for improvements that promote safety, future development, and 
 
economic growth â investments that could become worthless if airspace  
restrictions make the airport unattractive to business and personal fliers. 
Those sentiments were echoed in comments the Leesburg Executive Airport  
Commission sent to Secretary Mineta listing specific examples of the harm the  
ADIZ has caused to the airport and surrounding community. (Secretary Mineta 
will  
be making a personal appearance at AOPA Expo's opening general session, on  
Thursday, November 3, in Tampa, Florida.) 
"Every time we survey the market, operators tell us that the complexities and 
 potentially lethal consequences of being intercepted within the ADIZ make  
Leesburg Executive Airport an unattractive alternative," wrote Stephen Axeman,  
chairman of the airport commission.

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