Channel 7 Interview | Facebook Comments

• Mitch Burton
  Connor Herman so Connor my question to you is when you fly west out of the airport do you need to turn north and fly right over houses in Superior when you could just as easy continue 2 miles west and your in open space. Can you answer that for me. I ride my bicycle over in the open space west of Superior and I see planes coming in from that direction.
  
• Connor Herman
  Mitch Burton Happy to answer that! The short answer is that you’re required to comply with ATC instructions. When you head to the practice area (area around Panama/Union reservoirs), you turn northbound at about 500 feet AGL. You want to get out of the departure path as quickly as possible, because it’s a busy airport and you might have faster traffic behind you. Going west after takeoff means you’re directly in the extended centerline of 12/30RL.
  
  The path to the practice area is roughly the V81 airway (1° magnetic north track), which flies directly over Louisville.
  If you’re landing 12L/R, ATC will often tell you to enter a left base, and that’ll put you over Superior as part of your track. Another minor reason is that flying as far west as you’re suggesting, you begin to incur on BDU’s departure/arrival path, which is to be avoided.
  

Another thing to consider regarding the comment about extending the upwind further west on a takeoff from 30R is that for the past ~14 months, the Air Traffic Control Tower has been on limited staffing due to the pandemic. As such, traffic that would normally make a left to enter the pattern for 30L pattern work over Standley Lake has been instead turning north to head to Longmont, Erie, Boulder, Fort Collins, etc to fly pattern. That could result in the increase in apparent traffic turning north over superior and Louisville. Hopefully the Tower at Rocky Mountain can get back to full capacity soon to be able to handle pattern traffic in that pattern south of the airport where there are many fewer houses. That should result in fewer planes heading north to do laps in the pattern when they can just do it at Metro. I personally flew up to Boulder a couple weeks ago for pattern work/practice because Metro's Tower was unable to accommodate pattern work at the time.

What People are Saying

"Student pilots from RMMA are constantly flying over our previously-quiet neighborhood in Boulder, spewing lead exhaust, flying low and loud. It is only a matter of time until there is an accident and death. Increasing traffic further is just insanity."​

"I moved to Colorado five years ago. The airport was there first and for the first three years there was no problem. We all very peacefully coexisted. It was exciting and rewarding to meet other pilots. Now it is embarrassing to be a pilot in Colorado. Two years ago, RMMA drastically expanded operations well beyond the social contract that the airport had with the surrounding communities. Expanding it further is incomprehensible and must be stopped. Property values are already being affected and eastern Boulder County is acting as a credit card for these operations and leaving us with the bills."

"It only seems reasonable to think this out as traffic grows."

"The increased air traffic over the last 7 years is out of control. It’s impacting our quality of life. Why is it okay for JeffCo to have an airport and reap the economic benefits while Boulder County residents bear the brunt of the negative impacts?"

"The single engine planes start dive bombing our house as early as 0530 in Rock Creek, Superior. The repetitive patterns directly over our house show zero concern for our well being.
Time to reroute at least half of the horrible noise. We suggest some of the flight schools be moved to Longmont airstrip that takes off over sparsely populated lands west of the airport. Please respect our rights to peace in our homes!"

"I'm signing this petition because, as a 21 year resident of Louisville, the noise from these low flying planes (and the potential for a catastrophic error) has become both extremely concerning and outright obnoxious. It is ridiculous that the air traffic has changed so much over our little town and the adjacent towns near us. RMMA must undergo a master plan revision."

I'm tired of being woken up every morning at 5:30 a.m. by flying lawnmowers. We live in Louisville directly under the RMMA flight path.

"RMMA is a beast that is out of control. Move it out of this residential setting and start over with sanity."

"RMMA flight school traffic drove me from my Gunbarrel home. I worked for 20+ years to make it my forever home, but in the end I had to move in order to save my sanity. It was very costly emotionally and dollar-wise, and I'm still paying the price. RMMA uses east Boulder Country as a free asset, while residents pay the externalized costs in noise, particulate, and lead pollution. The situation is fundamentally exploitative. The unmanaged growth in GA traffic in Boulder County is obscene."

"The noise from RMMA has noticeably increased over the years."

"You should always do the environmental assessment and accept public comment."

"The noise from airplanes taking off from RMMA is out of control and constant. There has been a dramatic increase since the time when I first moved to the area in 2002."

"Growing up in JeffCo, I know how close to Boulder and the foothills, with their dangerous wind bursts - this is NOT a good idea!"

"I now live in Lafayette, CO. After 5 years away I was amazed at the increase in air traffic. I am a physician and am concerned by the effects of noise and lead on our health."

"The flight school operations are the biggest problem. Federal law requires these flights to fly at least 1000 feet over residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately, flight schools (I'm looking at you, "Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology") illegally fly at altitudes that are less half that during their looping "touch and go" flights, which often contain over 10 repeating loops per flight. This happens several times a day, often as early as 6 AM."

"The noise from the airport is unbearable now. From very early in the morning to deep into the night, every day! A lot of us living in this neighborhood are having sleeping problems these days due to the noises. RMMA gets to be reasonable about their activities near a living community!"