Tom,
I do appreciate everything you have done to promote the sport, and respect your input.
I have said before, that the airport has drained alot of funds from the PRA organization, how can you disagree with this? Where did the money come for repaving the runway(I think the amount was $65,000)? Yep, right out of the PRA general fund. I think "The" airport for the PRA should have been put into more of a regional program to financially support a group of fly-ins, and not fireworks shows at Mentone. I have attended both Mentone once and Oshkosh twice as a spectator. What is offered in terms of product,education,entertainment, at Oshkosh is not even remotely comparible to Mentone, lets face it.
Don't you find it interesting that a gyro manufacturer would pay more to display at Oshkosh, and not even show up at Mentone this year? Because thats probably where the 500,000 potential customers are going to see his product over 10 days.
When I came to Mentone as a newbie, my biggest memory was some guy yelling at me because he thought I had skipped paying (the five bucks?) to get in the gate(which I had previously paid at the office). Maybe that was the friendly atmosphere that is referred to at Mentone. At that time I came, no mention was made of the events for the day at Mentone when paying, where to go, what I should see, etc. Just a few people sitting in the shade, and not much flying(it was a Friday). I got the feeling if you was not a pilot flying at the event, no one gave a sh*t; just a "clicky" group of folks enjoying themselves, glad that others would agree to support the cost so that only a one or two percent of the entire PRA membership would ever use. This is not how you get people interested in the sport. Not after spending several days to get Mentone, airline tickets, car rental and hotel. If you have been to Oshkosh,you know thats not the way it works, always something to see or learn about.
Now that being said, the airport has turned out to be a wonderful investment, just like most real estate. The problem is that as the value has gone up, a loan should have been made to repay the PRA general fund that was previously taken out of it. That the PRA is so proud the airport is going to be paid off soon, but the PRA itself has no money, and does not own the airport, just pays rent to be there. The airport on the other hand is worth more than $600,000, and that is a very conservative tax assessment basis figure. Here is the county's records at the bottom of the page. Can't you see that as the airport , which is not controlled by the PRA, has become worth more and richer ,the PRA's funds, and quality of services provided have continued to dwindle. How much money does PRA contribute to regional events? What if one percent of the PRA showed up at El Mirage,B-days or the Northwest regional fly-in. Is the PRA willing to commit funds like it did to Mentone? Of course not. That is why you should not be shocked that you don't get a huge amount of money or support out of the West Coast. PRA does not put very much effort in to get members out here. I don't think EAA gives a darn about gyros, but their efforts to support experimental aviation ,as a whole, I believe is much more effective.
Tom,I don't expect you to agree, just see where some of the discontent comes from. By the way, every year when I attend El Mirage, I always contribute more than a years PRA membership fees to Chapter 1 for their effort to put on the fly-in( No they don't send me magazines, and neither did the PRA when I was a member). Chapter 1 throws the dirt and dust in for free, provide a six mile long by three mile wide runway; and it is one of my favorite weekends of the year to go fly and beat the air into submission. Do you think if this event was supported by the national PRA organization that you could get more than 50 or 100 people to show up to an event on the border of Los Angeles County? You get 10 times that amount of people showing up to a book signing in LA!
Gary in Oregon, I agree with all your comments.
Parcel ID: 015-024-002.AAA
Section Plat: 000.000
Routing Number: 015-024-002.AAA
Neighborhood: 1504000
Property Address: 12296 W 600 S
MENTONE, 46539
Property Owner: PRA MENTONE INC
PO BOX 68
MENTONE , IN 46539
Legal Description: 15-24-2.AAA
PT S3/4 E1/2 MENTONE AIRPORT
10-31-4 53.73 A PER CALC
Acreage: 53.730
Property Class: Exempt: Other structures
Assessment Year 03/01/2001 03/01/2002 03/01/2003 03/01/2005 03/01/2006
Reason for Change 100pct AV 4Y Reval NC Combine
VALUATION Land $41,400.00 $131,600.00 $131,600.00 $257,100.00 $261,800.00
True Tax Value Improvements $173,900.00 $302,500.00 $305,800.00 $335,300.00 $341,900.00
Total $215,300.00 $434,100.00 $437,400.00 $592,400.00 $603,700.00
VALUATION Land $41,400.00 $131,600.00 $131,600.00 $257,100.00 $261,800.00
Assessed Value Improvements $173,900.00 $302,500.00 $305,800.00 $335,300.00 $341,900.00
Total $215,300.00 $434,100.00 $437,400.00 $592,400.00 $603,700.00
Scott Heger,Laguna Niguel,Ca N86SH