Petition to Make Massey Airpark Safer and Quieter

Dear Edgewater City Council Members:
Mayor Michael L. Thomas
Councilwoman Debra Jean Rogers
Councilwoman Gigi Bennington
Councilwoman Harriet E. Rhodes
Councilman Ted Cooper
Acting City Manager Tracey T. Barlow

As you are probably aware, several complaints about safety concerns and excessive aircraft noise have been brought to the city's attention over the last several months. Within the last couple of years the amount of flight operations at Massey Airpark has increased dramatically from around 50 flight operations a day to upwards of 300 to 500 flight operations per day. On many occasions there have been 3 and 4 airplanes in the pattern at a time at this airpark placing an airplane over or around residents' homes as often as once a minute. The vast majority of this increase is due to commercial fight schools not based in the city of Edgewater. Several flight schools' aircraft use this facility on a regular basis; however Epic Aviation of New Smyrna Beach and Phoenix East Aviation of Daytona Beach are the main users of this runway. These two flight schools have accounted for approximately 80% of the flight operations per day at this airpark for the better part of the last two and a half years. Before that time the flight schools' presence was minimal. Massey Airpark is an uncontrolled airport (no control tower), thus pilots don't have the delays and limitations associated with having to use a control tower as they do with the New Smyrna Beach airport. These flight schools are using this facility more as a means of convenience than necessity, as there are times when there are more flight school aircraft using Massey Airpark than are using New Smyrna Beach Municipal airport. Their excessive touch and goes and other maneuvers have plagued residents living near the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport for many years, and they have finally overrun our once relatively peaceful neighborhoods and communities. On many occasions they have been seen unnecessarily putting nearby residents at risk by;

1)      flying low over houses unnecessarily,
2)      taking off downwind,
3)      making short approaches when landing (which involves banking very steep and low over houses),
4)      doing what is known as "engine out training" - engine failure simulation, a dangerous practice of cutting the engine during takeoff, turning around quickly and landing in the opposite direction, and
5)      flying simultaneous left hand and right hand patterns.

This activity can best be described as drivers ed. over our homes. In addition, national research reveals that excess aircraft noise causes a multitude of negative consequences and health risks such as mental stress, interruption of sleep and speech, and interference with normal living functions. It is next to impossible at times to enjoy a quiet conversation with family or friends on the porch or by the pool without airplane noise drowning you out every minute or so.

We feel that in light of the dramatic increase in air traffic and noise at and around Massey Airpark in the last couple of years it should be the obligation of the city to work out some type of agreement that addresses the safety issues and excessive noise generated by the commercial flight schools that are using their facility. If Massey Airpark is unable by law to prohibit certain people or groups from using their facility, at least they should have the ability to say how it is being used. Banning touch and goes and fly bys by the commercial flight schools would be a good start. Since no public access airport in Florida officially charges a landing fee, it should not be a problem for the owners of Massey Airpark to agree to some type of good neighbor policy that addresses these issues. With the upcoming noise study planned for the New Smyrna Beach airport, the situation around Massey Airpark is likely to worsen as flight schools make an attempt to lessen the impact of their noise on that airport. If the city feels that it cannot control or restrict the usage because of FAA airspace regulations, then the city should investigate some type of business use regulation. The moment an aircraft's wheels touch the ground, it should no longer be considered an airspace issue but rather a business use issue. The city should be able to regulate whatever type of activity occurs on any Edgewater business site.

We, the undersigned, feel that safety issues and excessive noise generated by the commercial flight schools using Massey Airpark have lowered the quality of life and property values long enough in our neighborhoods. We should not have to pay for other cities' inability to solve their own excessive aircraft problems by being subjected to it in our neighborhoods 7 days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. We fail to see any benefit these flight schools have on the city of Edgewater since they pay no Edgewater city permits, fees or taxes. We hope the city of Edgewater will support the rights of homeowners and residents in light of the fact that the rights of the offenders have gone unimpeded in our neighborhoods for well over two years.