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Unsettled, but not up in the air... yet!
Story by Mac McCall, A..A.E. General Manager, Sedona Airport
Mac McCall, A.A.E.
General Manager • Sedona Airport
Arizona Airports Association’s
“Executive of the Year”
Major Story in Airport Business
Press Release
Sedona Airport Administration
For more information, Contact: Mac McCall at 928-284-4487
Sedona Airport Authority and Sedona Airport Restaurant
Agree to Three Year Lease Extension
Sedona Airport Authority, the non-profit agency which manages Sedona Airport announces a new agreement with Bob and Debbie Calia to extend their lease on the restaurant at Sedona Airport. The three year lease reflects a mutual desire to continue the restaurant’s presence at its current location after a limited remodeling and upgrading project is completed.
Sedona Airport Authority, the non-profit agency which manages Sedona Airport announces a new agreement with Bob and Debbie Calia to extend their lease on the restaurant at Sedona Airport. The three year lease reflects a mutual desire to continue the restaurant’s presence at its current location after a limited remodeling and upgrading project is completed.
Mac McCall, the airport’s general manger said the lease extension was the result of local resident and
pilot pleas to keep Sedona Airport Restaurant open. The airport’s board of directors agreed to continue the restaurant lease until August of
2009 with future options to be determined.
Sedona Airport Restaurant has been operated by the Calia’s since the early 1900’s. It is a popular place for breakfast, lunch and dinner by Sedona’s visitors and locals alike. Pilots fly to Sedona every day to relax and enjoy
the area’s scenery and dine at the restaurant. Commercial pilots flying charter aircraft
waiting for the passengers and fuel enjoy the restaurant and military pilots
flying cross country or on training missions take advantage of the restaurant
while they are re-fueling. McCall said “News the restaurant will remain open will be welcomed by the aviation community
as well as locals and tourists.”
Bob Calia said they plan on remodeling the kitchen as well as replacing carpet,
repainting the interior and exterior and in general freshening the entire
restaurant. The restaurant will be closed for a few weeks in July or August to
allow for the upgrading and remodeling. A few new items will be added to the
menu, but the restaurant will not change from its current theme.
The Calias have requested their faithful customers watch the newspaper for news
of the remodeling dates and official re-opening date. This website,
sedonaairport.org will also have information on the restaurant’s remodeling status.
The Sedona Airport
From Coyote Country to Premier Resort Destination
by Al Comello, president of the Sedona Airport Supporters Association
When the Sedona Airport started in 1955. it was basically a graded field on top
of flat desert mountain in the middle of Nowhere, Arizona. It was located on
top of a mountain five hundred feet above Sedona and was called Oak Creek
Airport. (Read story on the history of the airport.)
Over the last 50 years the airport has kept pace with Sedona’s evolution as a premier resort destination by continually improving it’s runways, taxi-ways, transient parking, hangar availability, fuel services and
overall attraction to drive-in and fly-in visitors.
Nicknamed the U.S.S. Sedona (SEZ) because of the mesa’s resemblance of an aircraft carrier, the airport developed a reputation and an
attraction. Few airports in the U.S. are like Sedona Airport – a pilot’s log book must have SEZ!
And the future is bright.
The next five years will usher in even more changes, moving Sedona Airport
forward into a special class of airport – a safe, beautifully designed and maintained, full service air “port” for the 21st Century flying tourist. It will be the envy of resort destination
airports throughout the world.
What’s Planned:
• A rebuilt 100’ wide hardened runway (Completed in 2005).
• Expanded tarmac to accommodate 40 additional “tie downs”.
• A new terminal building expansion with a top drawer restaurant on the second
floor overlooking the airport and the surrounding red rock countryside.
• A new, connected business environment for air tours, transient pilots,
corporate visitors, and airport visitors all in one modern, state of the art
airport terminal building.
• A Pilots Lounge for corporate pilot “day layovers”
• A secure baggage area for “airline” type service, when developed.
• An airport environment secured to FAA 9/11 standards
• A fully functional gps landing system
Sedona is assured its airport is ready for flying visitors of any kind. The
Sedona Airport will play a big part in the growth of affluent and adventuresome
travel visitors who make Sedona the “home” while on a fly-in vacation in Northern Arizona.
Part of the evolution of the Sedona Airport is a change in attitudes towards
concerns of land-bound citizens over aircraft sound (noise to some, music to
others). Over the past few years, the airport’s administration has addressed the issue of complaints about aircraft sound by
directly approaching the issue and investigating excessive noise complaints.
