Airport debate reaching new altitudes

In reading Lolita Harper’s column, “Thinking Allowed” April 9 (“El

Toro airport advocates staying strong”) one can immediately see why

South County (and other cities in Orange County) have shot down the

idea of an international airport at El Toro.

Harper roots for Rick Taylor’s continued push to get El Toro up

and running but forgets what the final goal of Taylor and other

members of the Airport Working Group has always been -- and that is

to move the noise, pollution and traffic of John Wayne Airport down

the road seven miles.

As a matter of fact, they were pushing for an international

airport the size of San Francisco International, when the county’s

original airport plan called for a more than 30 million annual

passenger facility that would run 24-hours per day. But, what finally

came down is an airport with an estimated 28.8 million annual

passengers, with 824 commercial passenger and cargo flights taking

off and landing around the clock.

Taylor forgot to look at the number of cargo flights that would

have arrived and departed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the morning.

Taylor and the zealots of the Airport Working Group can squawk about

a few more flights at John Wayne Airport, where operations still stop

at 10 p.m. and don’t take off until 7 a.m. In the county airport plan

for El Toro would immediately bring the use of John Wayne to just 5

million annual passengers, as commercial operations were moved from

John Wayne to El Toro.

El Toro was planned with a general aviation segment two times the

size of John Wayne Airport’s facilities. What makes you think that

there would continue to be any operations at John Wayne once El Toro

got off the ground?

Now lets talk size, and how the working group was asking South

County to “take some of the burden.” Who is kidding whom? At the

time, John Wayne Airport was capped at 8.4 million air passengers --

running just fine. But the insistence of having El Toro gear up for

28.8 million passengers, with round the clock operations, sure didn’t

seem to “share the burden,” especially when the environmental report

cut John Wayne Airport almost in half.

Who in their right mind would think that is “sharing the burden?”

El Toro passenger capacity would overshadow all of Orange County

and, in the long run, have the same effect as Los Angeles

International Airport, San Francisco and San Diego had on the area

surrounding their facilities.

One thing I do agree with is using the analogy of a “cancer” when

talking about airports, as I have not seen any airport shrink in size

over the years (unless it was John Wayne Airport under the county

plan).

As for Taylor educating Irvine about growth and development, whom

are you kidding? Irvine has world wide acclaims for their planning

and development skills, it has received numerous awards for it’s

quality of life, education, safety and planned neighborhoods, as well

as it’s wonderful ability to plan business parks where people live

and work close to home.

It is unfortunate Newport Beach didn’t have half of Irvine’s

capabilities in planning. If it did, perhaps the city would be far

better off.

Taylor and the Airport Working Group can continue to fight to move

John Wayne Airport to El Toro but the residents of Orange County

quickly saw the disaster that was approaching and I don’t think all

the money in the world will their minds -- or change the outcome of

the Great Park.

One thing is for sure: Once the gates of the Great Park open to

the public and Irvine and Newport Beach get cozy, we will no doubt

see a lot of folks from Newport visiting and taking part in the

activities with their family and kids.

DAVE KIRKEY

Coto de Caza

In response to Martin Brower’s Letter to the Editor Thursday,

April 8, “Tearing apart the Airport Debate”: Having been an active

resident and home owner in Newport Beach for more than 50 years, and

having designed the present intersection leading to the Balboa Island

bridge, I am a proud proponent of the Greenlight no-traffic-growth

initiative, as well as a limit on high-density traffic growth,

inducing business and industrial development in a beach-oriented,

destination-resort, residential community.

On the other hand, I feel that the high-density, high-rise

residential development along Jamboree Road that compliments the

high-density, high-rise business-industrial development along Main

Street -- north of John Wayne Airport and surrounding South Coast

Plaza -- as well as the closed El Toro Marine base is appropriate to

serve and support an ever growing population.

Having been an active professional engineer in the detail-design,

development, flight-testing and Federal Aviation Administration

certification of automatic flight-control and navigation systems for

commercial aircraft for more than 45 years, I feel qualified to give

my opinion on the airport situation.

Literally all Los Angeles World Airports has to do to operate long

range international operations at El Toro is to buy the property at

auction for 20 cents on the dollar -- with an FAA grant and a

Caltrans airport license -- and build a chain-link security fence

around the existing north-south oriented runways; install FAA

furnished security scanning equipment and ticket counters in the

existing small terminal; and provide secure busses to transport the

passengers from the ticket terminal to secure, prefabricated

aircraft-gate, waiting-rooms located along the existing east-west

oriented runways, which then serve as taxiways and concourse.

Flight operations would be into the prevailing on-shore wind from

the ocean, with approaches from the north over Loma Ridge and

departures to the south-west to El Moro Cove. All of which would be

done over 50,000 acres of preserved undeveloped land.

Then, just turn the lights on and ...

Brower’s comments concerning western departures turning over

communities are also without merit.

CHARLES GRIFFIN

Newport Beach