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Grounding lifted for flight-training at Palo Alto Airport

by Pam Sturner

For flying clubs and other businesses at the Palo Alto Airport, Friday brought welcome news: the partial lifting of restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration after the East Coast terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

Although pilots certified under visual flight rules (VFR) remained grounded in much of the Bay Area, local flight instructors resumed business over the weekend after the FAA rescinded an order prohibiting flight training. As of Friday, the FAA once again permitted VFR flights for instruction on small aircraft in the air space that includes Palo Alto.

Like their counterparts elsewhere, the instructors, mechanics and flying clubs based at the Palo Alto Airport -- which caters mostly to VFR-certified pilots -- saw business plummet in the 10 days following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Under visual flight rules, pilots don't have to file flight plans, so air traffic controllers don't necessarily know where they are. With heightened alertness about terrorist attacks, only instrument-rated pilots were allowed to fly because they are required to file flight plans, which give controllers exact information on a plane's whereabouts.

The Sundance Flying Club, which has 17 planes and 20 instructors based at the Palo Alto Airport, was "days away" from Chapter 11 bankruptcy when the FAA eased restrictions, said its director, Chuck Cali. By his calculations, the club -- which rents planes and offers flight training -- began losing $12,000 a week after Sept. 11.

Cali noted that the clubs are suffering because they depend heavily on the cash flow from rental and instruction income. "If the propellers aren't turning, we aren't making any money."

Although instructors were "quite busy" Saturday, Cali said only time will tell how long recovery takes. "The big question now will be whether people will want to spend their money flying small airplanes or not," he said.

Plane rentals at the Palo Alto Airport dropped off after the terrorist attacks and may well remain below normal levels, since VFR flying is allowed only for instruction. Although the FAA restored VFR flight elsewhere around the country, airports in the nation's busiest air spaces, including the Bay Area, remain restricted.

Before the FAA ruling on Friday, Andre Bennett, the general manager of the Palo Alto Flying Club, calculated that the grounding of the club's 40 small planes would cost about $120,000 a month in lost rental income.

This weekend Steve Philipson, an instructor with the Palo Alto Flying Club, saw a few VFR-certified pilots hire an instructor to accompany them in order to comply with Friday's ruling. However, he predicted the additional cost and reduction in passenger seating capacity will make such a solution unappealing for many.

Bennett also said Friday that the grounding could have long-term effects for the club's mechanics. Although they currently have a backlog of work, a reduction in the volume of traffic at the airport will also reduce the number of planes requiring scheduled maintenance there.

"Right now it's not that different from a rainy week, and we're set up to handle that," Bennett said. "A month or two from now is when we'll be hardest hit."

Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the FAA, said Palo Alto Airport has had about 400 flights a day since the restrictions were relaxed, or about 70 percent of the normal volume.

Although flights under instrument flight rules (IFR) resumed Sept. 13, Philipson also said that IFR-certified pilots flying in and out of Palo Alto face new delays as they wait for clearance to take off. Prior to Sept. 11, many flew under visual flight rules, which require simpler communication with air traffic control. With the increased numbers of IFR flights, the local air traffic control system is "totally saturated," Philipson said.

He believes that the delays could cut down on spontaneous recreational traffic back and forth across the bay, at least for now.

"If this comes to be the way it is, they may get used to it," he said.

E-mail Pam Sturner at psturner@paweekly.com