Meeting Notes : Navigation Committee
Committee notes reflect the views and opinions of the committee members and not necessarily those of the Noise Compatibility Study Group, Coordinating Council, Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County, or the Consultant Team.
Attendees: Bob Adelberg, Robert Barker, Dannie Bennett, Terry Borne, Joel Cole, Dorn Crawford, Teresa Cusick, Mary Rose Evans, Emily Evans, Ben Finn, Buddy Helton, George Hudson, Susan Jaeger, Aaron Lucas, Roxanne Lucas, Bill Schocke, John Sistarenik, Bob Welch
The meeting was called to order shortly after 7:00 PM. The chair proposed that the meeting be devoted entirely to an exploratory exercise in flight track development, using enlarged maps, drafting tools, and the advice of visiting air traffic control principals. This was agreed. There were then distributed
• Notes of the previous meeting (January 21 portion)
• Enlarged noise contour maps and drafting tools
• High- and low-altitude aeronautical charts including the SDF area
• Approach plates and standard approach and departure manuals
• A3 handout maps of current and projected noise contours and land uses
Notes of the committee’s January 21 meeting were approved. The chair welcomed Buddy Helton, acting Chief of the SDF tower, who in turn introduced the three senior controllers accompanying him, Dannie Bennett, Joel Cole, and Susan Jaeger. The controllers responded to a number of general questions by committee members on air traffic control procedures and prospective refinements.
The chair then invited individual committee members to examine the available maps, charts and instruments with a view to exploring specific alternatives. Several small groups formed to discuss particular issues and ideas, with attending pilots and controllers providing subject matter expertise.
As the anticipated adjournment time neared, the chair asked a poll of members for insights coming out of the exchanges on the floor. Ideas proposed for further investigation included:
• Installing a localizer directional aid, or LDA, on the field that would permit the use of a divergent approach to runway 17R. This would potentially allow aircraft arriving from the north on the west runway to avoid overflying the UofL campus and the Old Louisville neighborhoods.
• Prescribing a procedure that would take aircraft further south before turning, in order to avoid higher-elevation neighborhoods in that area, like Thixton and Fairdale. This sentiment was seconded for areas north of the airport, like Floyd’s Knobs.
• Looking at both ground-based and airborne equipment that might improve fidelity to flight tracks, and proposing acquisitions if they help significantly.
• Applying standard approach and departure routes to all traffic, with fidelity determined by instruments available on the ground and in the aircraft.
• Examining holding and maneuver altitudes presently in use around high-elevation areas like Floyd’s Knobs, and examining possible adjustments.
• Installing a navigational aid north of the west runway (35L) that would help traffic avoid overflights of the University campus and other populated areas
• Restraints on visual approaches within specified distances of the airfield (5 miles has been suggested by the consulting team).
Committee members and guests exchanged a large number of insights and ideas, but have yet to get ‘pencils on the map’ to explore specific arrival and departure routes. This was anticipated as the main business of the next meeting, to be called as soon as additional information arrives on the timeline for formal analysis by the consulting team, and the subsequent Study Group meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.