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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission - 01/08/2026Approved Minutes Eden Prairie Flying Cloud Airport Commission Meeting 7 p.m. Thursday, January 8, 2026 City Center Heritage Room 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Chair Dan Dorson, Vice Chair Marc Morhack, Vinod Pillai, Nick Rogers, Warren Loken, Laura Herrmann (Business Representative), Robert Dockry (Airport Manager) Student Representatives: Jiya Nair, Avery Robinson, Om Roshan, Liam Kremer, Ava Mahan- Cleveland, Kaavaya Checka, Ava Willette, Kira McDowell, Zyva Iqbal MAC Staff: Ryan Anderson, Michelle Ross City Staff: Rik Berkbigler, Staff Liaison, Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary MEETING AGENDA I. Call the Meeting to Order Vice Chair Morhack called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Commission Members Dorson, Pillai, and Herrmann and MAC staff Ross and Lewis and student representatives Robinson, Kremer, Mahan-Cleveland, Willette, McDowell were absent. Dan Albing, new traffic manager at Flying Cloud tower, joined the meeting. II. Approval of Agenda MOTION: Rogers moved, seconded by Loken, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 3- 0. III. Minutes A. Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission meeting held Thursday, October 9, 2025 MOTION: Loken moved, seconded by Rogers, to approve the minutes of the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission meeting Thursday, October 9, 2025. Motion carried 3-0. IV. Public Comment FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 2 V. Focus Topics for the Meeting A. Proposed new flight procedures to help alleviate noise concerns Speaker: Dan Albing, FCM ATC Manager Albing introduced himself and summarized his work. He described for the student representatives his career trajectory as an air traffic controller and as a manager in the FAA and asked for questions. Morhack asked if there would be new flight procedures, and Albing replied a safety risk management assessment was being conducted. As a result, the use of two local controllers would be reimplemented as a standard operating procedure. Meetings were being held with pilots, FBOs, managers, and other stakeholders and procedures were being analyzed for safety. After this, a new training document would be drafted and implemented. Flying Cloud was one of the few facilities in the country that had a full complement of staff. Albing added there was a project being conducted with local flight schools at the airport to organize traffic so the controllers would have a predictable flight arrival in the airspace. Noise concerns would be secondary to safety and would incorporate the Fly Neighborly recommendations. The majority of the traffic would now be flying over highways and industrial areas. Dockry stated this was mostly for the routine VFR traffic. Albing agreed, adding without changing regulations and agreements. The aim was to get the controllers better set up for success, reduce unnecessary turns, and increase the situational awareness of pilots. Anderson added the safety and efficiency analysis was in line with the noise abatement polices in place and would have additional benefits. Morhack stated to his understanding there was a new agreement in place to create better coordination of approach, because historically the airport had to leverage the left runway to free up the right for the jets. He asked if this had been enacted. Dockry replied this had not been, but staff saw more utilizations of the south runway. Dockry asked Dan to describe what a center does as opposed to a control tower. Albing replied the air traffic control tower focused only on the traffic pattern at the airport, whereas a center monitored the en route structure and cruising traffic between airports. Rogers stated Flying Cloud was blessed to have a fantastic control tower at Flying Cloud, as there had been many times the controllers helped a confused flying student. Albing stated every controller is focused on the safety of the pilots coming in and out, and also cognizant of the surrounding community. VI. Standing Discussion Items A. Noise Report – MAC FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 3 Anderson gave the fourth quarter noise report. In the fourth quarter of 2025 there were 540 complaints, down approximately 77 percent from the fourth quarter of 2024. The breakdown was as follows: October: 275 complaints November: 161 complaints December: 104 complaints from 34 locations. There were also fewer training flights in December. In the fourth quarter of 2025 there were 140 nighttime complaints from 23 households compared to 169 nighttime complaints from 25 households in the fourth quarter of 2024. There were 27,339 operations in 2025 (799 nighttime) compared to 31,707 (895 nighttime) in 2024. The reduction could be due in part to the wintery weather in the last quarter of 2025. Morhack asked for and received confirmation two or three households provided the majority of complaints. Morhack stated the fourth quarter looked great; operations were only slightly down. Rogers asked if Operations tracked the runway used, and Anderson replied MAC staff