Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Training Traffic topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cleveland board to convene flight schools on training-traffic safety; landing fees remain a last resort
Summary
Board members agreed to pursue a stakeholder meeting with flight schools, chief pilots and nearby airport managers to address high training-traffic volumes and safety at Cleveland Municipal Airport.
The Cleveland Municipal Airport Board agreed staff should pursue a convening of flight schools, chief pilots and nearby airport managers to address training-traffic volume and safety at the uncontrolled field.
Board members said training traffic from large flight schools has created high volumes in the airport traffic pattern at times, and that prior outreach by staff produced only temporary changes. Board member Greg Mogul urged a coordinated, multi-stakeholder meeting as the next step rather than immediate regulatory charges or fees.
Greg Mogul: “Is anybody else having the issue?… Is there a balancing strategy that can be employed by the flight schools?”
Staff and board members listed practical, nonregulatory steps first. Several members said a group meeting giving flight-school chief pilots a single forum to organize scheduling and distribute training activity could reduce peak congestion. Staff suggested the board provide a list of primary flight schools and invite them to discuss voluntary mitigation measures.
The board also discussed landing fees and indicated they are an undesirable, last-resort option. Erin Gordon summarized reasons staff and the board have resisted landing fees: “That’s a very last resort, literally.” She explained federal guidance requires fees be applied uniformly to airport users and that landing fees often do not generate net municipal revenue on general-aviation fields; staff and board said they prefer collaborative solutions that preserve fuel and concession revenues from visiting aircraft.
Members raised other operational matters tied to safety and business development. Staff reported the Airport Layout Plan RFQ closed Jan. 31 and that TxDOT will collect submissions and return recommendations for consultant selection. Staff noted a pending RNAV GPS approach to Runway 34 is near completion at the FAA, and that certain landing aids and lights remain under maintenance: a PAPI/VASI unit is out (recorded in NOTAMs), some lights are under warranty, and the rotating beacon appears warped and under review.
Board members urged restoration of taxiway striping and repainting of short lines to improve runway/taxiway visual cues and recommended the city’s public-works striping crew or a contractor be engaged. Staff said some newer hangars have sewer stubbed but restrooms are unfinished; the city plans a septic system to support restroom amenities for future hangars.
City staff also reported fuel-sale volumes for recent months to provide context on airport activity and the effect of not yet having a fuel truck: November Avgas 3,691.5 gallons and Jet 658.1 gallons; December Avgas 2,744.6 gallons and Jet 32.4 gallons; January Avgas 3,006.5 gallons and Jet 1,521.1 gallons. Staff said jet fuel sales have trended upward since December despite the lack of a fuel truck.
No board vote was taken on training-traffic restrictions; instead members directed staff to organize and facilitate the stakeholder meeting as a first step.
