Many pilots take for granted the idea that their FBO will always be there for them — or at least that their place on the airport is relatively secure — but that's not always the case. At Hemet field in Southern California, the closing of an FBO may mean not only the demise of a soaring club that's operated on the field for about 40 years, but also the closing of the runway the gliders use — basically altogether banishing glider operations from the field.
President of the Orange County Soaring AssociationLarry Tuohino says that while the county essentially controls the fate of the highly active and community-friendly soaring club, he's not aware of any public hearings or even user surveys the county has organized to determine the impact of shutting down the runway and FBO. The struggle is ongoing, but an ominous deadline looms. We caught up with Tuohino for his comments.
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