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Finding A New Airport Home

After more than 38 years of flying into and out of Tampa International Airport (KTPA), we have been eased out of the hangar that housed and protected our airplanes.

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Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The author details the challenging and disorienting experience of relocating from their familiar "home" airport (Tampa International) to a new, smaller executive airport (Tampa Executive).
  • The new airport presents numerous operational difficulties, including shorter runways for their jet, lack of a control tower, congested radio frequencies due to busy flight schools, and complex interactions with nearby Class B airspace.
  • The transition has disrupted established routines and muscle memory, requiring the pilot to adapt significantly to new procedures and a less predictable flying environment.
  • Beyond the practical hurdles, the author expresses a sense of loss for the comfort, familiarity, and therapeutic connection previously enjoyed at their long-time airport.
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When did you last move? When you are young, frequent moving is a part of early adulthood. As you get older, moving is often at the hinges of life: a new job, retirement, a divorce, or an empty nest. I haven’t moved more than a few blocks in more than 35 years, but I remember how dislocating the process was.

Finding a good hardware store, a good dry cleaner and the supermarket most attuned to your sensibilities takes time. Why can’t I find a good bagel? If your cars are out of warranty, where do you find that true mechanic—the one with a love for your kind of car, realistic prices, and authentically dirty fingernails?

Dick Karl

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.

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