Photos from Day 2 (yesterday) of PBI’s reincarnation as DJT (“Donald J. Trump International Airport”)…
A nod to Donald Trump’s famous passion for fine art:
Purely functional signage:
Note that the (1988) terminal remains dedicated to Navy fighter pilot David McCampbell, who became famous by shooting down airplanes (maybe not the best possibility to remind passengers of as they check their bags?) and then retired to Palm Beach County:
The history of the airport is preserved:
The renaming is a rather bizarre turn of events given that Trump has been the airport’s worst enemy ever since he purchased Mar-a-Lago, notably in obstructing the expansion of 10R/28L to accommodate “real airplanes” and, thus, add flights (now it is just 3214×75′ vs. 10001×150′ for 10L/28R). Mar-a-Lago is indeed almost directly in line with 10R so Trump’s fight against the airport wasn’t irrational. This article describes a history of conflict going back to 1995:
A 1995 lawsuit by Trump over airport noise ended with the county agreeing to lease Trump the land where he later built Trump International Golf Club. A 2010 lawsuit by Trump over airport noise was dismissed.
Here’s the geometry that makes the conflict inevitable:
In a similar vein, SEQ* and Trump National Golf Club** are located two miles apart in Bedminster, New Jersey, a toney suburb 40 miles WSW of Columbus Circle. The president spends a lot of his vacation time at TNGC and when he does SEQ is shut down completely.
* http://www.somersetairport.com
** http://www.trumpnationalbedminster.com
“Why does an airplane need box after box of avionics given that a modern smartphone has an AHRS, a GPS, multiple radios, a high-res display, a massive database of charts, and nearly everything else that anyone would want in an aircraft panel? ” The author is aware, I’m certain, that the iPhone and iPad will shut down when overheated. Steam gauges for the win!