Remove Invalid "Airports"

[umanbean]

I haven't looked into who to contact exactly, as that's what I was hoping to learn here. If anyone has any direct contact / detailed information (webpage, email, phone, etc...) about how to proceed, that would be great.

Thanks for your reply.
Stach

Have you visited your local FSDO?

My FSDO is not 'local' to me... I'm 2 hours south of Atlanta and only go there when I absolutely have to.

Good news though... the guy I first left a voicemail for called me back after hours last night. How 'bout that?! He's the Drone Operations Manager, kind of the drone 'top dog' there... when he retired from the Service he was a Blackhawk pilot!

He said the database was maintained by the FAA 'Airports Division' and I should contact that office in my region, in my case the Southern Region. He gave me the phone numbers of the manager and assistant manager of the Airports Division office in this region.

He said:

• We can find the Airports Division contact information via google using whatever region you're in as part of the search terms.
• Gather (via google) and include all the information you can find about the airstrip/heliport in question.
• Call first but expect to have to email the information below.
• Expect it to be months for any changes to take effect

Info to include:

• Formal name (in my case Georgia Baptist Urgent Care heliport)
• Lat/Long (32.449033 -84.479919)
• Airport Identifier (2GE2)
• Owner name & phone number
• Manager name & phone number
• Region
• Your name, phone number, email address
• Any other pertinent information you have or can find

Look at the Lat/Long I listed above on Google Earth and you'll see what I'm talking about - 100's of acres of woods, 90+ miles south of Atlanta/Fayetteville (where the hospital actually is) and NO heliport.

Actual Lat/Long of the hospital heliport: 33.762663 -84.373931

I'll be contacting my Airports Division during business hours today and will report back here.

 

[umanbean]

Well... I contacted the Southern Region Airports Division and talked to a man with a really sour attitude. He did give me three pieces of marginally useful information though:

• To start the process of getting rid of that non-existent heliport I have to fill out a form 7480-1
• The website is
• www.faa.gov/air_traffic_obstruction_evaluation
• Edited: don't bother with that link above, it says page does not exist even though I wrote down exactly what he said and even read it back to him!
• To remove any defunct or decommissioned airstrips I should call the Atlanta Airport District Office, and he gave me the phone number

I called that number and the lady was very nice but she didn't have any idea what I was talking about.

See... this is what I have run into every single time I've gotten on this horse and tried to ride it - I get passed from one phone number to another phone number to another phone number. Then I have to explain the situation all over and over again and they act like I'm the idiot! At least she said she would research it, took my phone number and would get back to me... we'll see... jeeezzzz!

 

[umanbean]

I googled "how to remove a defunct airstrip from FAA database" and got links to pages that had links to other pages so it's going to be a lot of research, which I do not have time for.

Also googled "how to remove non-existent heliport from FAA database" and got a bunch of gobbledygook.

It's 10 a.m. EDT and I should have been on the job over an hour ago, I'm tired of this crap already... makes my head hurt and my blood pressure go up and I got two and a half pages of useless notes

 

[Ansia]

???
Haha, can I use that?... ever since shoot4fun started calling me Mr. Bean I've seriously considered using a pic of the real Mr. Bean for my avatar... lol

All yours buddy. I took it from Google.

 

[Ansia]

Well... I contacted the Southern Region Airports Division and talked to a man with a really sour attitude. He did give me three pieces of marginally useful information though:

• To start the process of getting rid of that non-existent heliport I have to fill out a form 7480-1
• The website is
• www.faa.gov/air_traffic_obstruction_evaluation
• Edited: don't bother with that link above, it says page does not exist even though I wrote down exactly what he said and even read it back to him!
• To remove any defunct or decommissioned airstrips I should call the Atlanta Airport District Office, and he gave me the phone number

I called that number and the lady was very nice but she didn't have any idea what I was talking about.

See... this is what I have run into every single time I've gotten on this horse and tried to ride it - I get passed from one phone number to another phone number to another phone number. Then I have to explain the situation all over and over again and they act like I'm the idiot! At least she said she would research it, took my phone number and would get back to me... we'll see... jeeezzzz!

From your experience, it seems that the lower tier FAA employees aren't educated in all of the processes. It's rather a shame, since the director from your local FSDO gave you the due process, which is rather easy. Hopefully the lady does her research and is able to help you out.

