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. _ <br /> m■■. <br /> • <br /> - -Section V. SUMMARY , <br /> , . Some people have recently argued that PDK is used primarily by pleasure <br /> - flyers on the weekend. Other equally erroneous critics suggest that the <br /> airport would be better converted to a shopping center since it is of so <br /> little value to the county. - <br /> This analysis demonstrates that such views have little, if any, sub- <br /> stance in fact. In 1979, almost 60 percent of the take-offs and landings <br /> were made by itinerant aircraft. Since 1975, itinerant aircraft operations <br /> at PDK have increased at a rate five times greater than local operations. <br /> The airport is a base for approximately 448 aircraft -- from single-engine <br /> machines in great variety and sophistication to jet aircraft capable of <br /> high-speed, long-distance travel. Owners reflect the DeNalb County and <br /> metropolitan Atlanta economic spectrum. Many of the planes are privately <br /> owned. Many are owned by corporations -- some outside the county. The <br /> current value of based aircraft at PDK is well over $26 million. <br /> To service these planes and the thousands of transient (visitor) planes <br /> which use the airport every day, the three fixed-base *raters with 214 <br /> employees generate an annual business volume of $23.6 million. In many <br /> ways, PDK is a shopping center. It provides an opportunity to buy and sell <br /> new and used airplanes, parts and services. <br /> Does this economic activity hold any significance for the county? It <br /> does, in a very substantial way. For 1979, taxes paid directly to the <br /> county totaled $309,150 for activities at PDK. Also, the airport produced <br /> an operating surplus of over $80,000. Thus, DeKalb County realized a direct <br /> • <br /> -27- <br /> . 14•ifileig.siLip.ogoost Ansoc,am <br />