Airports... how close is "too close"?

[+Bill & Tammy]

I recently placed a cache that was admittedly very near a small municipal airport. Believe it or not I didn't even realize how close it was because it couldn't be seen at the placement point which was a "L" turn on an access road to a nearby mall. Between the cache and the airport was also another drive with private homes. It wasn't until I got home and GoogleEarthed it, did I see the airport. I know it was close but because of thick tree overgrowth and other obstacles it is very well isolated from the airport. The reviewer archived it before I had an opportunity to make changes to get it approved. I haven't had a response yet as to the distance they would prefer. So is this just a case by case basis, reviewer discretion or what do I need to go by?

 

Here is the original placement if anyone wants to take a look: N 37° 39.421 W 092° 39.139

[+J-Way]

It probably depends on the reviewer, and on specific local circumstances. There's a micro near here that's about 20-ft outside the Chattanooga Airport (CHA) property fence, right at the end of the runway. "Watching Monster Landings" or something like that.

 

What you indicated seemed far enough away (a row of homes between the cache and the airport?), but that's up to the reviewer. Your best bet is to ask him/her about a preferred distance. If you're going to appeal and try and get the original cache approved, then pictures showing location and proximity often help a lot.

 

Edit: I decided to check out the location in GE. I agree with you that the rejection seems a bit extreme, but most likely the reason for the rejection is the fact that the cache is directly in line with the runway and flight path (about 650-ft from the end of the runway). Move it a few hundred feet due west and you might have better luck.

Edited July 10, 2008 by J-Way

[+WebChimp]

It probably depends on the reviewer, and on specific local circumstances.

 

That's the most logical situation.

 

I agree with you that the rejection seems a bit extreme, but most likely the reason for the rejection is the fact that the cache is directly in line with the runway and flight path (about 650-ft from the end of the runway).

 

There's a cache at the end of a runway in the north end of our state. At first blush, it might sound like a bad idea, but when you see where it is........ It's a great idea.

 

It's at the end of the runway, up the hill, just over the fence, and in the parking lot along a county road. There's plenty of parking there jufst so folks can watch the planes go up and down. They have official signs on the fence that say "Please Turn Off Headlights". You can stand at the fence and watch the planes come straight at you, but it's apparently a very safe place, since there are no big airplane nose dents in the chain link fence.

[+Bill & Tammy]

Taking pictures of the cache site is a great idea and I think it just may win the approval, there are other cache locations nearby, but as far as safe parking and an ideal hidey spot this is it.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Eastlake Blvd. runs parralel to the runway at Birmingham International Airport (BHM).

 

The public can be seen daily parking on the shoulder of the road, families sitting on cars and blankets watching the planes land and takeoff.

 

The shoulder is separated from the runway by a fence and about 100' of grass.

 

If you pull up a satellite map on Google Earth it even shows several cars parked along the fence, presumably watching the planes since there's nothing else to do there.

 

Yet a cache attached to a reflective road marker post in that popular parking area was archived for being too close to an airport. Go figure!

 

I think that you will find that this is a 'Reviewer's discretion' area.

[+infiniteMPG]

Here is the original placement if anyone wants to take a look: N 37° 39.421 W 092° 39.139

Part of it might be ease of access to airport property. It's definitely reviewer judgement but I have found that if there is a 10-foot fence topped with barbed wire coil between the cache and the airport it will be more easily published then if you can walk from the cache to the planes without even bushwhacking. If there is no barrier and the cache has nothing to do with the airport it might be best to find a similar place away from the big metal birds....

[+Mr. 0]

If I'm going to get smacked in the head by landing gear when I go looking for it, then it's probably too close.

 

Seriously though, I don't think there is necessarily a specific answer to that. The boundary fences for airports vary, so I would expect that "too close" would vary as well. As others have mentioned, take some pictures and work with your local reviewer. That's probably the best bet.

[+sbell111]

There was an old thread about this and for some reason I was thinking 1/4 mile was teh official party line. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do a search, right now.

[+Harry Dolphin]

If I'm going to get smacked in the head by landing gear when I go looking for it, then it's probably too close.

 

I did one that was on a hiking trail next to a small, private airport. The trail was also a taxiway!

[+ChileHead]

Tell your reviewer who gave you permission to place the cache there and who owns the land, and it might help.

[Mr.Yuck]

If I'm going to get smacked in the head by landing gear when I go looking for it, then it's probably too close.

 

I did one that was on a hiking trail next to a small, private airport. The trail was also a taxiway!

 

I once almost got run over by a single engine plane in your neck of the woods. Not run over actually, almost smacked in the head by a wing. This was Blairstown Airport, and there was a rails to trails right along side of it. The cache is long since archived.

[+sbell111]

I couldn't find the post that I was thinking of, possibly because it doesn't exist. I did find this one, however:

The answer is, "it depends."

 

A cache 500 feet from the entrance to a rural airport (commuter flights and private aviation only) is quite different than a cache 500 feet from LAX. Good luck getting a cache listed within a quarter mile of LAX. The same logic applies to Hoover Dam vs. a local flood control dam with a small containment pond.

 

A cache 500 feet from a school can be fine if it's in a veteran's memorial area across a major road, screened by a row of businesses. A cache 500 feet from another school could be problematic if it's across the soccer and baseball fields, so that a searcher is plainly visible from the school building.

 

Reviewers study the maps, aerial photos and other reference sources to evaluate each cache on its own merits. The more information you provide, the fairer treatment you'll get. I am more inclined to bend the guideline if the owner shows they thought about it and were sensitive to the issue when placing the cache. Finally, as always, there is one phrase that helps more than anything else: "I obtained permission for this cache from _________."

[+Harry Dolphin]

I once almost got run over by a single engine plane in your neck of the woods. Not run over actually, almost smacked in the head by a wing. This was Blairstown Airport, and there was a rails to trails right along side of it. The cache is long since archived.

 

Yes. That would be the one I was mentioning. Nie trail. Nice cache. Problems with the first stage.

[Mr.Yuck]

I once almost got run over by a single engine plane in your neck of the woods. Not run over actually, almost smacked in the head by a wing. This was Blairstown Airport, and there was a rails to trails right along side of it. The cache is long since archived.

 

Yes. That would be the one I was mentioning. Nie trail. Nice cache. Problems with the first stage.

 

Somehow, it didn't seem that strange to me I was caching on a taxi way. (First stage) It was as I was leaving after finding the cache, that I happened upon a small plane in line to take off, and almost smacked my head on their wing. I guess it all has to do with being a small private airport. The cache owner was a pilot there, I'm quite certain the cache description said.