 

[dronesky]

@umanbean on july 29th at 1:00 P.M. the FAA is hosting a session for all things drone no registration is required it will be on facebook.com/FAA, instagram @faa, twitter@FAAnews, youtube@FAAnews with FAA guy Kevin Morris you can submit questions & comments on any of these forums any questions contact [email protected].

 

[umanbean]

on july 29th at 1:00 P.M. the FAA is hosting a session for all things drone

Thanks! I'll put a reminder for that date in my phone.

 

[redbusdriver]

I was going to link the airports page from FAA.gov but I see you have already gone down that rabbit hole and found it lacking.

I suggest you contact your member of congress about the shambles that is the airport list. I also suggest you approach this in a hindrance to business (like a drone field survey or similar) manner, not a hobby manner. Federal agencies are loathe to actually do something but having a member of congress make a request tends to spur them into action. It sucks, but this is how things work and big business knows it and uses this approach all the time. You are a tax payer and voter, so do the same!

Some property owners may not know their property was once a small airport, some may want to keep the designation as it may be expensive to regain it or was expensive to first acquire it. Other property owners may want to have it removed.

Good luck. BTW, I have several old airports nearby that need to be removed as well. One is now a neighborhood. I plan to practice what I preach!

 

[umanbean]

I received an email from one of the guys I talked to at the Atlanta FSDO drone division (they have a weekly web meeting):


{my name}
I asked the question to our Washington DC HQs UAS Team at today’s weekly meeting about your concern and question. See the answer below.


“If the airport shows up on B4UFLY, then it has not been decommissioned. Email [email protected] and the UAS Support Center will forward to B4UFLY who has been investigating all of the abandoned airports reports.”


If you have any additional questions please let me know.


Regards,


So I'll email the co'ords and other info and we'll see where this goes... it might be just as simple as that?!

Oh and BTW... I learned some pronunciations in the process:

I've been pronouncing LAANC as 'lank', the drone guys say 'lance'
On initially answering the phone, the receptionist doesn't say Atlanta F-S-D-O, they say Atlanta 'fiz-doh' LOL

Learn something new everyday...

 

[Ansia]

I received an email from one of the guys I talked to at the Atlanta FSDO drone division (they have a weekly web meeting):


{my name}
I asked the question to our Washington DC HQs UAS Team at today’s weekly meeting about your concern and question. See the answer below.


“If the airport shows up on B4UFLY, then it has not been decommissioned. Email [email protected] and the UAS Support Center will forward to B4UFLY who has been investigating all of the abandoned airports reports.”


If you have any additional questions please let me know.


Regards,


So I'll email the co'ords and other info and we'll see where this goes... it might be just as simple as that?!

Oh and BTW... I learned some pronunciations in the process:

I've been pronouncing LAANC as 'lank', the drone guys say 'lance'
On initially answering the phone, the receptionist doesn't say Atlanta F-S-D-O, they say Atlanta 'fiz-doh' LOL

Learn something new everyday...

Hope it works Mr Bean. You should amuse yoirself with some FAA webinars. They talk a lot about Señor Lance and Mrs Fiz-doh.

 

[hscrugby]

So the other side of this, that I ran into near a park I like. Some locations realize that even though it's not used, not possible to be used, nor will it ever be repaired TO be used, it gives them "protection from people spying on us" so they basically lie. "we're planning to start using the helipad as soon as the lighting is repaired." etc.
They have put a giant awning near the "helipad" and have outdoor seating for their office cafe ON the "helipad" not to mention trees IN the helipad where they broke through the concrete to plant them. (I know the logic behind trying to keep the designation because my neighbor used to work there and he asked site manager) FAA won't remove it if they say it's going to be used again.

 

[Ansia]

So the other side of this, that I ran into near a park I like. Some locations realize that even though it's not used, not possible to be used, nor will it ever be repaired TO be used, it gives them "protection from people spying on us" so they basically lie. "we're planning to start using the helipad as soon as the lighting is repaired." etc.
They have put a giant awning near the "helipad" and have outdoor seating for their office cafe ON the "helipad" not to mention trees IN the helipad where they broke through the concrete to plant them. (I know the logic behind trying to keep the designation because my neighbor used to work there and he asked site manager) FAA won't remove it if they say it's going to be used again.

If you gather evidence of the conditions of this helipad, surely the FAA won't turn a blind eye.