CAF Superbase news

[a29pilot]

Lackland...it's an ugly base. The surrounding community is poor and eyesore. Honestly, they should look at HONDO, Texas...it's an old WWII airport with HUGE crosswind runways and lots of space and air to play around in. It's only 15mins from SA and away from the crazy traffic.

[Chris Brame]

A few things about Smyrna (KMQY)

13) Tennessee was also part of the Confederacy.

[mustanglover]

they should look at HONDO, Texas.... It's only 15mins from SA

more like 45 minutes

[a29pilot]

they should look at HONDO, Texas.... It's only 15mins from SA

more like 45 minutes

That much? I don't think so. Either way, hope they move to SA...but that area around Lackland is terrible.

Last edited by a29pilot on Sat Aug 03, 2013 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

[LadyO2Pilot]

they should look at HONDO, Texas.... It's only 15mins from SA

more like 45 minutes

Oh, Alamo Ranch is growing at such a fast pace it will be its own town very soon...

Love HDO...however....when I lived in the area, it took me 15 minutes to fly from 5C1 (NW San Antonio)...and that was in a twin; albeit a piggy one. Great airport but not a tourist spot or convenient to "touristy" travelers.

Personally I'm a little biased in favor of anything in the DFW area

[marine air]

Maybe the CAF can reposition its headquarters in Texas, and try one or two "franchises" outside of Texas. They could get a nice hangar lease say at MQY and one other, for 5 or even 10 years. Kind of like a Forward Operating Base, or Auxiliary Airfield. Get a couple anchor tenant aircraft in each location, plus a project or two and see which locations will bear the most fruit.
The most successful ones , you add on to and keep them growing. If a location "dies on the vine" then you simply let the lease expire.
I have a friend, an IA A&P, that was looking for a location 3 years ago and at that time hewas offered a half of a mil. surplus hangar, (C-119 size) for $400 a month. I encouraged him to do the whole hangar, lease space out, to break even plus have the shop. He ended up leasing an FBO close to his house in the middle of nowhere.

In the Nashville area, MTSU has an A&P and FLight school, Embraer(Brazil) and Triumph Aerostructures(British), have aircraft maintenance facilities, and there are 2 Army Natl. Guard helicopter squadrons on the field. BNA has a former C-130 squadron that recently converted to UAV's). Plus Arnold AFB and 101st AIRBORNE at Ft. Campbell. Lots of interest in the area.

The tourism industry is well established in Nashville, Country music, 15 colleges, and a ton of civil war history. Plus its on the way for the snowbirds on their way to Florida. I think the museum at Sun N Fun gets a lot of their volunteers from the snowbirds.

[cco23i]

Hondo wouldn't be bad ( about another 4 hours drive on top of the 12 from Phoenix. I just want them to get a place that could support living history along with the airplanes to help add to the aircraft.


Scott

[ME108 Taifun]

Am I the only one out here that isn't so keen on the idea of moving the CAF once again?

Seriously folks, I agree that the CAF needs a larger city to support the organization. That is ever so evident with the somewhat meager crowds we get at Airsho in Midland.

But a "Superbase" move? The CAF took a MAJOR hit financially during the move from Harlingen to Midland. It's been 20-plus years since and we still haven't recovered from the LAST move. In any transition like this there is always employee transition as not all of the CAF HQ staff would move to the so-called "Superbase." So once again, we would be training/educating new staff, etc. if another move happens.

I vaguely remember that the Harlingen to Midland move required something ilke 30-50 (or more) semi truck trailer loads to get stuff moved to Midland. And at what cost will that be? Even with all the trucks of stuff brought up from the Valley, I can remember stories of parts "lost" during the move.

The decline in membership was substantial. Sure, we'll gain more members with a larger city and population base. But I'm sure we'll lose members again with a move.

I personally have a difficult time swallowing the idea of an "added cost" to the CAF when money and donations have been so tight. We had a financier who funded a lot of the last move. Where will we find the funds to finance this move? One minute we are selling aircraft to balance out deficit budgets and the next moment we're thinking about spending thousands to move again. I just can't see it.

Yes. There are better places for the CAF to based. A solid plan for a solid move with SOLID available cash to pay for that move would be great.

But when I see the CAF treading water to stay alive, I see this as potential disaster. Call me a skeptic but I don't see a "Superbase" being a good idea right now.

I'm a lifetime member and a sponsor. I'll go with the CAF wherever it lands. My problem is that this idea reminds me of a ground loop. It will "bite you" in the backside if not handled correctly.

