The author's plane gets ready to leave Signature Tampa for the last time. [Courtesy: Dick Karl]
Key Takeaways:
After nearly 40 years, the author was forced to relocate his airplane from Tampa International Airport (KTPA) due to a hostile notice and significant price increase from Signature Flight Support.
Despite a long-standing relationship with the FBO and its staff, his smaller jet was deemed less profitable than larger aircraft, leading to his eviction.
Though new, more welcoming, and cheaper hangar space was found at a reliever airport, the author felt dislocated and primarily misses the personal connections with the linemen he considered friends.
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.
