An open meeting to review and update the Airpark’s voluntary noise-abatement procedures.
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT · Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
18810 Woodfield Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 (Former Gold’s Gym Building)
Who Should Come
Airpark neighbors and community members, pilots, flight instructors and flight schools, based aircraft owners, and airport tenants. No aviation background is needed to take part.
Why We are Meeting
Fly Friendly is the set of voluntary procedures pilots are asked to follow to reduce noise over the neighborhoods around the Airpark. MCRA is updating those procedures and the published guidance that goes with them.
What we Will Cover
- Current noise-abatement procedures
- The departure procedure for Runway 14
- The Runway 32 traffic pattern
- Touch-and-go operations and the voluntary 8 p.m. – 8 a.m. request
- Arrival and departure routing over noise-sensitive areas
- Flight school and flight instructor guidance
- Keeping the pattern tight
- Maximum of three planes in the pattern doing touch and go operations
- How the program is published and kept current
- Community outreach and how concerns are reported, tracked, and answered
- Stakeholder suggestions
What This Meeting Can And Cannot Change
Fly Friendly procedures are voluntary requests made to pilots. MCRA can change what the Airpark publishes, teaches, and asks of the people who fly here. The FAA, not MCRA and not the County, controls the airspace, the traffic pattern, and enforcement of flight operations. We will be clear at the meeting about which requests fall on which side of that line.
Agenda
6:30 Doors open – staff on hand for questions
7:00 Welcome and how the session will run
7:10 Where the program stands today
7:35 Facilitated discussion, topic by topic
8:40 What happens next
9:00 Adjourn
Before the Meeting
The current procedures, the draft Pilot’s Guide, and the noise-sensitive area map are posted at montgomerycountyairpark.com. Reviewing them in advance will make the session more productive.
Cannot Attend? Written Comments Count the Same
Comments will be accepted through Friday, October 9, 2026 and will be considered alongside what is said at the meeting.
What Happens After
A written summary of what we heard will be posted within two weeks of the comment period. Draft revised procedures will be published for a further round of comment by January 1, 2027, and MCRA will publish what changed, what did not change, and why.
Questions and Accommodations
Justin Bollum, Airport Manager · jbollum@mcra-md.com · (301) 978-7009
Requests for interpretation, assistive listening devices, or other accommodations should be made by September 15, 2026 so arrangements can be made.
Hosted by the Montgomery County Revenue Authority, owner and operator of Montgomery County Airpark since 1960.