The Hiller Instinct: Air Wars

But to others, these Shuttle America turbo props spell relief from the congestion at Boston's Logan Airport and the noise it brings to nearby neighborhoods:

Neighbor
"They need to share the burden. That's all we're asking for."

And so, Hanscom Field, located just 12 miles west of Boston and long a center for private planes, has become a battleground over commercial flights.

Mark Cestari, VP Shuttle America
'It's an air war."

War is nothing new here. The first battle of the American Revolution is still re-enacted on Lexington green. And Concord's North Bridge, where the "Shot Heard Round the World" was fired, now anchors one end of Minuteman National Historical Park, which tries to maintain the look and fee of our nation in 1775. Commerical airplanes collide with those memories, says the chairman of a committee composed of the towns surrounding Hanscom:

Peter Enrich, Hanscom Area Towns Committee
"We see ourselves as the custodians of some national historical treasures here and they are going to be severely damaged by the increased use of Hanscom."

Minuteman National Park's Superintendent calls busy route 2A "battle road" because of its historic location. She sees all the cars travelling through the park, and more and more of them turning into Hanscom, and worries that . . .

Nancy Nelson
"In years to come, there will be very little left of the historic landscape that the towns have so carefully protected over the years."

Mayor Thomas Menino, (D) Boston
"Are their historical parks better than our historical parks? I doubt it"

Mayor Thomas Menino, (D) Boston
"Ah . . . so the people near Hanscom want to live first class and they want you to live coach class? That's basically what it's all about."

Karen Buttiglieri, East Boston
"I see it as the haves and the have-nots,"

Karen Buttiglieri
"they bought homes near an airport, just as i did. If it's too much for them, then they should leave, they should move."

That may be hard, but good advice, given what Hanscom offers passengers:

Mark Cestari, VP Shuttle America
"Convenience MOs"

And 7 News has obtained a Massport document listing Chicago, Atlanta, and Minneapolis among other potential Hanscom routes.

So forget about commercial airlines bowing out to history at Hanscom.

Mark Cestari, VP Shuttle America
"To many people, Shuttle America is enhancing the quality of life, not detracting from it."

History says when tradition and growth collide, tradition is usually in trouble. So the towns that helped win the Revolutionary War are probably going to lose this one.

No surprise, this air war is also being fought in court. Boston has an injunction blocking expansion at Logan. And opponents of commerical flights at Hanscom are trying to shut down Shuttle America.