Above Data: Chart Supplement SW 10/31/2024
News & Challenges info
05/02/2025 Future of Santa Monica Airport sparks debate over parks and affordable housing - From Santa Monica Daily Press - "Santa Monica is approaching a historic turning point as community leaders, activists and elected officials begin weighing the future of the Santa Monica Airport, a 192-acre site slated for aviation closure in 2028. - At a meeting of the Santa Monica Democratic Club held last Wednesday, the group launched an ad hoc committee dedicated to studying potential uses for the land and drafting a formal position ahead of critical decisions by the City Council. After decades of political battles over the airport, the new debate hinges on a difficult question: Should the site become a massive urban park or help ease the city’s affordable housing crisis or attempt to do both?" Read More Here.
04/09/2025 SLING ACADEMY Coming to Santa Monica! - Sling Pilot Academy Santa Monica Grand Opening - End of April 2025 will usher in the Grand Opening of their new location in Santa Monica. Sling Pilot Academy is excited to participate in the next generation of aerospace innovation enabling the next-generation in modern, community-compatible flight training. - QUIETER, LESS LEAD, LOWER CO2 EMISSIONS: - With quieter, unleaded Whisper Slings we avoid around 100lbs of CO2 emissions with each hour of flight, compared to legacy flight training airplanes. Location: 3159 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica, CA 90405 - Call 424-250-0648 for Information about Sling Academy locations and details.
03/24/2025 Santa Monica Airport Landing Fees - From the Ci t Website - "The Santa Monica Airport has a Landing Fee Program applicable to all aircraft operating at Santa Monica Airport. Currently, the fee is $2.56 per thousand pounds of maximum certificated gross landing weight. This fee is separate from other fees assessed for overnight transient or FBO services.
Vector Airport Systems handles the billing and payments for the Landing Fee Program on behalf of the Airport. The Landing Fee is assessed upon an aircraft’s departure. For payment inquiries, Vector can be reached at 888-588-0028 X700 or billing@vector-us.com. Payments and account management can be accessed online through Vector's self-service web portal: payment.planepass.com."
03/08/2025 Commitment to Being a Good Neighbor - From Sling's Website - "Sling, among other general aviation aircraft operators at both Long Beach and other airports across the region, have faced mounting public pressure from adjacent communities over noise pollution. Sling’s Torrance flight school, for example, was put in jeopardy after the town declined to renew the company’s business license for 2024. The City Council did so — citing a 1977 local ordinance that, while it had never been enforced, limited the number of flight schools that could operate at its municipal airport — because of residential complaints about noise.
The controversy played out for months — and eventually led to a lawsuit. Sling and the city, however, settled the issue out of court in April after some legal back-and-forth. The settlement resulted in Sling’s lawsuit and a Federal Aviation Administration complaint being dismissed.
“We don’t have any outstanding issues with the city,” Liknaitzky said about Torrance. “It’s our biggest location, and we don’t have any plans to leave.” For More Info about Sling and their flight school locations visit their Website: For an AVweb article published 3/07/2025 revealing Sling's new "Whisper Sling" aircraft, Click Here.
2/19/2025 From the Santa Monica Daily News - Courtesy of Eve Lopez - The role Santa Monica Airport played during the wildfire and why that’s so important - Scott Snowden
"During the last City Council Meeting, Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner with the City Planning Division and Lindsay Call, Chief Resilience Officer, gave a chilling account of the potential disasters the City of Santa Monica must be mindful of. In addition to the longstanding threat of earthquakes, climate change has given us all a great deal to think about and prepare for, including sea level rise, flooding, landslides, extreme heat and of course, wildfires.
Santa Monica Airport (SMO) is set to close on December 31, 2028, as outlined in a 2017 federal consent decree and an ongoing campaign exists to convince elected officials to turn the space into a “great park.” The City has gone to great lengths in numerous community outreach events to research what sort of uses the residents of Sunset Park and the Pico neighborhood want to see the land put to. However, very few – if any – of the options included an opportunity for the group of people who still maintain that the airport is a valuable resource, to offer their opinion.
Moreover, the somewhat predictable spectre of residential development has hinted at its presence twice in the last two City Council meetings. During the January 28 meeting, there was a Study Session Item that specifically looked at different land use scenarios and their potential impact.
Housing was raised a number of times through the course of the discussion by numerous members of council including Councilmember Jess Zwick who said it should be an option and Councilwoman Natalya Zernitskaya who agreed, saying, “I think housing should be considered for at least one of the other scenarios.”
