Noise complaints at the Ken Jernstedt Airfield are on the rise and, in response, the Port of Hood River is initiating an extensive public outreach campaign to help understand how the airport is being used, and what can be done to mitigate impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Following an increase in airport usage a few years ago, the port initiated the Fly Friendly program, which encourages visiting and resident pilots to adhere to a set of guidelines designed to minimize noise impacts. “At this point, it’s been going for about a year and a half, and it looks like it’s time to revisit that,” said Anne Medenbach, development and property manager for the Port of Hood River, during an Oct. 22 port commission meeting.
“I think the uses (of the airport) are changing; you’d think that it’d be changing in a way that, along with the Fly Friendly (program), have made things better, but there was a spike in complaints this summer, and why is that? Is there some other reason, some other use?” said Port Director Michael McElwee, adding some of the complaints can be attributed to increased usage by the Soaring Club, a change in Tac Aero’s operations, and a certain flight pattern that some local tech companies use in early morning trainings.
“I think the successful component of the Fly Friendly program was that we were able to understand that, yes, we have impacts now, and also educate both the flying public and the non-flying public about our role and how the airport works,” said Medenbach. “I think that was very valuable for that whole process, and I think it’s one of those processes that is something you constantly have to revisit, to remind the flying public that it is a Fly Friendly airport … (and) continue to educate and work with impacted neighbors and community members in regards to what can we do to help mitigate some of that.”
The survey and data-collection process will take approximately a year to complete, Medenbach said, and will partially overlap with the port’s efforts to update its Strategic Business Plan, a document that’s intended to guide the port’s goals, decisions and operations. The plan was last updated in 2013, for use 2014-2018.
“I thought while we were revisiting that noise impact and neighbor impact component, it would be a good idea also to take this opportunity, while we were doing the Strategic Business Plan and really look into how our airport is being used, how it should be used, how people want it to be used, and try to get as much input from local users and impacted people as we could during that process,” Medenbach said.
In addition to public surveys, Medenbach said she will need to ask pilots to share their flight data and do on-site data collection at the airport this summer, in order to gain an accurate understanding of how the airport is being used.
“There’s a lot to gather here so that we can determine what it is they might be able to do to change things,” said McElwee. It will take some time for the port to develop surveys and outreach material, but the public can expect to see a schedule in the airport’s upcoming November newsletter.
The Ken Jernstedt Airfield is a general aviation public airport located approximately two miles south of Hood River, adjacent to the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM). It’s non-controlled (which means it has no air traffic control tower) and it is designed to accommodate planes up to the size of a small jet.
The airport serves approximately 15,000 flight operations annually, storing approximately 100 aircrafts on-site, according to the Port of Hood River. The Airport Advisory Group is holding its next public meeting at WAAAM on Nov. 14 at 3 p.m.
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