AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2023 - 45

As this year marks the eightieth
anniversary of the airport's establishment,
Dare County Regional Airport (MQI) will
be hosting a celebratory event featuring
reenactors, talks about the airport's history,
and several aircraft static displays, including
from the Military Aviation Museum in
Virginia Beach exemplifying the type of
aircraft that would have been at the airport
during its history. Check out the museum
in the terminal for photos and artifacts that
were used here during World War II, and
enjoy food trucks, vendors, aircraft rides, and
other activities.
Massachusetts airport gets
new lease on life
THOSE FOND OF THE HISTORIC Walter
J. Koladza Airport (GBR) in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts, can
breathe easier thanks to an AOPA
and community-led effort that earned
the airfield a " special permit " from
the town.
The airport, located in the southwestern
corner of Massachusetts,
is home to about 40 aircraft and is
frequented by emergency medical
helicopter flights.
Aviation has been present
in the Outer Banks since
the Wright brothers
set foot at Kill Devil Hills.
The event will take place Saturday,
September 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or
shine. Admission is free, and fly-ins are welcome
for the event. Dare County Regional Airport
has two runways, 5/23 and 17/35, that are 4,305
and 3,300 feet long, respectively. Normally
nontowered, there will be a temporary tower for
the weekend of the event, with the frequency
of 118.55 MHz. Fuel-both 100LL and Jet A-
and major maintenance services are available,
as well as parking and tiedowns.
emma.quedzuweit@aopa.org
The " special permit " allows the
airport to continue operating as a
" pre-existing, non-conforming "
development. The permit became
necessary after three area residents
filed a suit against the town in Boston
Land Court alleging
the town had violated
its own laws by
allowing the airport
to develop outside
of zoning requirements
and aimed to
force the airport back
into its pre-zoning,
1940s-era footprint,
effectively shutting
down the airport.
Without this permit,
the airport would
have been forced to
shut down its flight
school and aircraft
maintenance shop,
despite having been open and operating
continuously since the 1930s. The
plaintiffs ultimately dropped the lawsuit
on May 31, which ended the case
and cemented the " special permit. "
At the heart of the effort to save
the airport, a local group called the
Citizens Committee to Save the
Great Barrington Airport, led by
AOPA members Michael Mah and
Richard Stanley, brought attention
to the cause by creating a successful
online petition that garnered more
than 8,000 signatures and produced
a high-quality pro-airport video
highlighting the airfield's proud
heritage and its importance as a
community resource for medical
services. The Citizens Committee's
use of creativity in producing the
pro-airport video foreshadowed the
poignant reality to come if the airport
closed and lost access to critical
emergency medical services.
" It takes a village to save an
airport, " said AOPA Eastern Regional
Manager Sean Collins. " Being able to
advocate successfully is a function of
Aircraft based at Walter J. Koladza Airport in Massachusetts.
how much influence can be leveraged
on a given issue. Doing so effectively
requires an active and engaged local
constituency. The Citizens Committee
created a network of pilots and
nonpilot community members to
illustrate just how much the broader
community values its airport as an
economic engine and transportation
asset. " -Niki Britton
AOPA PILOT / September 2023
45
LEFT: DARE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT; FAR RIGHT: PATRICK WALKER.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2023

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