The Wiscasset Municipal Airport Advisory Committee on Sept. 16 took issue with airport manager Frank Costa’s handling of a recent flying complaint. Members questioned Costa’s writing of a letter to a flying club about a low-flying plane that airport neighbor Chewonki Campground reported.

The information that Costa and committee member Pam Brackett, one of the campground’s owners, provided on the Aug. 29 incident did not point to any flight rules having been broken, pilots on the committee said.

They said that Flight Time, the club that Costa wrote the letter to, has some of the best pilots who use the town-owned airport.

“These people are also customers of the airport,” committee member Steve Williams told Costa. “I hope you are handling them in a delicate and professional (way).”

Williams and other committee members encouraged Costa, who is not a pilot, to contact them about flying complaints so that he will have the benefit of their knowledge. “We have resources we would like to offer you,” Williams said.

“I appreciate you offering, but at the same time, what is, is,” Costa responded. During the meeting and after it, he expressed confidence that he acted correctly in writing the letter.

The Sept. 8 letter describes an Aug. 29 complaint from Brackett about a plane flying several times over the campground and its pool.

“This letter is to serve as a reminder ... of the safety rules in place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerning low flying aircraft and populated areas as well as the Wiscasset airport rules .... (Flying) in a straight line to the posted altitude will without a doubt (avoid) any and all complaints regarding noise and or low flying over populated areas,” it states.

Committee members said the federal rules Costa was referring to do not apply to takeoff and landing.

“The letter is on airport letterhead stating FAA rules that don’t apply. That’s what we’re upset about,” member Kevin Sprague said.

The letter also refers to a sign posted at the airport, directing pilots to fly straight. Pilots attempt to do so, but may be affected by other factors, mainly wind, Williams said.

If a plane has a full load of occupants and fuel, that can also make a difference, Committee Chairman Ken Boudin said.

Costa said the campground’s complaint occurred on a windy day.

Brackett told fellow committee members there was only one instance of a plane flying over the pool.

“This is a delicate situation, and I try really hard to not call because it just raises some issues,” Brackett said. “One plane was ... angled right over the pool when I was standing there.”

A town official happened to be visiting the campground that afternoon, Costa states in the letter. Costa said Sept. 16 that the official was Town Manager Marian Anderson, and that she later spoke with him about the incident.

The conversation with Anderson did not prompt him to write the letter, Costa said. He wrote it to follow up on a conversation he had with club members after Brackett called, he said.

Reached after the Sept. 16 committee meeting, Flight Time Vice President Jack Swanton of Westport Island said club members were flying their shared plane that day, but took the care they always take to avoid bothering the campground.

“It wasn’t anything to do with us,” Swanton said in a telephone interview. The nonprofit club’s pilots take great care to be good neighbors to the campground and not create problems for it, he said. It was probably a plane with a pilot less familiar than they are with the Wiscasset airport, he said.

Swanton confirmed that Costa spoke with club members that day; he had not seen the letter, but said club members have not expressed any concern about how they are treated by the airport.

When told on Sept. 17 that Swanton said a club plane was not involved, Costa said, “That’s good enough for me. That’s the end of it.”

Lease talks continue

The committee directed Costa to take a new recommendation to Anderson regarding a possible hike in the rent Peregrine Turbine Technologies pays for space upstairs at the terminal building. The committee supported proposing the business pay the town $900 a month, to factor in toiletries and airport staff’s cleaning time.

Peregrine currently pays $800 a month, Costa said.

A new deal would be up to Peregrine and Wiscasset selectmen to agree on, committee members said.

Peregrine did not have representatives at the committee meeting. Answering the Wiscasset Newspaper’s questions by email earlier Sept. 16, Peregrine co-founder David Stapp stated that the business would like more space at the airport and has explored the idea with the committee. “But so far nothing has panned out.

“I continue to keep my eye out for other available space and have looked at Brunswick and Damariscotta. All else being equal I'd rather stay here,” Stapp writes.