Being able to fly a light plane into LAX or any large airport is one of the most wonderful things about aviation in the US. It's not something that's done very often, but it's nice to know you can if you need to...and one doesn't even need to file a flight plan (though it sure speeds things up if you do, in addition to being a good practice). In this respect, I feel very privileged indeed. Even hang gliders are welcome in Class 'C' airspace, with notification. What fun!
One of the very worst things about the post-9/11 fallout is that for the first time, access to a U.S. civil airport (namely, DCA-Washington National) has been restricted only to airlines and government planes.
If light planes had anything to do with 9/11, I could see the logic...but it seems the 'logic' is the same that gives me a deadly crash axe close at hand in the cockpit, but takes away my Swiss Army knife in the terminal.
In this respect, the terrorists are winning...what freedoms we had are gradually being eroded away in the name of the 'war on terror'; this is particularly evident in our hobby/profession.
Hopefully this situation will reverse, we'll say, 'what the hell were we thinking?' but given the apathy of a cowed electorate here, I'm not too optimistic.
'They that can give up essential liberty in exchange for a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.'
-Benjamin Franklin
TT