Dear Editor,

You commend Supervisor Pete McHugh for "courageously" deciding to study alternative land uses for Reid-Hillview airport in order to find a new revenue source through alternative land use (Post editorial, March 27). Well, there's a fine line between "courage in the face of known adversity" and "foolishness because you don't know any better."

You correctly point out that Reid-Hillview is in part supported by the county's acceptance of federal grant money, so the county has legal obligations (not "complications") to continue its operation and support of the airport. You also correctly point out that Reid-Hillview has an important relief function in the face of increasingly busy operations at the Bay Area's three major airports, in particular San Jose International, that cannot be absorbed by the other two county airports in Palo Alto and San Martin. To reduce Reid-Hillview's group of beneficiaries to "private pilots" is shortsighted because it misrepresents the important economic role that general aviation plays. There are several flight schools on the field that provide employment and train many future commercial pilots, which are desperately needed over the next decades. In addition to the 404 in-use spaces owned and operated by the county, more than 200 other owners are currently on waiting lists to base their aircraft at Reid-Hillview many of them county residents paying high property taxes. Too numerous are the many other "big picture" economic and

Nevertheless, despite these arguments in favor of Reid-Hillview that are so obvious that you actually mention some of them yourself, you come to the conclusion that Supervisor McHugh is right to pursue alternative land use studies. Comparing apples and oranges, you cite the successful sale of county land surrounding the Elmwood jail in Milpitas as a model for how things can be done. However, while Reid-Hillview already is a valuable asset to the county, the land surrounding Elmwood was a collection of several smaller parcels with little or no use at the time of sale.

So, no credit to Supervisor McHugh for "his gutsy willingness to push the hot button on a controversial move" it's merely another display of saber-rattling in an election year to purport supposed fiscal responsibility.

Matthias Schwarz, private pilot (ASEL), Milpitas