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Any sense of proportion for the times in which we are living should prevent me from posting such a relatively minor gripe. Sorry. I know it is a bit out of touch but here goes anyway:
I've got a new neighbor at my airport and I want to see (1) if I am just hypersensitive and in the wrong. And (2), assuming my gripe is legit, do I have any standing? I've got a great hangar. It's a half T perfectly sized for a single-place Pitts and it's otherwise uselessness makes it priced reasonably (by NJ standards). This January I noticed that my neighbor in the full sized T next door had changed. I couldn't see him because the weather was cold and his door was closed. But I could hear him and I could smell him. "Hear", because he likes music and he likes it loud. "Smell", because he has a pretty loyal pot habit. It got so bad that I limited the work I was doing because I was concerned that inhaling enough secondhand smoke might risk a failed drug test at work. (I guess secondhand pot smoke makes you paranoid
). A few days later the weather was warmer and his door was open. I could see that my new weed-loving friend was not, thank goodness, a pilot but rather a somewhat redneckish race car mechanic. OK he might not be a redneck. I grew up around rednecks and at times was one myself. It's a harsh judgement to throw at others. Let's just say that he, and later his girlfriend, very much looked the part. He has three "race" cars in various levels of rebuild. Above the cars he has assembled a nice tier where he stores spare parts and spare tires. I've seen him perhaps a dozen times now. (I don't get out there much anymore) We've said 'hello' but so far haven't talked. He generally keeps his door closed and his amp dialed at 11. I don't know if he is unfriendly or if he just senses that I am not a fan. I don't always give off the most welcoming vibe.
Mixed with the pot smoke one day was the smell of a fairly harsh chemical. I have never painted so honestly I don't know if it was paint. And to this day none of the three cars appears painted so maybe it was stripper or something else. On that first day It was 20 degrees outside but the smell was enough that I had to keep my door open and work in the cold. There have been other "chemical days" but fortunately none quite so strong. In the past, Dennis, our airport manager tends to come by to say "hello" almost daily so I chose not to confront my neighbor until I got a little more information from Dennis. But Dennis has been a bit more scarce lately (as have I) so the opportunity to feel the situation out hasn't presented itself. Now that the weather is warm, my neighbor, sometimes his girlfriend and sometimes other tattooed and mulleted friends come over to ride home-made and muffler-free mini-bikes around the ramp or the woods behind the hangars. This guy is the very definition of a nuisance to me. But he's probably not a bad guy. If I had him as a neighbor at home this would be a bigger problem. Earplugs can solve most problems at the airport--at least those which don't involve chemicals and secondhand pot smoke. But this once idyllic home away from home is now a place I dread visiting because this guy is operating there every single day--all day. It is both his workplace and his playground. America is a free country we are told. And people are mostly free to ride loud mini-bikes and smoke whatever. But are they free to do these things at a privately owned airport? And if you are wondering why I haven't acted more aggressively it is mainly because I need to be sure this guy isn't a friend of either Dennis or the airport's owner before I press it. And honestly I am still unsure if I am in the right. We all know that airport politics can be a very delicate thing. Hangar space is at a premium in NJ and if I play this wrong I could easily be kicked out. I've seen it happen here before.
I've got a new neighbor at my airport and I want to see (1) if I am just hypersensitive and in the wrong. And (2), assuming my gripe is legit, do I have any standing? I've got a great hangar. It's a half T perfectly sized for a single-place Pitts and it's otherwise uselessness makes it priced reasonably (by NJ standards). This January I noticed that my neighbor in the full sized T next door had changed. I couldn't see him because the weather was cold and his door was closed. But I could hear him and I could smell him. "Hear", because he likes music and he likes it loud. "Smell", because he has a pretty loyal pot habit. It got so bad that I limited the work I was doing because I was concerned that inhaling enough secondhand smoke might risk a failed drug test at work. (I guess secondhand pot smoke makes you paranoid
). A few days later the weather was warmer and his door was open. I could see that my new weed-loving friend was not, thank goodness, a pilot but rather a somewhat redneckish race car mechanic. OK he might not be a redneck. I grew up around rednecks and at times was one myself. It's a harsh judgement to throw at others. Let's just say that he, and later his girlfriend, very much looked the part. He has three "race" cars in various levels of rebuild. Above the cars he has assembled a nice tier where he stores spare parts and spare tires. I've seen him perhaps a dozen times now. (I don't get out there much anymore) We've said 'hello' but so far haven't talked. He generally keeps his door closed and his amp dialed at 11. I don't know if he is unfriendly or if he just senses that I am not a fan. I don't always give off the most welcoming vibe.Mixed with the pot smoke one day was the smell of a fairly harsh chemical. I have never painted so honestly I don't know if it was paint. And to this day none of the three cars appears painted so maybe it was stripper or something else. On that first day It was 20 degrees outside but the smell was enough that I had to keep my door open and work in the cold. There have been other "chemical days" but fortunately none quite so strong. In the past, Dennis, our airport manager tends to come by to say "hello" almost daily so I chose not to confront my neighbor until I got a little more information from Dennis. But Dennis has been a bit more scarce lately (as have I) so the opportunity to feel the situation out hasn't presented itself. Now that the weather is warm, my neighbor, sometimes his girlfriend and sometimes other tattooed and mulleted friends come over to ride home-made and muffler-free mini-bikes around the ramp or the woods behind the hangars. This guy is the very definition of a nuisance to me. But he's probably not a bad guy. If I had him as a neighbor at home this would be a bigger problem. Earplugs can solve most problems at the airport--at least those which don't involve chemicals and secondhand pot smoke. But this once idyllic home away from home is now a place I dread visiting because this guy is operating there every single day--all day. It is both his workplace and his playground. America is a free country we are told. And people are mostly free to ride loud mini-bikes and smoke whatever. But are they free to do these things at a privately owned airport? And if you are wondering why I haven't acted more aggressively it is mainly because I need to be sure this guy isn't a friend of either Dennis or the airport's owner before I press it. And honestly I am still unsure if I am in the right. We all know that airport politics can be a very delicate thing. Hangar space is at a premium in NJ and if I play this wrong I could easily be kicked out. I've seen it happen here before.
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