Navy To Use Franklin, Va. Airport For Training

[ccheese]

The Navy in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area has been searching for years for an "Outlying Landing Field"
[OLF] to train pilots. Everytime they think they have found a sutable site, it's the old story of "not in
my backyard". When a city or county hears that the US Navy is consideringt an OLF, they immediately
pass laws, change ordanances and threaten to sue if the Navy goes ahead with their plans.

The Navy has made an agreement with the city of Franklin, Va. to use Franklin Airport for training of
E2C "Hawkeye" and C-2 "Greyhound" pilots. The Navy says they will use the airport about 200 days
a year, and probaly about three hours per day.

The runway at Franklin is only 5,000 feet..... too short for jets, so only prop aircraft would be using
the runways. According to Admiral John C. Harvey it would save the Navy about $1.5 M. a year to
use Franklin, instead of sending the planes to airfields in Florida for practice.

And, of course, the City of Franklin stands to reap the monitary benefits.

Charles

[Thanks to RabidAlien for converting the file]

 

[vikingBerserker]

Pretty cool. With all the budget issues, surprised more places are not jumping at the chance.

 

[mudpuppy]

Interesting news; I hope it comes through for Franklin. There's a lot of towns in Southside that could use some new employment opportunities.
Derek

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Very cool!!!!! Thank you for posting the information Charles.

 

[RabidAlien]

Can't imagine why anybody would turn down an opportunity like this (other than a little extra air traffic noise)....especially can't see them scrambling to create laws that would block the Navy, and threatening to frikkin SUE the Navy??? That's just frikkin ignorant (most polite word I could come up with on a family-friendly site)!!!!

(ps: I'm not a Mod, but I modded your photo, CC. Gotta do something right today!!!)

Thanks..... Charles

 

[ccheese]

RA: You being from a place with "wide open spaces" don't understand the problem the people around NAS Oceana and
NAS Norfolk have with the noise from F/A-18's. I don't mind the noise, but people who live right in the landing patterns bitch
and moan all the time about the noise. The area around NAS Oceana use to be farmland, but the subject of money
caused many of the farmers to sell the property to developers. And, with city council approval, they built lots
of homes around NAS Oceana. Now they have noise, and some people have tried to sue the Navy because of the noise.

In order to rid the area of the noise problem, the Navy has been looking for a suitable place to build an OLF. But, it's
the same old story, "not in my back yard".

Using Franklin Airport for prop aircraft will save the Navy money, and put it in the hands of the people in Franklin.
A "win-win" situation.

Thanks for taking care of the photo, I've edited the posts so we don't have a dupe.

Charles

 

[RabidAlien]

Well, I grew up in an Air Force family, so to me the sound of jets in the background is nothing. I also currently live about 10 miles away from Dallas-FortWorth International Airport, so at any given time I can step outside and see a half dozen planes in the air, and while I'm not in the primary flight path, we can still hear them. Maybe its just me, but I tend to count the sights/sounds of a local military base as a very cheap price to pay for freedom (now that I'm out of the Navy). I wonder how many of these civilians that are whining now and threatening to sue were all gung-ho pro-military and clamoring for more protection in the days/weeks/months after 9-11? I see that happen all the time, people who either forget about or demand less military during peace, but are all for it during times of trial. Geez...pick a side and stay on it! I may not agree with it, but I'll respect you more for sticking to your guns.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

I grew up in that area and loved hearing jets, prop driven craft, and helicopters. Course, they always said I was crazy. I do agree with you RA on the small price issue.

 

[Njaco]

Charles is that the same airfield with that forlorn B-25?

 

[CliffyB]

RA: You being from a place with "wide open spaces" don't understand the problem the people around NAS Oceana and
NAS Norfolk have with the noise from F/A-18's. I don't mind the noise, but people who live right in the landing patterns bitch
and moan all the time about the noise. The area around NAS Oceana use to be farmland, but the subject of money
caused many of the farmers to sell the property to developers. And, with city council approval, they built lots
of homes around NAS Oceana. Now they have noise, and some people have tried to sue the Navy because of the noise.

In order to rid the area of the noise problem, the Navy has been looking for a suitable place to build an OLF. But, it's
the same old story, "not in my back yard".

