Threat of Airport
Maj. Gen. P. Drax Williams, no longer able to frighten us with communist bogymen, now raises the specter of a commercial airport should the Marines no longer occupy the El Toro (Marine Corps Air Station) site (“Inter-Forces Cooperation Called Key to Downsizing,” Nov. 16).
It should be pointed out, however, that three of the four airplane types he mentions are military planes not subject to noise restrictions. I would like the general to tell me which commercial airliners are noisier than jet fighters.
In addition, commercial airports can be subject to restrictions on noise and hours of operation, as in the case of John Wayne Airport.
I am not necessarily an advocate of a commercial airport at the El Toro site, but I do wonder why prime Orange County property is nothing more than a huge blotter soaking up taxpayers’ dollars when it could be put to some sort of revenue-producing use. After all, as the article stated, the Marines have a huge training site in the Twentynine Palms area.
RAY ANTON
Laguna Hills
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