Then, during the aforementioned introduction and first reading of the amended Safety Element of City’s General Plan in the February 11 meeting, Kwok spoke of recent revisions made to the December draft of this plan in response to feedback from Council.
“I want to emphasize that the revised language neither precludes nor commits the City to a ‘great park’ or any other particular land uses, those changes were done to make sure we are legally compliant with CEQA, that we are not presupposing any specific project,” Kwok said, adding, “We are not saying that we are developing – or not developing – any particular uses, including a ‘great park.’ So I just want to assure the community we are still moving on with the process of community engagement.”
These are small, but extremely significant tweaks in the language being used in conversation surrounding the future of Santa Monica Airport.
During the recent North of Montana Association meeting on Fire and Emergency Preparedness, which featured guest speakers including Mayor Lana Negrete, Fire Chief Matthew Hallock and Lindsey Call among others, CalFire Unit Chief Shane Littlefield, spoke of how SMO was utilized during the Palisades wildfire when wind conditions affected Camarillo airport to such an extent that firefighting and emergency aircraft were moved to Santa Monica so they could operate from there."
Please Finish this important account by DOWNLOADING the FULL TEXT HERE.
Shortly after the designation, an appeal was filed to overturn the decision. On November 11th this year, the Santa Monica City Council heard from many supporters of the LA 99’s Compass Rose historical landmark designation. The council voted unanimously to retain the KSMO Compass Rose historical landmark
status as a tribute to women in aviation. Congratulations LA99’s!
11/25/2024 " December 1, 2024 - Come celebrate the season with us at the SMAA Holiday Social Mixer on December 1st from 5:30pm to 8pm at The Cloverfield! We’ll also toast to our successful Douglas Day event in September this year, commemorating 100 years since the Douglas World Cruiser’s historic flight around the world! - We’re thrilled to welcome guest speakers Scott Burgess and Kuangwei Hwang, who will share the excitement of adding the two Pipistrel Velis Electro all-electric airplanes to the Santa Monica Airport flight school fleet this year. -
Registration is FREE, but we kindly ask that you RSVP for yourself and your family to help us plan accordingly and ensure we order enough delicious hors d'oeuvres for everyone. - We can’t wait to see you there and share the holiday cheer!
Warm regards,
The SMAA Team"
11/12/2024 "...some fantastic news! Thanks to the collective efforts of the Los Angeles Chapter of The Ninety-Nines based at Santa Monica Airport and the unwavering support from our community, we prevailed at last night's appeal hearing to keep the Compass Rose at Santa Monica Airport designated as a historical landmark.
Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously to uphold the landmark status of the Compass Rose, recognizing its importance as a tribute to women in aviation and a symbol of our important heritage. This victory reflects a rare but welcomed positive action by the City in support of preserving Santa Monica's rich aviation history, honoring the achievements of pioneering women pilots like Amelia Earhart, and for their support - and yours - we are humbled beyond words.
This landmark decision is a testament to what our aviation community can achieve when we come together. We’re incredibly grateful for the ongoing support and advocacy..." - EL
11/12/2024 NBAA awaits results from a motion filed regarding the use of revenue derived from Santa Monica Airport.
11/12/2024 Swift Unleaded Fuel, a replacement for 100LL, is now at KSMO.
11/08/2024 City Council election - From Santa Monica Daily News - "The Unity Slate of Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell and Natalya Zernitskaya remained on the top spots Thursday for City Council. While it is still mathematically possible for current Mayor Phil Brock to pick up enough votes to retain his seat, it is highly unlikely he would do so."
Recent Challenge:
Find a City Councilmembers that Might Support the Airport!
Opportunity: Upcoming November 5th Election - Change the Councilmembers and Potentially Change the FUTURE for SANTA MONICA.
Santa Monica City Council Election 2024: 10 Candidates Run For 4 Seats
From PATCH -
SANTA MONICA, CA — At least two newcomers are set to be elected to the City Council in the Nov. 5 election as part of a 10-way race for four seats.
In the running are incumbents Phil Brock and Oscar de la Torre and challengers Ericka Lesley, Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Vivian A. Roknian, John Putnam, Wade Kelley, Barry A. Snell and Natalya Zernitskaya.
Incumbents Gleam Davis and Christine Parra are not seeking reelection.
Below find a snapshot of each candidate, along with links to their candidate statements and campaign websites, where they make their pitches for why they should be elected to the council.
Phil Brock
"Brock is seeking a second term on the council. He previously served on various city bodies for nearly two decades, including the Recreation & Parks Commission and Arts Commission, according to his city biography.
