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Cottonwood council accepts airport traffic-pattern study and endorses voluntary noise‑abatement steps
Summary
Council accepted a Kauffman/Coffman airspace and runway analysis that reported 61,195 operations in 2025 and recommended voluntary measures — early turns by experienced pilots, discouraging straight‑out departures and clarifying chart‑supplement language — and voted to update the FAA chart supplement accordingly.
The Cottonwood City Council voted to accept the airport traffic‑pattern and runway‑use analysis and to change the FAA chart supplement language to reflect the study’s recommendations and the airport manager’s guidance. City airport manager Rod Probst introduced Corey Lewis of Coffman Associates, who said the airport recorded 61,195 operations in calendar year 2025 and summarized alternatives the team evaluated, ranging from changing the calm‑wind runway to encouraging voluntary early turns for certain departures.
Lewis said the study judged alternatives on safety, feasibility, implementation authority and likely pilot adoption. He described three measures the study recommended for further consideration: encouraging an early turn between roughly 500 and 800 feet above ground level for pilots able to do so, discouraging straight‑out departures on Runway 32 when acceptable alternatives exist, and clarifying chart‑supplement and airfield signage to present a consistent, voluntary noise‑abatement message. Lewis and Probst emphasized the city cannot lawfully order pilots to fly specific profiles and that the FAA has control of the airspace; the city’s role is to recommend voluntary practices and to publish guidance via the chart supplement and a possible pilot guide.
Residents and pilots debated tradeoffs. Bill Wagnon and other public commenters cited data and safety concerns about early‑turn recommendations and urged careful consideration; Wagnon said, “If aircraft are already flying near 1000ft AGL, formally raising the traffic pattern for a simple reduction in noise intensity would not materially change where aircraft are flying now.” Council members and staff noted the study’s limits and the constraints set by federal law and FAA grant assurances, but said coordinated pilot outreach and clearer chart language could reduce community impacts.
After discussion, council adopted a motion to accept the study’s recommendations and to incorporate revised language into the FAA chart supplement and related pilot communications. The motion passed unanimously. Council and staff said next steps include drafting consistent chart‑supplement language, updating airfield signage, publishing a pilot guide and continuing dialogue with flight schools and operators on voluntary measures.