[Obergrafeter]

As one famous politician said "We have to pass this Bill in order to see what is in it" Much the same going on with this move stuff. San Antonio was thrown in to make USAA happy, the out of Texas Cities are just smoke screens..........the decision is already made.........DFW or Houston as a prohibitive favorite will be the outcome. Just remember the membership has no say in the destination, just wither or not to move. Even if the vote is against the move it will happen. The only way it will stop is if the Midland politicos take it to court as a breach of contract. Hey I am all for a move, but I would like every thing to be above board. ( I was one of the persons who worked hard to get it moved to San Antonio before the unwise move to Midland) so I am not a naysayer.
P.S. Hondo is a terrible choice............the Airport is great but there is no infrastructure in the City. Less than 100 Motel rooms in the entire town. (We are based there.............just facing reality)

[bigapplebird]

Agree, Hondo is a 'hole'.

San Antonio would be awesome.

Houston.., too close to hurricane and saltwater wear and tear.

Dallas, 5 hours more north and closer to more people from the midwest.

[Old SAR pilot]

Kind of leaning towards Alliance, since there's ample room for expansion AND they're extending their runways (bit of news from Trains magazine on that).

[Tim Savage]

I will go WAY out on a limb here and say Smyrna, TN. If the CAF wants to spread its wings and grow it needs to be more eastern based, as it already has the interested warbird parties in the southwest involved. Moving to the middle of the country allows them to gain new membership from the central states and might spark new units etc.

I also think that there might be a sense of "get out of Texas and leave the whole Culpepper and Confederate things behind." Not that I advocate that, but it would be a fresh start.

On the other hand I met a guy at OSH who told me he was part of the committee from one Texas location previously mentioned. He told me that they had come up with a commitment of 8 million to get the CAF to move or not. Maybe true, maybe not, but he seemed credible. I think wherever they move an economic development incentive package will be attached which will offset the cost of the move as mentioned above.

[dusttinbound]

I vote for NewCentury AirCenter KIXD for a couple of reasons: Its 5 minutes from my house and I can get use to warbirds flying over my house everyday. Its the old NAS Olathe and has plenty of area to grow. The airport commission has a master plan showing more growth including a second parallel runway. Its 5 minutes from my house and I can get use to warbirds flying over my house everyday. The airport commission actually brought it up in a monthly meeting a couple of months. I just blew it off because I thought there were talking about the Heart of America wing getting a new hangar. Its 5 minutes from my house and I can get use to warbirds flying over my house everyday. Its in the middle of the country and has major highway access. I know the rest of the country thinks we still ride horses here but there are a lot of attractions in KC to make a good all around family vacation spot. Did I mention its near my house? Plus if you guys saw what Warbirds and Legends did on their first try can you imagine having that many more warbirds just a quick 20 minute flight over to Topeka. There are many more reasons like good BBQ, good beer, good soccer team, and believe it or not baseball right now. But those have nothing to do with warbirds, well maybe beer and BBQ do.

Kevin

[Rocketeer]

Fort Worth Alliance Airport would be a great location for the "Superbase" for a variety of reasons:

The airport itself is not all that busy, and it has two great big parallel runways designed to handle jumbo jets.

It's right on IH-35W and not far from several major interstate highway interchanges.

It's just a few miles north of Fort Worth, with all of its tourist attractions. (and just a few miles from VFM!)

The airport staff and local law enforcement are well versed in hosting large air shows, since they do a huge two-day show every year that draws about 250,000 people.

Lots of empty land adjacent to the airport to build on.

Excellent road access from both sides (via IH-35W on the east side and State Highway 156 on the west side).

The surrounding area is rural, so there would be few noise complaints.

There is a lot of relatively flat, open farm land in the area, in case an off-airport landing is required (that really is something important to keep in mind when operating vintage aircraft).

And, as someone else has already pointed out, the CAF is a Texas tradition.

Additionally, Fort Worth is an economically prosperous/safe location, has a non-corrosive envirnment, and is perhaps the fastest growing metroplex in the nation.

Fort Worth has an aviation rich ancestry, and has remained on the map largely due to its contributions to aircraft development and production.

For the CAF to continue, it must keep in touch with a population that has an interest and skill involved with aviation.

By having the Headquarters aka "superbase" in the DFW area, the CAF can also mantain its alliance with the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, and host events to the benefit of each.

[Pogo]

Day-um, y'all are convincing me to change my vote to FW.

(As if any of this can change anything anyway...)