Frequently Asked Questions

Community members should call 330-672-2640 – Kent State University’s Airport Operations Department.

This phone number is answered by staff between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Community members may leave a message at other times.

No. Each concern or complaint must be assessed carefully to determine whether the pilot is complying with all procedures contained in the university’s flight Operations Manual and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) regulations.

Citizen concerns and complaints called into the Operations Center at the Kent State University Airport are entered into a database. These issues are assessed daily by the appropriate airport and flight training authorities. As part of the process, the pilots are interviewed, and a determination is made about the appropriateness of the actions/activities.

• Avoid prolonged run‐ups. If two or more aircraft are already in the run‐up area, wait until they have finished before you begin.
• When practical, climb at Vx or recommended obstacle clearance airspeed to gain as much altitude as possible within boundaries; then continue to climb at Vy.
• When flying in the air traffic pattern, fly as close to the prescribed pattern as possible. Avoid flying directly over schools; make smooth power changes.
• When operating high-performance aircraft with controllable pitch propellers, reduce power and RPM as soon as practical after liftoff in order to avoid excess noise. Fly the rest of the airport traffic pattern at the lowest RPM consistent with safe operation.
• Restrict repeated takeoffs and landings to the hours between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. during weekdays, and between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and all holidays.
• When departing Runway 19, maintain alignment with the runway centerline until passing over North River Rd. (Southern airport boundary). Then turn left to track a ground course of 180 magnetic. Maintain this until passing over the river.
• When departing Runway 1, maintain alignment with runway centerline until reaching 2500’ MSL. Then turn on course.

The Kent State University Airport is a public use general aviation facility. As such, the number of aircraft permitted in the flight pattern at a given time is not restricted. However, the University Flight Training program has limited the number of university aircraft operating at the airport for training purposes under the following conditions:

• A limit of two aircraft in the pattern for training purposes with a third (total of three) with aeronautics flight chief approval.

Aircraft are permitted to take off until 10 p.m. They must be back on the ground by 1 a.m. However, traffic pattern practice is not permitted after 7:30 p.m. except when student pilots are completing night-time flying requirements.

* Eleven-month period; database records begin in February 2005

All complaints were carefully evaluated and have led to appropriate adaptations to flight times, schedules and practices, increased noise abatement activities and ongoing assessment of safety procedures.

If it is determined that a student pilot has inappropriately operated an aircraft, he or she will be grounded until a Safety Review Board reviews the incident and makes a determination. The outcome of the Safety Review Board could result in a number of penalties from further grounding and additional training to dismissal from the program depending on the severity of the activities.

Examples of disciplinary actions taken within the past 1.5 years:

The three following cases serve as examples of what happens when students violate either our professional standards of conduct or flight operations as outlined in the Airport Operations Manual. Each of these cases has occurred within the past 1.5 years:

• Subject A was a flight instructor who violated a federal regulation by taking an aircraft into an area of known icing. Subject A was immediately suspended from flying and a Safety Review Board was called (the Aeronautics Program has a comprehensive, formal and active safety program). Subject A was found to be in violation of both the Airport Operations Manual and Federal Regulations and was terminated.
• Subject B was a flight instructor who violated professional standards of conduct in behavior and actions around both his students and members of the outside community. Subject B was counseled and given opportunities to improve upon Subject B’s performance and behaviors throughout the semester. When Subject B continued to violate professional standards of conduct, Subject B’s instructor contract was not renewed.
• Subjects C and D were serving as student and instructor on a flight when, during the performance of a particular maneuver, it was observed that they came close to placing the aircraft in an unsafe condition. Because of the open culture of safety the Aeronautics Program fosters, Subjects C and D reported this condition to the Supervisor of Flight upon landing. As a result, a program-wide Safety Stand Down was conducted. Immediately all instances of the particular maneuver were disallowed. All flight instructors were required to attend mandatory training given by an outside aviation professional and then were given a check-ride on the maneuver before they were allowed to once again perform the maneuver.