Leesburg Executive Airport Commission Meeting – May 14, 2026

The Leesburg Executive Airport Commission met on May 14, 2026 (per the provided meeting date; the raw transcript opens with 'Wednesday, May 13th, 2026'). The meeting was called to order with a quorum, all members present except Ryan. Commissioners approved the agenda and prior minutes, heard staff and committee updates, and voted unanimously to recommend to the Town Council that Leesburg pursue a conventional physical air traffic control tower as the preferred long-term solution, with a remote tower only as a fallback if physical-tower funding cannot be secured.

Call to Order and Announcements

• The chair announced that Kuhn Jet Center/Kuhn Training Center is partnering with Nova Pilots as the field’s newest flight school; UAVINX received the Leesburg Business Award for innovation; and Smokehouse celebrated nine years, with more than 8,000 pilots trained in Leesburg and activity reaching all 50 states and three countries.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda adopted by voice vote.
• Minutes from the previous meeting approved by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were offered.

FAA Remote Tower Program and Control Tower Recommendation

• Scott briefed the commission on a meeting that followed the mayor’s introduction to Paul Fontaine, FAA Deputy Administrator for NextGen. Fontaine met with Scott, Neil Steinberg, and the mayor to update Leesburg on the FAA remote-tower program. Frequentis has installed a remote tower at the Atlantic City test bed; it has been tested for more than a year and is not yet approved. The FAA anticipates approval by September if remaining check marks are completed, and has roughly $50 million for remote-tower deployment. Winter Haven and Bartow, Florida, are already installing/operating the Frequentis system, with both airports controlled from one facility. Fontaine expressed interest in Leesburg and visited the old tower site, but said there is no pressure on Leesburg to choose a particular system.
• Travis presented a comparison of physical and remote towers. The earlier Saab remote tower at Leesburg was installed in 2016, was operated 10 hours a day, and was deemed operationally viable by the FAA in 2021 at about 75,000 annual operations. After the FAA imposed new certification/software requirements, further software work was deemed not technically feasible and the FAA terminated the program. The risk assessment showed remote-tower technology is mature and the vendor is established, but certification stability, program stability under a future administration, and high-complexity airport operations are high risks. JYO is currently about 95,000 operations per year, inside a CIFRA and under Class Bravo, and is roughly the third-busiest airport in Virginia and second for general aviation; the Florida comparison airports are not similarly complex.
• Concerns raised during discussion included single-vendor dependency on Frequentis, cyber dependencies, and an outage risk illustrated by a lightning strike that took a deployed remote tower out of service. The FAA RFP appears to cover only delivery, not long-term sustainment costs, and the FAA as of April 23 did not yet have an acquisition model in place. Commissioners also noted a broader industry trend toward centralized remote-tower centers, which could make a single-airport remote tower less sustainable. Council’s interest in remote towers was speed, but staff warned that FAA approvals and required studies may still make a remote tower no faster than a physical tower.
• The commission passed a motion recommending that the Town Council pursue a conventional physical air traffic control tower at Leesburg as the preferred long-term solution, that a remote tower be supported only as a fallback if physical-tower funding cannot be reasonably secured, and that long-term reliance on non-tower fallback operations is not appropriate for JYO. The vote was unanimous, with no opposed votes and no abstentions. Staff will send a formal letter to council, timed ahead of council’s expected June discussion.

Town of Leesburg Zoning Rewrite

• Scott briefed the commission on the town’s zoning rewrite. The Airport Impact Overlay District, about one mile around the airport noise contours, prohibits land uses that obstruct or hazard navigable airspace and addresses lighting, glare, smoke, particles, and radio/reflection interference. The ordinance does not allow residential use in the 65+ noise contour, includes airport imaginary-surface protections, and requires notification language on site plans and subdivision plats. Airport property remains zoned A1 with setbacks, building heights, a control-tower breakout, and allowances for sites on the FAA-approved airport layout plan/master plan. Permitted uses were expanded to include aerospace manufacturing, aeronautical uses, UAS, and commercial space vehicle operations. The 43-page draft was reviewed with no concerns identified by the commission. It has been approved by the Planning Commission and is expected to go to Town Council in 2026. Scott noted that local zoning enforcement, not the FAA, is the mechanism for enforcing obstruction rules, citing a crane example and a proposed cell tower near the Walmart parking lot.

