Episode 6: How Community Support Keeps Airports Alive | Jennifer Bares, 3GM

In this episode of Turning Base, we are breaking away from our usual format for a very special reason. We are hosting our first-ever guest interview, and the conversation brings things completely full circle for general aviation on the West Michigan lakeshore.

Brandon is joined by Jennifer Bears of the FBO at Grand Haven Air Park (3GM) and Vice Chairman of the Grand Haven Aviation Association. Our families have been interconnected in the local aviation ecosystem for generations, our grandfathers actually owned multiple aircraft together back in the 1950s and 60s, including a Piper Cherokee and a Tri-Pacer.

Decades later, we are still sitting down at the airfield to talk about airplanes, airport operations, and the future of general aviation infrastructure.

For pilots who haven't yet routed a cross-country leg into Grand Haven, 3GM is an absolute gem on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Because it sits right by the lakeshore, transient pilots and local skydivers are treated to some of the most spectacular aerial views in the country, with open water out one window and the sweeping Michigan dunes out the other.

Operationally, 3GM is unique for a smaller, non-towered general aviation field because it maintains two active, well-conditioned runways:

North-South Runway: about 2,000 feet long (currently undergoing a complete refurbishment).

East-West Runway: about 3,700 feet long (fully refurbished within the last five years).

Having two distinct runway headings is a massive safety and operational advantage for general aviation pilots managing shifting lakeshore crosswinds. The field also serves as a critical practice facility for Coast Guard crews and Army helicopter units.

Plus, it is engineered for easy pilot access, sitting just three to four miles from downtown Grand Haven, the field provides free courtesy bikes for pilots to explore the local shops.

Every general aviation pilot loves the convenience of an airport courtesy car or an on-field restaurant. In the aviation community, we call these little operational perks the "chef's kiss" of cross-country flying. They give us the perfect excuse to burn fuel for a "hundred dollar hamburger."

But running these perks at a smaller airport comes with a mountain of municipal red tape and hidden operational liabilities.

Grand Haven has tried to establish a permanent courtesy car for years, but because the airport is city-owned, local government support isn't there. For the Aviation Association to back the vehicle independently, the commercial insurance costs alone land between $4,000 and $5,000 annually. For a small non-profit association, accruing that structural overhead just isn't feasible.

Furthermore, from an FBO perspective, managing a courtesy car introduces severe liability risks that can expose an operator's personal insurance if the paperwork isn't airtight.

Thankfully, the modern landscape offers clean workarounds. With rideshare apps arriving fast on the field and local services like Harbor Transit moving their booking systems entirely online, pilots can get downtown quickly without the FBO incurring a massive insurance liability.

A major recurring challenge for general aviation airports is dealing with local municipal chambers or city councils that view a small runway as an unutilized "rich person's club." Recently, local groups even attempted to repurpose one of 3GM's runways to install an industrial park.

This lines up with a massive misconception: non-aviation neighbors assume that if an airplane isn't a massive commercial airliner, it isn't generating local revenue.

The reality is completely opposite. According to an MDOT economic impact study discussed during the interview, Grand Haven Airpark delivers a significant economic impact to the local community through tourism, business travel, and manufacturing activity.

Why? Because 3GM acts as a direct concierge gateway for high-net-worth tourism and critical B2B commerce:

Manufacturing clients regularly fly straight into 3GM to purchase and take delivery of custom, $10 million yachts built right in Grand Haven. They choose the small field because it avoids the congestion of Chicago or Grand Rapids and gets them to their business meetings instantly

Local business operations use the field to fly parts and products in directly, completely bypassing supply chain shipping delays.

Corporate lawyers, IT directors, and regional business owners use the non-towered autonomy of 3GM to fly themselves to client sites across the Midwest, maximizing their time and returning home the same day.

An airport runway is a time machine for local commerce. If a city cuts a runway, they aren't hurting a hobby club—they are severing a multi-million-dollar economic artery.

How do you protect a small airport from being closed down by local politicians? You stop marketing exclusively to pilots, and you start gathering the non-flying public.

Jennifer notes that the survival of a general aviation field depends entirely on holistic community support. At 3GM, this is driven by a deep historical legacy of community events designed to bring neighbors across the airport fence:

1. The Dawn Patrol Tradition
Dating back to a World War II operational concept where pilots patrolled the skies at first light and returned for a hearty breakfast, 3GM has hosted Dawn Patrol fly-ins since 1953. Historically, these events were massive, drawing up to 200 airplanes to the ramp and anchoring the field as a community landmark.

2. The Aviation Trunk-or-Treat
By combining a love for aviation with family-focused fun, 3GM now hosts the single largest Trunk-or-Treat event in the state of Michigan. Every October, over 8,000 non-pilots from the community flood the active airport ramp.

Kids get to walk up to real airplanes, look at the cockpits, and realize that aviation is an attainable reality. They meet the pilots and see that they are just regular neighbors down the street, completely breaking down the "mysterious rich club" stereotype.

These family-focused events create a slow, powerful snowball effect. When the city council suggests closing a runway to put in an industrial park, it’s no longer just a handful of pilots showing up to object. It’s thousands of local parents and community members standing up to protect the field because their families love the airport events.

Whether it’s historic F-100 Super Sabre jets on display at the entrance or cross-country gyrocopters dropping in right before a major lakeshore storm, general aviation fields are a dynamic, living piece of American infrastructure.

As we look toward the next decade, general aviation airports will form the bedrock for new infrastructure technologies, from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) managing local logistics to emerging flight technologies scaling regional air travel.

Building community awareness today ensures our runways stay paved tomorrow.

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