Light-Plane Traffic Over Orange and L.A. Counties

Re “Small Planes Catch Flak in Orange County” (Sept. 17):

Jeffrey Perlman’s article provided clear, comprehensive and objective insight into the dilemma of general aviation access to John Wayne Airport. Perhaps the only way to relieve the general aviation contribution to overcrowding at John Wayne Airport is to provide a realistic, attractive alternative for the more than 700 small planes based there.

There is an alternative. It is convenient, large, mostly unused, and in excellent condition: The Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Los Alamitos could draw aircraft from John Wayne, Long Beach and Fullerton. It is a very large facility with excellent parallel runways and virtually uninhabited departure paths over the Seal Beach U.S. Naval Weapons Station. The more than $2 million in annual revenue generated by general aviation at John Wayne should provide something for Los Alamitos city planners to think about.

There are many joint-use facilities now operating in the western U.S. Klamath Falls, Ore; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Albuquerque, N.M., and Yuma, Ariz., are just a few examples of successful joint-use facilities.

STEVEN S. MYERS

Irvine