Private Pilots Feel Pinch of New Flight Restrictions

A few hours before the Federal Aviation Administration implemented new rules forcing private pilots to change their flying routes, Richard Cassity, a dental technician from Van Nuys, took one last jaunt along a soon-to-be-closed corridor.

“I just wanted to do it one more time, so I went up just before midnight,” Cassity said. The corridor over Los Angeles International Airport was unusually crowded when he flew his single-engine Cessna through about 10 p.m., he said. “I went around to the tip of Palos Verdes and came back, just for the heck of it.”

While sprucing up his modest plane the following afternoon, Cassity, 46, spoke wistfully of flights he has taken up and down the coast. “I doubt I’ll be flying as often as I did,” he said.

Like Cassity, pilots all over the San Fernando Valley are changing flight plans, some scratching them altogether in response to the FAA’s regulations forcing them to take alternate routes or fly at much lower altitudes. Aviation-related companies say business will suffer, while the middle- and working-class pilots who fly out of such airports as Whiteman and Van Nuys say that increased fuel and maintenance costs will likely curtail their flights.

In an effort to reduce the threat of mid-air collisions, the FAA Wednesday enacted emergency regulations cutting back unregulated airspace near Los Angeles International Airport, triggering massive rerouting of small aircraft around the San Fernando Valley.

Ceiling Raised

Specifically, pilots flying under “visual flight rules,” in which constant radio contact with air traffic controllers is not required, will no longer be allowed to fly above LAX’s Terminal Control Area. Under the new regulations, the terminal control area’s ceiling was raised from 7,000 feet to 12,500 feet, above the capacity of most small planes.

Also as part of the new rules, pilots can no longer fly through a low-altitude visual flight corridor above LAX, a much-used area for about 150 to 300 pilots daily, particularly those flying to or from Catalina Island or up and down the coast.

Among those hardest hit in the Valley are pilots flying out of Whiteman Airport, a 168-acre strip in Pacoima that has been described as a “peaceful little country airport in the middle of the city,” attracting older and working-class pilots.

“We have a large contingent of retirees, about 25%,” said Whiteman Airport Manager John Lounsbery. “The rest of them are, for the most part, working stiffs.”

Many of these pilots’ flying habits will be changed dramatically because of the regulations, and they have to make do with “limited recreational dollars,” Lounsbery said.

‘Can’t Fly All the Time’

“These old retirees can’t go up and fly all the time,” he said.

The 700 planes in Whiteman’s hangar are neither luxurious nor showy. About 80% of them are single-engine planes, Lounsbery said. They are modest vehicles, some rather the worse for wear, but much-beloved.

“There are a lot of aircraft out there that don’t even fly; they’re priced out of the market” by fuel and maintenance costs, Lounsbery said. “Some of these planes can get up over 12,500 feet, but they’d be doing a lot of climbing and that’s hard on an aircraft. It’ll take more time, more fuel and more time management.”

For instance, renting a single-engine plane to fly from Van Nuys to Catalina Island, a popular route that used to cost about $93 round-trip, will now cost about $128, said Lori Laushkin, flight operations director at American Air Center at Van Nuys Airport.

Flying schools and rental outlets at Valley airports worry that their business may suffer similarly because of the new regulations.

‘Eventually Affect Business’

“It will eventually affect our business,” said Bud Walen, whose flying school has been an institution at Van Nuys Airport for 25 years. “They might feel, ‘If I’m going to learn to fly, I’ll go up by Edwards Air Force Base to learn to fly.’ ”

This sentiment is echoed by officials at American Air Center, which, in addition to renting planes, sells aircraft and parts, and offers membership to an “exclusive club facility.”

“I would say it’s going to affect our business,” Laushkin said. “Every time you put more restrictions on general aviation, you might lose a few more people who say, ‘Why learn how to fly; it’s so complicated. It sounds like it’s getting so restrictive they take all the fun out of it.’ ”

There are signs that aircraft sales have already been affected, Laushkin said.

“I get on the phone to talk to somebody about buying an airplane, and all they want to talk about is the FAA regulations,” she said.

Regulations Needed

Still, many pilots maintain that some regulations were needed.

“We, as responsible pilots, have to recognize we just can’t jump in our little airplanes and go anywhere we want anymore,” said Mike Gordon, who has been flying 33 years and is facility manager for an airplane manufacturer at Van Nuys Airport.

Van Nuys Airport Manager Chuck Zeman said the grumblings of private pilots may simply signal an attempt to fight the inevitable.

“People always resist change, and it’s a rather abrupt change,” Zeman said. “Most pilots are used to participating in the decision-making process of these things, and I’m not sure they got the full opportunity that they expected in this.”

Burbank Airport Authority Commissioner Bruce Bowman, a pilot, accused FAA officials of having “overreacted emotionally” to the near-collision above Santa Monica on Aug. 11, rather than employing a well-thought-out strategy.

Obtain Clearance

Private pilots who fly out of Van Nuys and Whiteman airports and use the terminal control area now must obtain clearance with air traffic controllers stationed at Burbank Airport, said David Marino, air traffic manager at the airport.

Several Valley airport officials said they anticipated controllers at Burbank Airport would be swamped with calls from pilots requesting permission to fly through controlled airspace.

However, Marino said the 62 air traffic controllers at Burbank Airport have not been overwhelmed by calls.

“There was an increase in traffic, but nothing that was really that noticeable for us,” Marino said.

Since Wednesday, he said, about 10% more planes have been denied access to the terminal control area because of congested airways.

Some Denials Expected

“I’m actually pleasantly surprised at the lack of impact it’s had on us . . . but this weekend, I’m sure it’s going to impact us a little bit,” he said. “No doubt we’ll have an increase of traffic and, with that, some delays and some denials through the terminal control area,” Marino said.

Marino said he thinks the regulations are necessary.

“It’s an inconvenience to the general aviation user, but when you look at trying to make the system as safe as possible, that’s the only alternative you have,” he said.

“I recognize the fact that it’s a little bit costly, having to fly a little farther and use more gas and, for some people, a couple gallons extra gas could be a real hardship,” he said.

Pilots who fly out of Whiteman Airport say there is no doubt that the new regulations make flying more costly.

‘Difficult Situation’

“Private pilots are disgusted,” said John Bergstrom, assistant airport manager at Whiteman. “They’re going to have an extremely difficult situation.”

“It seems like it’s all for the benefit of the airliners,” Bergstrom said. “They’re forgetting about the little guys.”

Many of these little guys can be found in the darkened Whiteman Airport restaurant, a place where pool matches are interrupted by tales of harrowing flights and the scent of beer beckons.

These days, curses directed at the FAA interrupt the usual stories of heroism at Whiteman.

“They’ve been reminiscing and thinking back a lot to the days when climb corridors were the rule of the land,” Lounsbery said.

“There is always muttering. You don’t know how honest they’re being, if they’re just blowing off steam or if they’re really hurting to the point they can’t fly anymore.”