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.
