South Carolina in one day

by Ron Schreck

(Gold Hill, North Carolina – July 4, 2008) -- Ron Schreck, 62, of Gold Hill, North Carolina pulls his tiny homebuilt airplane into the hangar behind his home on this pristine little airpark just 45 miles northeast of Charlotte. He has just landed at all of the 68 public use airports in the neighboring state of South Carolina.

On Independence Day of 2007 Schreck knocked off the 109 public use airports in North Carolina, so today’s effort was a natural next step. " Only 48 states to go" said Schreck as he settled down to enjoy a hamburger at the airpark community’s 4th of July picnic.

Schreck takes Shrek, the movie character, along for the ride.

Schreck made his record-breaking flight to call attention to the plight of general aviation airports in the Carolinas that are in danger of being closed down, mostly due to the development that accompanies the spread of population centers. "Many communities see the sale of their local airport to developers as a way to balance budgets. Strained by the loss of revenue as their tax base dwindles due to foreclosures and business failures, community leaders see a fast buck to be made by selling airport land to wealthy developers at fire sale prices. I am hoping that my flight today will call attention to local airports and all that they provide," said Schreck. "Airports are not built for pilots, they are built to support the nearby communities. There are almost 17,600 airports in the United States.

Approximately 5,500 are open for public use. General aviation, which includes all flying done in the United States except that done by the scheduled airlines and the military, serves the aviation needs of people living around all 17,600 airports.

Schreck built the RV-8 and has flown over 485 hours in the two years since the first flight in March of 2006.

In contrast, airlines operate into and out of fewer than 388 airports on a scheduled basis. In fact, more than half of all air carrier flights originate at 20 or so locations. If it were not for general aviation, air transportation would not serve the aviation needs of the total population, and the small and medium-sized communities would be isolated from the air commerce benefits available from major population centers."

A study conducted recently for the Commonwealth of Virginia, but applicable to other states, found that: Each dollar spent by aviation and/or aviation businesses generates an additional $1.52 in economic activity. For every job at the airport, nearly three are created in the visitor-related economy. Visitors arriving by air spend about $70 per day while in the area.

Schreck has been flying most all his life. A retired Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam veteran, Schreck flew for Piedmont Airlines and USAirways until he retired again at age 60. He now flies under contract for Orion Aviation of Siler City, North Carolina to support wildfire suppression operations for the US Forest Service and he also conducts aerial surveys of marine mammals for the US Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Schreck built the Van’s RV-8 aircraft that he flew today. The tiny, 2-seat, all-metal airplane is powered by a 180 horsepower Lycoming engine and is capable of speeds well over 200 MPH. In addition to making records, Schreck flies his RV-8 for two formation demonstration teams, Palmetto Flight, based in Columbia, SC, and TeamRV, based in Atlanta, GA. Both teams perform at airshows and fly-in’s throughout the southeast US.

It’s sunup and time to launch.

Once again, William Cook, a professor of mathematics at Georgia Tech, helped Schreck prepare for his flight. Cook has spent years developing algorithms to solve the "Traveling Salesman Problem" which has consumed mathematicians for years. The problem is simple: a traveling salesman has dozens of cities to visit and must find the shortest route to take in order to minimize travel time and maximize his profit. The solution is not so simple. Once the number of cities reach 12, the number of possible routes is into the billions!

"I just gave Bill the coordinates of the 68 airports I needed to visit and he came back to me with the optimum route" said Schreck. "I flew it exactly as planned." The route covered 1052 miles and Schreck completed the flight in ten hours and fifty-four minutes, including stops for fuel, which took one hour and twenty-two minutes. Schreck averaged a landing every eight and a half minutes. Cook provided the flight plan for Schreck’s tour of North Carolina airports in 2007 and the professor often cites the airport tour as an example of the utility of his algorithm.

"If news of my flight to all of South Carolina’s public use airports can make just one city or county official vote to keep their local airport, then I guess the effort is worth it," said Schreck.

Related link: The North Carolina tour

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