AVIATION ON THE INTERNET:
        Warp Speed

From pilot supplies to weather maps, there's no shortage of subjects with sites on the Internet devoted to aviation and airports. Some are just plain fun to visit, and some have a serious message with a call to action to save the local airport.

Some state government transportation departments that responded to information requests from the Wolf Aviation Fund maintain and update Internet sites that exhibit a great amount of support for the airports in their system and the role they play as regulators. In other parts of the country, there is an information void that has been filled by the private sector, putting local and state aviation and airport information onto the worldwide web.

In some states, they have the best of both worlds -- informative state-controlled websites and privately run sites. The Florida Department of Transportation's aviation office maintains a site with airport locators and other information, including the latest about the Florida Commission on the Future of Aeronautics and Space in Florida. Coupled with www.floridapilot.com, a site that that brings aviation news to a more aviation-inclined audience, you could say Florida has woven a good web to capture anyone's interest.

The Internet is clearly becoming the first line of research for millions of people. Unfortunately, airport opponents know that all too well. Sites dedicated to airport noise, such as www.caan.org, provide anti-airport information from New Jersey in the east to Seattle in the west. They provide links to like-minded organizations and they trade information, negative information and how-to's: how to get local officials motivated against an airport; how to get opinion leaders to block improvements; how to encourage curfews; how to close the airport.