He just wouldn't take "no" for an answer and after two-years of tediously wrangling the bureaucracies of both local and national aviation rule makers, he was awarded that which was already his; the right to land and take-off in his ultralight at a publicly funded, county operated airport.

Bill Bardin, veteran USUA Advanced Flight Instructor and owner/operator of Ultralights of Sacramento, an ultralight flight school out of Lodi Linds Airport near Sacramento, California, says his efforts paid off when the Federal Aviation Administration overturned a ban on ultralights that county officials had imposed in 1999. The victory strikes a blow for ultralighters everywhere who may be suffering unlawful discrimination by local government and airport authorities.

"I was in the hangar between training hops when my wife, Velma called," says Bardin, "she read me the FAA's findings and I was elated." An excerpt from the FAA finding reads: "Based on the record in this proceeding, the Director's Determination finds that the County of Sacramento, owner and operator of Franklin Field, is in violation of its Federal obligations as set forth in the 1947 Quitclaim Deed ; and the prohibition against exclusive rights as set forth in the applicable Federal grant agreement".

"Finally, justice has been done!", says the elated Bardin.

The dispute was over ultralight access to Franklin Field, a small airport near Lodi, California. Franklin Field has two runways both just over 3000 feet. It is a popular airport for training because of its unobstructed runways and remote location. Bardin says he operated at Franklin without incident for years. Blending in with other general aviation aircraft by flying the same patterns and using two-way radio for traffic awareness. Safety violations have just not been a factor", says Bardin.

According to Bardin, "Their entire case was based on general assertions that the ultralighters in our area were contributing to unsafe operations. However, when I asked them to tell me about specific incidents involving specific ultralights they couldn't produce."

Citing safety concerns, "No Ultralight" signs had been posted at the front drive-in gates at Franklin Field over seven years before but airport operators didn't enforce those signs or the "ultralights prohibited" listing in the airport directory. Then, about two-years ago, new steel-poled, reflective signs went up at each end of the runways. "That's when I took it personally," says Bardin.

Bardin has over 6000 hours in 14 years of flying Ultralights. "I fly ultralights for a living. Velma is also involved in operating our business. We do over 700 introductory flights per year and about 10 per cent of those actually return and take lessons," he says.

Soon after airport and county officials started to enforce the ban on ultralights, Bardin made an appeal to the local FAA office. "The local FAA office ruled against us in that initial decision but I knew they had not decided on the facts of the case. I felt they had not fully investigated the matter and knew they had made a mistake. Also, I knew that, legally, a proper study had to be conducted by the FAA once a formal complaint like ours was made to them."

"When I decided to make a complaint to FAA Headquarters in Washington, DC I began looking around for guidance. USUA gave me some information but because FAA regulations had changed the information was incomplete. The FAA actually sent me step-by-step instructions on how to proceed."

"At first', according to Bardin, "there seemed to be no support from anyone. Tom Gunnarson, from USUA, came to a BFI clinic at Lodi and gave me the encouragement I needed. USUA was helpful along the way."

According to USUA Executive Vice President Tom Gunnarson, "the lesson here is to not give up when you are right. USUA can rarely fight these kinds of local battles effectively but we do help by providing guidance for the members when our help is needed. In this case Bill did the right things and gave ultralighters a big win."

According to Bardin, "I know there is a lot of prejudice that ultralighters are overcoming. Ultralight pilots are still recovering from a bad reputation we got years ago from poorly trained, or careless ultralight pilots and marginal aircraft designs. Now it seems we constantly have to prove ourselves just to have a chance to operate."

"In filing a formal complaint, there are many petty, nitpicking details to pay attention to, which can be discouraging. The FAA even lost our entire case for about four months. To their credit, when they found it, they called and asked if we wanted to continue our effort."

According to the FAA mandate Sacramento County has 60 days from the date of the notice to report how they intend to remedy the situation.

Since the finding came out Bardin and about 10 other ultralight pilots have been routinely flying into Franklin field.

Bardin told USUA that he will volunteer to help anyone in the nation with airport access problems. He may be reached at Ultralights of Sacramento, 916-488-2FLY or E-mail at ulsac@pacbell.com

According to USUA's Tom Gunnarson, "many times it is not necessary to take a case to the highest court in order to find a solution ; sometimes it is just a matter of enlightening airport operators ; we have resources available here at USUA to help members approach rulemakers at the appropriate level depending on the complexity of the problem."