did track down to the specific runway use, but the data became unreliable a times. They were trying to improve the data’s accuracy. The majority of operations were on the south parallel, which was in line with the Fly Neighborly guidance. Rogers asked for and received confirmation the south parallel was prioritized in the winter. Dockry confirmed the other runways were closed down. B. Ordinance 97 Monitoring – MAC Dockry stated there were six violations from three operators in October, one violation from one operator in November, and one violation from one operator in December, for a total of eight violations in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 18 in 2024. They were still sending out letters. Airport Incidents and Operational Updates – MAC Dockry stated there were many runway incursions in the fourth quarter of 2025. In 2024 there had been 12, but there were two pilot deviations gaining access to full runways, and three vehicle/pedestrian deviations. Two were from a stolen truck from a nearby town that crossed two runways, after which the driver tried to force his way onto an aircraft, then fled the airport. He then reentered the airport and gained access to another plane where he was detained. Mental illness was part of this, and he was taken to a facility. He had entered Executive Aviation while an employee was leaving. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 4 The other vehicle/pedestrian deviation was a drunk driver who drove onto the runway and was detained. There were also a number of emergency responses at the airport, all of which ended well. MAC staff would communicate with the control tower after pilot incursions, and Flying Cloud’s safety crew would conduct training. Anderson stated a report would be written, and the Flight Standard’s District Office would contact the pilot to get that side of the story and investigate the pilot of there was wrongdoing. Dockry added most pilots admitted their error. Morhack told the student representatives that most of the time, this was a collaborative endeavor. Dockry added MAC staff worked to prevent such incursions with preventative changes. Dockry announced the Wings of the North Air Fair would be held July 11, 2026, location TBD Girls in Aviation would be held September 19, 2026 Regarding airport improvements, Dockry announced staff removed all taxiway Alpha hangars to allow a free flow of traffic. Gates G and H had been redone. For 2026: Electric modifications would be conducted. There would be tower utilities and a beacon for the new air control tower. The north service road would finally be improved. The new tower would break ground in late spring and was expected to be operational late fall 2027. This was on a brief hold for now as FAA reevaluated agency priorities. He hoped to hear more later in January. C. Fly Neighborly Guide – MAC Anderson explained the changes and improvements to the draft. Professional voice-over would eventually be added. He would hopefully have a finished product to roll out for the busy summer training season, and he expected to have the completed draft by the next meeting. Loken asked if air traffic controllers could help direct pilots to use the south runway more often to avoid causing residential noise. Anderson reiterated that this was voluntary, done outside of air traffic control. It was not air traffic control’s job to give specific directions. Staff were working closely with their partners in air traffic control to ensure nothing was conflicting with any directions and to find a better balance in air traffic patterns. MAC staff would continue to find refinements in procedures and work with the flight schools. Iqbal suggested making the navigational arrows in the digi-guide larger. VII. OLD BUSINESS FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 8, 2026 Page 5 Flying Cloud Airport Tour Update Morhack stated the tour took place on October 22, 2025. It included Executive Aviation’s hangar of air ambulances, MAC’s snowplows, and the airport operations facility, as well as a tour of the entire airport perimeter, even crossing runways, and Premiere jet’s aircraft maintenance and hangars. Morhack had each student representative describe their favorite part of the tour. Discussion followed on a possible air traffic control tower tour, a spring Flying Cloud Airport tour, a St. Paul Airport Tour and an airfield tour at MSP. VIII. New Business Annual City Council Workshop Presentation – February Morhack explained that once a year the different City commissions went before the City Council to present their successes, achievements and work plans. He stated he helped Chair Dorson with this every year and asked for suggestions. IX. Upcoming Events and Topics for Future FCAAC Meetings Thunderbird Aviation event in February A possible spring tour of Flying Cloud Airport Wings of the North Air Fair, July 11, 2026, location TBD Girls in Aviation, September 19, 2026, Flying Cloud Airport X. Adjournment The next FCAAC meeting will be held on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in Heritage Room I/II. MOTION: Rogers moved, seconded by Loken to adjourn. Motion carried 3-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 p.m.