Committee and Staff Updates

• Rules, Regulations, and Minimum Standards: Walter reported the working group is still reviewing the document; the goal is to finish before the next meeting, make it ready for public review, and potentially send it to an outside aviation attorney for review.
• Master Plan: Council was briefed and voiced unanimous support for working with Delta to begin master-plan studies. Stakeholder engagement will begin after the purchase order is in place, and the economic development director has been asked to participate.
• RNP/Runway Noise Approach: A first draft of an RNP 3.5 approach has been produced. Version-two feedback would move waypoints slightly north to give more spacing for runway 30 departures. Potomac controllers and Dulles Tower were reported to support the design, and it is moving into formal review. The design was described as compatible with straight-out runway 30 noise-abatement departures. Additional runway/waypoint lighting was discussed, but cost, land constraints, and FAA guidance remain open questions for the consultant.
• Observation Deck, Playground, and Mural: COPA received no mural responses and will extend the artist call after the posting issue was corrected; artists asked about onsite painting space, insurance, and scaffolding. The Parks and Recreation Commission formally endorsed the observation deck/playground concept and sent that endorsement to council. Splash pad and a playground tower with piped-in tower audio were popular ideas. Funding strategy remains the main open issue.
• Economic Impact and Leasehold Taxes: The Virginia aviation economic impact study released in February includes a Winchester-specific section; staff will refresh the airport’s economic-impact presentation using that data. On leasehold interest taxation, the Loudoun County Attorney General’s opinion is being forwarded to the Virginia Attorney General. Staff submitted five follow-up questions about whether hangars/tie-downs are taxable leasehold interests, month-to-month/sub-year rentals, mid-year termination abatement, and hangar versus tie-down treatment. Another draft is expected before state review.
• Unleaded Fuel Legislation: Bipartisan federal legislation, the Unleaded Act, would require the FAA to create an education program on the GA transition to unleaded fuel, with a stated goal of lead-free by 2030.
• Airport Operations: Runway construction begins July 6. Environmental approval was received for the south-end site, and the taxiway design is removing taxiway outputs 4 and 5 so aircraft must use a taxiway to enter the runway—a safety enhancement. A security incident occurred while the old fence was down: a pedestrian following Google Maps walking directions crossed the runway and was stopped by the tower calling operations; the new fence is complete and Google Maps has been corrected. Budget figures were reported as favorable, roughly 2 percent under plan. Aircraft operations rose 6 percent in April and 12 percent year-to-date; fuel sales are up 13 percent year-to-date. There were 10 noise complaints this month, seven from Evergreen Meadows, one from Country Club, one new complaint from Tavistock Farms, and one Black Hawk transition complaint not attributed to Leesburg Airport.
• FBO and Tower Staffing: The FBO will offer $4 avgas on May 29 and 30 for based aircraft. A controller transferring from Phoenix is expected in mid-June, bringing the contract tower to five controllers, described as full staff. A nationwide FAA hiring effort drew about 8,500 applicants, but commissioners noted those are FAA federal hires; there was discussion about risks of training inexperienced controllers and about whether remote towers would make it harder to attract and retain controllers.

Key Outcomes

• Unanimously approved the agenda and previous meeting minutes.
• Unanimously recommended that Town Council pursue a physical tower as the preferred long-term solution for JYO, with remote tower only as a fallback if physical-tower funding cannot be reasonably secured; staff will transmit a formal letter before council’s June discussion.
• Received the zoning rewrite update with no commission objections; staff will continue monitoring.
• Learned that Parks and Recreation has endorsed the observation deck/playground concept and forwarded it to council.
• Confirmed next meeting date of Wednesday, June 10, at 6 p.m.