COMMENTARY ON EL TORO BASE CONVERSION : 2Commercial Airport Would Minimize Costs, Maximize Benefits : With taxpayer-supported aviation facilities already in place, certain flight operations could commence immediately.

The recent action of the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission to place the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on the list of military facilities slated for closure has created a politically heated issue for Orange County citizens. Although I strongly disagree with the Department of Defense recommendation to close El Toro, I must face the fact that the BRAC-sanctioned DOD proposal means the end of El Toro as a military airfield, and a new future use must be determined.

Now that El Toro will close, the city of Irvine should pursue annexation, since the base lies within the city’s sphere of influence. This action is appropriate to put the city in the strongest legal position possible to determine the airport and other land uses resulting from the conversion of El Toro. The communities most impacted by the reuse of El Toro should have the greatest voice in determining what that reuse should be, and that voice should have the force of law behind it. It should not be just a council member’s lone voice on another advisory committee.

Possible uses for the 4,700 acres making up El Toro range from letting it revert to a wilderness state to developing a technologically advanced multi-modal transportation center. In view of the pressure that will ensue, the challenge to devise a reuse plan that will best serve all the people of this county and its regional neighbors is formidable. For my money, however, that highest and best use is primarily as a commercial airport.

For the past 50 years, taxpayers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing the modern aviation facilities at El Toro. Therein lies the value of this base to the local community. With two 10,000-foot and two 8,000-foot parallel runways and more than 75 acres of aircraft parking ramps, the base is capable of accommodating the largest military and civilian aircraft in the world.

Thus, converting El Toro to an operational civilian airport is essentially a turnkey operation. Air cargo and general aviation aircraft operations could commence immediately.

The advantage accruing to Orange County businesses, who are dependent on air cargo, is a much-needed economic shot in the arm. Generally, these businesses must have their next-day packages prepared two hours before their competitors in Los Angeles. This is a costly inconvenience and produces needless vehicle trips to LAX that add to the congestion on our freeways and the pollution of our air.

Objection to El Toro as a civilian commercial airport is based on the fear of increased noise and traffic. Many believe that commercial flights would occur at all hours of the night and be required to use different arrival and departure routes than those currently used by the military. If so, I would not support civilian commercial aircraft operations at El Toro. The fact, however, is that this is not the case.

A great misunderstanding many people have regarding air cargo operations is their belief that these flights will occur after 11 p.m. If Federal Express, for example, was permitted to operate at El Toro, the incoming flight with cargo for delivery to Orange County destinations would arrive about 7 a.m. from Memphis. This arriving flight, perhaps a DC-10, would approach El Toro over Dana Point at 4,000 feet and proceed straight in to Runway 34 like military aircraft now do. A DC-10’s gliding approach is noticeably more quiet than an F-18’s typical power-on approach. The plane would sit on the ground at El Toro all day waiting for delivery of packages by ground transportation and then depart for Memphis by 7 p.m. on Runway 7, the same departure runway used by military jets.

Opponents will argue that military jets can use Runway 7 for departure but commercial aircraft cannot. While I agree that use of this runway for a fully loaded commercial air carrier is marginal under some wind conditions, I do not think this would be the case for air cargo operations. Air cargo flights can use this runway because the airplane does not have to be configured for a transcontinental flight with a full fuel load. Its cargo typically consists of small packages that do not weigh nearly as much as the military cargo carried on the C-5s and C-141s so noticeable during Desert Storm. On the basis of my more than 30 years of flying experience, which includes a tour as a project test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, I believe it is feasible for air cargo operations to commence immediately at El Toro.

Longer-range plans for commercial air operations at El Toro should include lengthening Runway 7 to 10,000 feet to ensure an adequate safety margin for passenger aircraft with full fuel loads and thus permit transcontinental flights. An extended Runway 7 will provide greater future benefit for Orange County and encourage the development of what many think is the most unique of all possibilities, a multi-modal transportation center.

The Irvine Transportation Center is located on the southern boundary of the base and is an Amtrak stop between San Diego and Los Angeles. The ITC is also a stop for new and planned commuter rail and the terminus for the proposed Orange County fixed guideway system. This monorail, connecting to John Wayne Airport, will make it possible for most passengers from central and north Orange County to get to the airport without using an automobile. Additionally, the completion of the Eastern and Foothill transportation corridors and modifications to Interstate 5’s El Toro “Y” will provide sufficient mitigation to prevent the surface traffic congestion common to LAX.

From a military point of view, maintaining El Toro as a regional civilian airport after closure by the Marines has great value. This preserves the backup ability of the DOD to use the base in the event of a major national emergency. If the more than seven miles of 12-foot-thick runways and related aviation facilities are demolished, the nation loses this backup military capacity. Besides that, we taxpayers already own it free and clear.

In addition to its value as a backup military facility for national defense emergencies, El Toro has the capability of serving the entire Southern California area in the event of a major natural disaster, such as an earthquake or flood. The Army Corps of Engineers states that Orange County’s location at the end of the Santa Ana River makes our community the largest potential flood disaster zone west of the Mississippi River. Should a large earthquake or flood occur, such as that now underway in the Midwest, the meager aviation capacity of John Wayne Airport would be incapable of handling the influx of emergency relief supplies and equipment necessary for the region.

Another LAX El Toro is not, and probably never will be. However, it is an airport that has served our country and Orange County well for the past 50 years as a military facility. The time has now come for it to serve our citizens as a commercial airport.