I am relocating from Charlotte, NC to Chapel Hill, NC.  I have been checking
out the local airport options in Chapel Hill and it is kind of bleak.  The
local airport (about 3 miles away) has told me they will not allow an
experimental to tie-down.  When I explained that I have flown into the
airport MANY times and tied down overnight the airport manager said that was
okay (at $10 per night) but that I couldn't be a "monthly" renter (at $95
per month).

This is a real bummer.  The next closest airport is, at best, 30 minutes
away.

The airport in Chapel Hill (called Horace Williams) has been the subject of
lots of recent news, and was highlighted in AOPA last fall because the UNC
Chapel Hill, which owns the airport, had tried to close it last year.  The
state legislature mandated that it stay open for a variety of reasons, until
2005.

I am afraid that because the airport is privately owned (although by a state
supported institution) that I don't have a lot of recourse.  They do not
receive any federal funding, and apparently the university has been adamant
about not allowing experimentals monthly leases (production planes can get a
month to month lease).

Because they allow me to land and tie down nightly, it seems as though all
they are saying is I can't base there and get a preferred rate.  Sounds like
a public institution is discriminating on a financial basis...

Any thoughts??

Matt Hapgood