The author's plane gets ready to leave Signature Tampa for the last time. [Courtesy: Dick Karl]
Key Takeaways:
After 38 years, the author was unexpectedly forced to relocate his aircraft from Tampa International Airport due to the FBO prioritizing larger, more profitable jets, leading to a steep price increase and a feeling of being unwanted.
This eviction caused significant emotional distress and a sense of dislocation, despite finding new, more welcoming, and affordable hangar space, primarily due to the loss of long-standing personal relationships with the previous FBO's staff.
Our last flight out of Tampa International Airport was short.
After being based at KTPA for 38 years, we were nudged out to a nontowered reliever airport, KVDF, known as Tampa Executive Airport. The flight took six minutes to fly but has taken months to reconcile.
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Dick Karl is a cancer surgeon who appreciates the beauty and science involved in both surgery and flying. Dick’s monthly Gear Up celebrates the human side of flying. He writes about his enthusiasm for both the machines and the people who fly and maintain them.
