Aerospace district in Hilo

[Susan]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/break...94085.html

My first thought was "What have these guys been smoking?"

An aerospace district in downtown Hilo?

What's the reality on this Puna Webbers?

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[Kapohocat]

the reality is that the Big Island will resist anything that may be economically profitable and allow our young UH graduates to use their education here at home.

Years ago (maybe early 90's), there was a proposal to put a flight simulator in at ITO.

For those of you who dont know what a flight simulator is - it is basically boxes housed in a big warehouse, and you sit in the box and the inside of the box has the look and the feel of the inside of a cockpit, and the box mimics the movements of a plane but never leaving the ground.

Why do I sound so dryly sarcastic? Because there were protests galore to keep this flight simulator company out of Hilo airport area.

1) Didnt want more flights into Hilo. <<< This one made no sense as it was a flight SIMULATOR. On the Ground. Does not move.

2) Was going to cause more traffic in Hilo. <<< This one made no sense as you cant put 500 people a day through the simulator. Maybe 5-10 in a 24-day.

3) Flight noise. <<<< In a warehouse in a insulated box???

No matter how much the parties that wanted the simulator supplied background, examples, etc, Hilo fought it.

So instead our young people who want to be pilots go 1) military 2) flight schools in AZ or FL. Call HIAirlines and ask them where their pilots do their supplemental training each year?

So aerospace district? I would be surprised if it actually happened. But Hilo cant not survive on the Merrie Monarch alone.

[Radiopeg]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I sure would like to see more jobs that are not just service industry types, but use your brain and your schooling types.

Peace and long life

[Susan]

What made me shake my head was the comment about the Hawaii Island being a great location to launch commercial space flight. There has been so much negative dialog about the Thirty Meter Telescope project that I had to laugh about a space launch. Wish I could do a Puna type video spoof of that.

The laid back attitude and closeness to nature is what I love about the east side of Hawaii. A lot of that is possible due to the lack of big business and technology. Could you house an aerospace facility downtown Hilo without ruining all its charm? Why wouldn't they move it mauka away from the tsunami threat?

How do you balance the need for jobs, technology and better health care while keeping the east side of Hawaii a natural wonder?

Every day hubby and I try to figure out how to leave the hustle and bustle behind. We need tech jobs on island for a handful of years until retirement.

[missydog1]

Sounds interesting!
They shouldn't put in the tsunami zone though. I would think the insurance costs there would be 'astronomical."

I wonder if the aerospace industry is stable now. My father (a mathematician and early computer programmer) put his career into aerospace only to see massive layoffs and the whole industry bust. When the government funding or commercial investment dries up, the industry seems very prone to leaving people unemployed.

What exactly do they mean now by aerospace?
When my dad was in it, the purpose was designing spacecraft for leaving the earth's atmosphere, but this was at the time of Gemini, Apollo, etc..

I like that they are thinking outside the box regarding tourist attractions.
I am all for more high tech jobs in East Hawai'i. We're not going to turn into Silicon Valley ... we just need more job fields that require skill and brains. Keeping our graduates employed here is a good thing.

[Kapohocat]

quote:

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Originally posted by Susan...
Every day hubby and I try to figure out how to leave the hustle and bustle behind. We need tech jobs on island for a handful of years until retirement.

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And herein lies the dilemma. Do we send our kids away till they are old enough to come back and retire? After they have put down other roots somewhere?

I have a friend who grew up here - she graduated from Hilo HS and went to UH Hilo. Lucy lives in TX now, and she comes to Kapoho every summer for 2 weeks so she can see a few friends and family. Her kids grew up in TX, and the Big Island is not home to the them. They have started there families there, so now Grandma Lucy comes back usually alone. Lucy and her hubby would move here in a sec now that they are ready to retire but moving 4000 miles from the grand kids? nevah gonna happen.

[terracore]

Even with substantially worse weather Alaska has a commercial space port: http://www.akaerospace.com/