"Save the Small Airports"

Good headline, great article:

Save the Small Airports - New York Times

Save the small airports indeed. Such is the battle cry for general aviation in the United States these days. As I previously posted, there are many reasons why people around the country don't like smaller airports - whether it be noise, perceived safety issues, financial reasons or whatever - small airports are really a dying breed.

The article states that 57 general aviation airports have closed in the state of New Jersey since the end of World War II. While some of those were likely small grass airfields and unused Army Air Corps training fields, some of them were viable landing airstrips. With all the congestion in and around the New York/New Jersey area, it sounds like New Jersey needs all the airports it can get.

One of the driving debates in the article is the prospect of "very light jets," or VLJs.

For the uninformed, VLJs are often considered to be the future of general aviation. They're small, 4-6 seat jets (including the pilot) built by companies like Eclipse, Adam and Diamond (along with reputable, historic aviation names like Cessna and Piper) that people say will transform aviation. The key to light jets is that they will not only be safe but also cheap as hell to operate (low fuel consumption, one pilot and low operating costs). That is the main question in whether or not they will "transform" aviation like some people say.

But I am skeptical. VLJs will certainly be a viable option at some point in the near future - how near (or far) that is is still in question.