The airport's manager, Mac McCall visits the homes of those who have expressed
concern to determine if the airport can provide any assistance. It also checks
its own records of pilot visitors and aircraft operations to see if it’s possible to talk to the pilot who’s aircraft created this sound “issue”. Many times the issue was caused by an individual who does not reside in Sedona
and chose to fly lower than recommended. Sometimes helicopters from utility
companies, search and rescue, and military exercises are the offending party.
Sometimes, the airport can “educate” a pilot about its “good neighbor” policy and the presence of Wilderness Areas around Sedona and the 2,000 foot
AGL height request.
As an issue, most residents who have logged a complaint have come to appreciate
the difficulty in determining who created the sound and have learned what
causes aircraft sound is not necessarily the size of the aircraft, but the type
engine or prop or the pilot’s flying techniques. They have also been educated on the actual rights afforded
to pilots in America – noting that safety is always top of mind, not sound.
The airport invites all area residents and visitors to use the official “Noise Incident Form” to log a specific occurance of a sound problem. The form can be downloaded here
from www.keepsedonabeautiful.org website and faxed to 928-282-3911. The airport
responds to all incident reports. (see next article)
The airport administration participates in a local “action” committee SNAC – The Sedona Noise Abatement Committee. The group includes the airport and representatives of the Forest Service, Quiet
Skies Alliance, Keep Sedona Beautiful, The Friends of the Forest, and The
Sedona Airport Supporters Association. Representatives of the airport attend
all meetings, listen to issues discussed and educate the group on airport news,
development, and operations. This group is given the opportunity to talk to the
full board at regular airport meetings to address noise issues. This new
transparency of operations and communications has made a major difference in
community attitudes towards the airport and has made the airport’s management sensitive to community concerns.
The airport continues to be proactive in addressing community concerns and
attitudes. For example, the airport’s high pattern altitude (6,000’ for piston and 7,000’ for turbine) is 1,200 and 2,200’ above the runway and 1,700 to 2,700 feet above most homes helps mitigate some
sound concerns. Sightseeing fly-overs are requested to be at 6,500’ or above which is 2,200’ above most homes and hikers. The airport’s tourist overlook has been improved and has become one of Sedona’s most popular attractions. These are examples of efforts have greatly improved
the airport’s reputation.
Looking ahead, airport management is working to get the FAA to designate the
area around Sedona as a Class D Airspace and to authorize a contract control
tower operation. Issues of safety and improvement of airport operations are
noted in the applications to the FAA. There are high hopes a contract tower
operation will be in effect by the middle of this decade.
Al Comello
Sedona Airport Administration’s
“Aircraft Noise Incident Form”
The Sedona Airport Administration implemented an "Aircraft Noise Incident Form"
which was developed by the Sedona Citizen's Noise Abatement Committee (SNAC), a
community-consensus committee formed at the request of the airport’s Board of Directors. According to Mac McCall, A.A.E., the airport’s manager, the purpose of the form is to obtain a better understanding of the
frequency and intensity of aircraft sound in the greater Sedona area.
“We have entered a new era of cooperation and communications between the
different interests on airport related matters, especially sound issues,” McCall said. “This will structure the various observations involving aircraft sound over
Sedona and adjacent forests since all observations will be reported in the same
manner.”
The new noise incident survey form is filled out by airport personnel when they
receive a phone call regarding any aviation related observation. The caller is asked specific questions about the incident including what the
aircraft was doing, where the incident occurred, etc. The person making the observation may also fill out the survey and forward it to
the Sedona Airport Administration.
The completed surveys received by the Sedona Airport Manager are investigated
and in some cases action is taken. In addition, the incidents of sound
complaints will be compiled for later analysis.
McCall said these initiatives reflect a commitment by the airport to find
common ground and mitigate conflicting issues between interested parties. “Real progress is being made,” McCall added.
The Citizens' Noise Abatement Committee was formed at the request of the Sedona
Airport Administration Board of Directors at a recent Airport Master Plan
Committee to bring together a representative group from a broad cross-section
of the community to address concerns about aviation-related sound. The
committee meets once a month at the Keep Sedona Beautiful office on Brewer
Road.
The form is called The Noise Incident Form and is used on an ongoing basis.
Sedona Airport (SEZ), Sedona, Arizona • 235 Air Terminal Drive, Suite 1 • Sedona, AZ 86336
Phone: (928) 282-4487 • Fax: (928) 204-1292
