Pilots in North Las Vegas prove you can fight City Hall, taking pro-active steps to stop a federal ban on experimental aircraft at North Las Vegas Airport (VJT) and participating on a committee that has come up with recommendations that will benefit pilots, the airport and its neighbors.

The attempt to limit experimental aircraft at the airport came after the crash of a Velocity on Aug. 22, 2008. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the homebuilt, which had about five hours on the airframe, was on a flight to test the aircraft’s performance with an engine boost from a non-certified, belt driver supercharger normally used in cars. The Velocity failed to gain altitude above 300 feet and within 30 seconds of departure crashed into a home located in a densely populated area one mile from the airport. Two people in the home and the pilot were killed. Media reports about the crash played up experimental aircraft as inherently dangerous. Critics of the airport called for banning all experimental aircraft and the removal of so-called “high-risk activities,” such as flight training and student solos.

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