Plane Conversations

From our first article with Plane Conversations, we have advocated for general aviation, pointing out how aircraft charter can be a logical solution to travel difficulties and why corporate flight departments and private aircraft ownership are far more than the corporate excess Main Stream Media supposes.  However, we realize that while we have said that air mass transit is not always your best solution, there are particular instances when it does  makes the most economic sense.  In those cases, travelers have to suck it up and deal with the hassles and inconveniences of scheduled air service.

One of those hassles is airport security.  As I have said before, while I am not a fan of the process, I recognize the need for it and I understand that it is a necessary evil.  In July, a woman was arrested for disorderly conduct at the Nashville International Airport when she refused to allow her teen-aged daughter to go through the body scanner.  This meant that the girl had to be screened using a standard pat-down, a procedure far more thorough than it looks on Law and Order.  The mother wasn’t happy with that, either.  She proceeded to complain loudly, repeatedly and abusively enough that the airport police finally put her under arrest.  She has now achieved some kind of bizarre martyr status in the Main Stream Media.

This absolutely blows my mind.

Her attitude reflects  a common sentiment, though.  The traveling public insists on government protection for fliers. Snicklefitz Traveler cries, “Keep me safe!  Keep me safe!  But do it by screening that other guy, ‘cause I’m not a threat.”  “Keep me safe, but handle it in the way that I want, even though I don’t really know how the whole process works.” “Keep me safe, but don’t inconvenience me.” “Seat me next to people like these….”

Security measures are not created out of a vacuum.  They are in response to a specific threat or incident.  Thanks to Richard Reid, we have our shoes screened.  Thanks to Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab, we have our bodies scanned and our groins checked.  Organizations all over the world use both women and children as soldiers and terrorists.  Security screening is a thankless job and the TSA an easy target for criticism; but, the fact is, the TSA has to get it right every time – or as close to every time as humanly possible –  because the cost of being wrong could be catastrophic.  The terrorist has to get it right only once to achieve that same catastrophic effect.

Flying is a privilege, not a right.  To take advantage of the privilege, we must agree to abide by the rules of the airlines, airports and related agencies.  If you disagree with the measures in place, you don’t have to fly.  People crossed the oceans in ships.  They settled Utah using hand carts.  There are other ways you can get to your destination.

By the way, the attractive, harmless people in the photos are Alyssa Bustamante, a 15-year-old who strangled, stabbed and cut the throat of her nine-year-old neighbor and Anders Breivik who murdered 77 people in Norway.

If Timothy McVeigh taught us nothing else, he should have taught us that evil may look innocuous and that not all of those who would do us harm are from outside our borders.

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What is General Aviation?  Mainstream media tells you that it is toys for the super-wealthy, chariots for the elite, excess for pampered executives.  Our purpose with Plane Conversations is to tell you that mainstream media is (we’ll be generous here) mistaken.  

We’ve shown you how corporate flight departments along with personal and chartered aircraft can save on the actual hard costs of travel.  We’ve demonstrated the savings you can find on a balance sheet.  We’ve talked how, yes, these are sometimes the toys of the very wealthy who have worked for the privilege of aircraft ownership.  But, we’ve also talked about the small business owner who uses his personal aircraft as an essential business tool.  We’ve demonstrated how general aviation contributes to mankind, specifically, how private aircraft were used to move tons of aid and NGO aid workers into Haiti.  Now, we’d like to tell you a little about how general aviation contributes on the ground here in Middle Tennessee.  

In the May 2010 floods in the Nashville area, Smyrna Air Center collected and distributed clothes, food, cleaning supplies, even televisions to hundreds of affected families.   McKenna Saunders, Director of Marketing, oversaw the collection and distribution of all items.  She said, “The most emotional moment for me was when I met a distraught mother who came into Smyrna Air Center to pick up donation items for her family. I helped her pick out boxes and boxes of goods as she tried to hold back tears, and when we came across a box of baby food, diapers, and wet wipes, her face lit up, and she started screaming with excitement! That’s when it really hit me that people are in desperate need of even the simplest of daily necessities.”  

The Smyrna/Rutherford County Airportis very active in community support projects like Meals on Wheels and clothing drives.  Each Fall, the airport collects new and gently used winter clothing for children attending the John Coleman Elementary School in Smyrna.  The school was originally constructed to serve the children of  personnel stationed at Sewart Air Force Base, which became the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport.  Airport Manager Lois Vallance said, “When the Airport Authority was looking for avenues of community service, it only made sense to adopt John Coleman School.”  For the Meals on Wheels program, Vallance added, “Some Airport Authority employees and other volunteers are on a rotating weekly schedule to provide assistance to the Meals on Wheels program.  Whether its packaging the meals, delivering to a prescribed route–and sometimes staying to chat a few minutes–the volunteers are always as touched as those who receive the hot food.”  

CFM employee Shad Holloman (L) with a group working in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Employees at Corporate Flight Management are active in Habitat for Humanity builds and recently were able to volunteer helping out at Feed America First, which provides food to other relief organizations to distribute to rural populations that need a little help.  According to Executive Director Tom Henry, this Middle Tennessee facility will distribute some five million pounds of food this year to the hungry just in this area.  It was an eye-opening experience to see that we don’t have to look far from home to find people who need a hand.  Employee spouses and children also pitched in to repackage beans and rice.  Iowa native and recent Tennessee transplant Amber Sulzner said, “I thought this was a really good experience for us all to have a chance to give back to people who are less fortunate in our communities.  I wasn’t aware of how many families this organization helped and the amount of food that went in and out of the warehouse on a weekly basis.  Overall I felt this was a very good experience and I am now a pro at filling ziplock bags with rice. I also look forward to us hopefully helping this organization again and have even more volunteers.”  

So, what is General Aviation?  Are we an industry existing in the rarified air of the ivory towers?  Not even close.  We exist in local and global communities that experience disasters and need.  And we do our part to help in those communities whenever we can. 

(L-R) Amber Sulzner, Doug Cate, Jon Anne Doty, Jaegar Doty, Jeremy Gillard, Ken Dalton, Bill Allen, Tim Merenda, Melanie Howell, Annette Morton, Debbie Cate, David Augustin, Rachel Charlize, Jerome Vele Reece.

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