Using Franklin Airport for prop aircraft will save the Navy money, and put it in the hands of the people in Franklin.
A "win-win" situation.

Thanks for taking care of the photo, I've edited the posts so we don't have a dupe.

Charles

Blame the VB City Council for allowing the land around Ocean to be developed in the first place. Those residents who live there and complain about the noise can all stuff it. Oceana has been there for over 60 years. It didn't crop up overnight AFTER they moved in. They knew what they were getting into when they moved. Buncha crybabies! That whole situation really #$%^^ me off!!! Especially when they tried to get Oceana shut down a while back!!! WTF???!!!!

I personally love the noise! I'm not over by Oceana but I am in the landing pattern for NAF Fentress. When a carrier is getting ready to deploy it gets rather noisy over here around the clock, especially at night.

-Mike

 

[ccheese]

Charles is that the same airfield with that forlorn B-25?

Yes it is....

Charles

 

[ccheese]

Isle of Wight County, Va.

The Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution opposing the Navy proposal to land military planes at the Franklin airport.

The planes the Navy wants to use for touch-and-go maneuvers at the Franklin Municipal Airport, which is in Isle of Wight County, aren't jets
and are not as loud, LCDR Mike Kaffa, a Navy spokesman, Said Wednesday.

The Board of Supervisors passed the resolution last week opposing the Navy's proposal to use the Franklin airport, mainly to appease residents
in attendance, who were against the use of the World War II-era field, said Al Casteen, Smithfield representative on the board of Supervisors.

The Navy wants to use the field for carrier landings and takeoffs, but it would not qualify as an outlying landing field [OLF] for Navy jets, Kafka said.

This from the Norfolk Virginian Pilot 11/26/10

Another instance of "Not In My Backyard !"

Charles

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

I wonder how these twits think you can protect a nation if you don't practice. What a bunch of PANSYZ!!!!

 

[RabidAlien]

Frikkin-A, that makes me sick. "Defend me, but defend me somewhere else!"

 

[javlin]

I wish they could come down here and use the NG base in Gulfport but trust me we have some of the same whiners here.KAFB has been in Biloxi since what before WWII?remember "Biloxi Blues"? well I use to sit on our roof back in the 60s when the Thunderbirds would come and watch the manuvers,it was cool.Now we every so often get the Blue Angels because "it makes to much noise" please its one afternoon out of your godforsaken life give it a rest.

 

[machine shop tom]

We have a CRTC (combat readiness training center) at the local airport near our town. The facility used to be a National Guard training center. Our airport has one of the longer runways around, C-5 Galaxys have used it. We have many different types of planes and unit training here. Last year there were Marine Harriers and EA-6B Prowlers (supposedly remote-controlled), as well as many other units utilizing Warthogs and Flying Falcons, C-141s, Hercs, C-17s, KC-10s, etc. Back in the early 1980s the F-15s of Langley AFB used our field while theirs was being repaved. Our community welcomes these heros' units with OPEN ARMS.

tom

 

[evangilder]

Ridiculous. These are the same buttheads that helped close El Toro and Tustin. When you are in escrow for a home, one of the things that is in the paperwork is the disclosure for airports, trains, etc. We frequently get F-18s and other jets over our house on the way in to Point Mugu. Loud, a little, but a small price to pay. A little inconvenience because of noise is tiny compared to the sacrifices that folks that are out there serving are putting up with.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Dam butt-heads

 

[ccheese]

There has been a new development in the Navy's plan to use Franklin Airport for training.
The Navy has reminded the City Council of Franklin and the Board of Supervisors of Isle of
Wight County that the U.S. Navy does, in fact, own Franklin Airport !!! The Navy built it
in 1942 as a training field, and turned it over to the city of Franklin after the war, with the
condition that the Navy could use it whenever they want to. Now, all the good citizens
of Ilse of Wight County want the Navy to pay for an environmental impact study.

The Navy says it will begin training flights next month, but it has to move fire fighting
equipment, maintenance stuff and personnel to Franklin first.

I expect the Board of Supervisors of Isle of Wight County to take legal action to prevent
the Navy from using it's own airfield.

Charles

 

[RabidAlien]

Boo-yah! Go, Navy! I hope they run ops 24-7.