njvisitor Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8fe1512273d949baThe 450-acre airport in Pearland's southeastern extraterritorial jurisdiction has about 235 airplanes in its hangars and sees about 120,000 takeoffs and landings each year.It averages about $900,000 worth of revenue annually, Rivera said. "Pearland's growing," he said. "We are fortunate. Our location makes us valuable."Pearland city staff have taken notice of the improvements Rivera's company has made to the 68-year-old airport, and officials sent a non-binding letter of interest to Clover Acquisitions Inc. about the the possibility the city could purchase Pearland Regional Airport, Mayor Tom Reid said.If the city purchases the airport, it would be used as a reliever airport, Reid said. As a reliever airport, it would provide space for smaller aircraft that would clutter the runways at Hobby Airport.One reason the city is researching the airport is additional tax dollars, Reid said. An airport could bring in many aviation-related businesses to the area."There is additional space outside the airport where businesses could go," Reid said.A city-operated airport would probably undergo regular expansion, meaning increased air traffic - something I could definitely do without! Of course, the location is considerably distant from "new" Pearland (see Google Maps).I'm glad to see that Pearland is trying to diversify it's retail economy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I think that it is virtually impossible for a new airport to be "made" because neighbors would howl in protest once expansion occurs. People in Sugarland whine about the trains, what makes you think people in pearland wouldn't have the same reaction to an airport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I think that it is virtually impossible for a new airport to be "made" because neighbors would howl in protest once expansion occurs. People in Sugarland whine about the trains, what makes you think people in pearland wouldn't have the same reaction to an airport?This is why the city should buy the existing airport, annex the land on its territory, and perhaps annex land around it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brerrabbit Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Well as someone who lives very close to the old Clover Field I can say that I would not like to see the expansion. Granted when I bought my house 14 years ago I knew it was there but I also knew what kind of facility it was as well. It had smaller runways and smaller planes and I was fine with that. The worrysome part for me is the idea that they want to expand the runways in order to accept larger planes. Currently there are no jets using the facility. That means less noise. The expanded runways would allow the leasing of hangars to corporate type planes which means jets and more noise. The CAF was negotiating heavily with the airport several years ago to base the Gulf Coast Wing's B-17 there, but the deal fell through when the airport could not commit to the longer runway needed for the plane. Hobby is really close and if the acquisition means more smaller Cessna type planes with more hangar space then I am okay with that. But if the purchase means a viable airport for more and larger planes then I am against it.By the way the Rivera who is the airport manager is I believe the same guy who was elected to Friendswood city council last year and his supposed motivation for doing so was to push the airport expansion idea from the inside. Another example of why people with jobs like his should not be allowed to become city officials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Well as someone who lives very close to the old Clover Field I can say that I would not like to see the expansion. Granted when I bought my house 14 years ago I knew it was there but I also knew what kind of facility it was as well. It had smaller runways and smaller planes and I was fine with that. The worrysome part for me is the idea that they want to expand the runways in order to accept larger planes. Currently there are no jets using the facility. That means less noise. The expanded runways would allow the leasing of hangars to corporate type planes which means jets and more noise. The CAF was negotiating heavily with the airport several years ago to base the Gulf Coast Wing's B-17 there, but the deal fell through when the airport could not commit to the longer runway needed for the plane. Hobby is really close and if the acquisition means more smaller Cessna type planes with more hangar space then I am okay with that. But if the purchase means a viable airport for more and larger planes then I am against it.By the way the Rivera who is the airport manager is I believe the same guy who was elected to Friendswood city council last year and his supposed motivation for doing so was to push the airport expansion idea from the inside. Another example of why people with jobs like his should not be allowed to become city officials.It is for this very reason why I put up my post. The era of building airports is practically over in areas where people even remotely reside. As far as "Why people with jobs like his.." shouldn't take a job, I think that's a bit unrealistic. Because you would be excluding a number of professions. I believe it should be more along the lines of "People with that profession shouldn't deal with items/ordinances that cause a conflict of interest." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brerrabbit Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 True, maybe a bit unrealistic but since I know more of this specific back story since I graduated from college with the editor of one of the local newspapers and feel that Rivera had no aspirations whatsoever of serving in public office until the airport issue came up I think this is in fact a case of "he" should not be allowed to have run. Certainly they can not participate in council issues relating specifically to the airport, however his influence is always present and the local source of information for the rest of the council members on the subject of the airport is always available from Rivera who can slant the information. I know the idea is totally unrealistic and more of a dream than anything else.On the issue of change to an area, like adding an airport, I understand that completely and have no sympathy for those who built houses around IAH when the original idea was to build the thing out in the middle of nowhere and the houses came after the fact knowing full well that it was there first. Clover Field is different because I admit it was there long before my house. But it was also a small field with small planes, that was very close to Hobby and one could reasonably expect it to not be expanded for that reason. Now smaller towns that are growing like Friendswood and Pearland have aspirations of growing up and becoming something they were never planned to be and the next thing you know is we need a major regional airport. Really? Why, you have Hobby and Ellington field each no more than six miles away. Is that not close enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I'll tell you why. Ellington would be a far better use as a Civil/Military airport than pearland because it can handle a larger amount of aircraft. If it can handle the 747/Space Shuttle combo, than it can handle the 767. The nearby residences wouldn't like it, but stuff happens. The Military Jets that take off from there are louder than your typical Airliners. Hobby airport is landlocked. There are some rumors flying around that its going to be expanded, but that will have a negative impact on Telephone road and several neighborhoods so I would imagine they would be screaming like banshees if concrete plans were being made. Personally, I pity that neighborhood off Monroe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brerrabbit Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I know all about Ellington, I owned a house in Sycamore Valley for 13 years. I know how loud the planes taking off and landing there are. Your points seem to agree with me sometimes and disagree at other times. What is the point of expanding Clover? I thought it was to get the smaller planes away from Hobby. If thats the case then move them to Ellington. If all you want to do at Clover is house more small planes, then fine build more hangers, no problem. But the jest of what they want to do is extend runways to take larger planes. You can relieve a lot of the congestion at Hobby via Ellington. It may be better as a Civil/Military airport but to date all that goes on over there is NASA flights, the Air National Guard, and UPS. There are some private smaller hangers but there is a lot of room for growth. The entire backside of Ellington is open with room for growth. Also look at the area around Ellington. Landfills, warehouse areas, and very few house that are really close. Until Ellington is busting at the seams I don't see the need for Clover expansion. By the way who are all these people looking for additional hangar space? I know of several small strips around the area that would be more than willing to sell land for hangar space. If it's needed that bad there is plenty to be had without expanding Clover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njvisitor Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 I lived for a few years on Highway 3, in Clear Lake, a few miles away from Ellington.To put it briefly: it was hell.Those military jets are incredibly deafening. I can't even describe the pain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Should the City of Houston move all general aviation flights at Hobby to Ellington to make space for more commercial flights?Perhaps Pearland Regional can take the amount of moved general aviation flights that Ellington cannot take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalparadise Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Should the City of Houston move all general aviation flights at Hobby to Ellington to make space for more commercial flights?Perhaps Pearland Regional can take the amount of moved general aviation flights that Ellington cannot take.The city does not have the right to move all general aviation away from Hobby. A certificated pilot may land at any public use facility he pleases -- that's really every airport in the country, given compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. What the city can do is make it so expensive to do business at a particular facility that most GA (aside from corporate jets) will not fly there. That is already the case -- where landing fees and fuel prices make a field like Pearland or Ellington much more attractive to GA than Hobby. Lobby groups like the AOPA work to keep these practices in check by various means, to ensure pilots retain the rights our certificates guarantee, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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