"Our citizens have wisdom; they know why they moved to this place and what they want the future of Santa Monica to be. I do not believe that high rises, massive developments, streets that become canyons of buildings, or roads that our families can't navigate..."
Finish Reading a LIST of published bios OF EVERY CANDIDATE HERE.
Historical Challenges:
January 2023: From: City of Santa Monica Website:
The Future of the Santa Monica Airport
As the Santa Monica Airport celebrates its 100th year of existence in the community, City Council approved a public process to determine the future of the Santa Monica Airport on January 24, 2023. The Airport, which lies on 192 acres, represents nearly 3.5% of the City's land area. It was purchased in 1926 using a Parks bond, and was later developed into the SMO Municipal Airport.
The public process is consistent with past Council direction to establish a plan for future use of the land, and to address the community's interest in the creation of parks and recreational amenities, and to contend with community goals and priorities as they relate to current and future generations. Click here to read the full Staff Report: Public Process to Determine the Future of the Santa Monica Airport.
To participate in the Engagement process, please click here to sign up for project updates and additional information on how you can get involved.
Jump to Section:
01/02/2024
Sasaki will oversee redevelopment of Santa Monica Airport into park space for LA County
"Plans for the redevelopment of the soon-to-close Santa Monica Airport have become clearer after the City Council approved an agreement with Sasaki Associates in December that would deliver a “Great Park” concept to the 227-acre site after 2028.
The new *Airport Conversion Planning Project agreement calls for a five-phase public consultation and research effort to be conducted by the firm before the end of 2025. A framework will come first in Phase One and precedes a draft of the project’s guiding principles in Phase Two, with the eventual naming of a study-informed ‘preferred scenario’ and alternative suggestions being produced by the end of Phase Three. - Phases Four and Five will round out the plan with..." Read the Full Article Here.
10/30/2019 FAA Says Santa Monica Can Use Airport Revenue for Runway Demolition - From NBAA - "
Aviation users of California’s Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) must pay for multi-million-dollar airport projects at SMO that do not actually benefit them or the airport, according to a recent informal determination by the FAA.
In an Oct. 21 letter in response to an informal Part 13 complaint – initiated by the FAA as the result of an inquiry by NBAA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association – the agency concluded that the city of Santa Monica is able to use airport revenue for projects associated with its runway shortening project, including pavement removal, pavement pulverization, soil stabilization and hydroseeding. - The project to demolish pavement that was removed from operation in 2017 started in June and is scheduled to conclude in November. - The FAA decision is premised on..." Continue Here.
Support:
October 26, 2024
Dear Friend of CalPilots /ACA Political Action Committee:
California Pilots Association has worked tirelessly to protect airports throughout the state. Although not an exhaustive list, during 2024, CalPilots have worked with pilots located at Reid Hillview, San Jose, San Carlos, Gnoss Field, Redlands, Torrance, Whiteman, Santa Monica, Banning and South Lake Tahoe (where we filed a Part 16 to the FAA) to address various land use issues and potential runway closures. We stopped the large Fountain Wind Project in Shasta County. We present at the FAA conferences regarding the numerous airports subjected to new NOAA regulations controlling airspace, control that should be exclusive to the FAA.
Sometimes when we see the big news, like Santa Monica not only reducing the runway length, but removing pavement that could be used in an emergency, we think, well, that’s their problem in Santa Monica. But the result of Santa Monica’s actions are being felt in Van Nuys, Burbank, LAX, and Hawthorne, which are receiving the traffic that used to go to Santa Monica and their neighbors aren’t happy about it. With the advent of GPS AWAS approaches, aircraft are all appearing exactly over single points… bringing noise and the potential for an airport shut down.
How do you protect your airport and airports you fly to consistently? Airports are rarely closed by members of Congress (Banning is not settled.) or Senators; they are closed by local county supervisors and city councilmembers. These are the people who need to understand the value of their airports. CalPilots has teamed with the Association of California Airports [ACA] to form a Political Action Committee (PAC) through which we can educate elected officials to ensure they understand the value of their local airport. We ask that you make a non-tax deductible contribution to our political action committee to help support our efforts to educate elected officials.
Many of you may have noticed as you did your 2023 taxes, the standard deduction is much higher, making it much less likely a tax-deductible donation would affect your taxes this year. If you are in that situation, as many Californians are, please seriously consider a PAC donation so we can make your voice heard.
Here is the link to our Donation page for your convenience. https://calpilots.org/donations/#!form/Donation
Or, of course, you could send a check to the CalPilots PAC at the address on the bottom of this letter. calpilots.org for more information about CalPilots. - Thank you!