Leesburg Airport Commission Meeting – July 31, 2026

The Leesburg Airport Commission convened with a full quorum (except Commissioner Tom Saxon) to review the hangar mural project, receive a Leesburg Air Show update, discuss development concepts for the South Parcel, hear staff and committee reports, and then move into a closed session. Note: The raw transcript opens with the chair stating, "Today's Wednesday, July 8th, 2026," which conflicts with the meeting date provided for this summary (July 31, 2026); this discrepancy is noted rather than resolved.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda was adopted as amended: reports would be heard before the closed session rather than after it. The motion carried by voice vote.
• The meeting minutes from the previous month were adopted by voice vote.
• No amendments or updates were offered.

Discussion Items

• Hangar Mural (Old Business): Fundraising remains in progress. The next parallel step is to appear before Town Council, whose approval or denial will kick off the actual project; council is likely to handle it on the consent agenda. Staff noted ongoing coordination on which council meeting to attend.
• Leesburg Air Show Update: Staff presented the booked performer lineup, noting it is "probably overbooked" given that acts sometimes drop out. Confirmed performers include Flying Circus (jumpers and a wing walker; contract signed), Kevin Russo and the Jersey Jerks (T-6 Texans, solo plus formation), returning regular Scott Francis, Mark Meredith (Chipmunk), Rooster Schmidtle (either his Pitts or new bright yellow Sukhoi, pending maintenance), RJ Gritter (a two-place Decathlon-type and his comedy Cub act), and Warbird Thunder (more T-6s, returning for a third year). Staff are still working military outreach (e.g., F-35, CH-53) through event staff member Corey, with no commitments yet. A paid DC-3 and a Bamboo Bomber (wooden WWII-era Cessna) are coming; a state Icon light-sport amphibian educational display is unconfirmed; the Smithsonian is planning a kid-oriented booth. Ground plans include pushing based aircraft off the ramp to the south end to create a clean, supervised ramp and improving bus and pedestrian flow. A live band was discussed but is difficult to fit into the compressed schedule (gates at 11 a.m., RC demonstration at 12:30, flying at 1 p.m., show over by 4 p.m.). The RC group has committed again.
• South Parcel Concept Discussion: Staff described the roughly 2–3 acre site south of the fuel farm and South Ramp, noting historical fill that needs removal or recompaction, an already-obtained environmental approval, and an active pursuit of a state grant for design scoping. Three conceptual options were presented: (1) all tie-downs (~45 shown), deemed unrealistic because no auto parking was included; (2) six 60x60 box hangars tucked into the corner with tie-downs and a few parking spots; and (3) a 200x125 corporate hangar (capable of holding at least two Gulfstreams) plus box hangars, leaving little room for tie-downs. T-hangars were noted as a poor fit for the narrowing site. Commissioner discussion favored the flexibility of 60x60 box hangars (better suited than the existing 55s for King Airs and light jets), raised concerns about shared/partnered hangar use and aircraft movement when leases do not permit subletting, and suggested sacrificing a few tie-downs for a self-serve fuel turn-around area. Staff noted the master plan already locates self-serve fuel at the existing south tie-downs, which is far cheaper than building it elsewhere (avoiding roughly a half-million-dollar cost). One commissioner said he would rather pay an extra 50 cents per gallon than self-serve, while others noted field demand for the option. Multiple commissioners supported using the South Parcel for tie-downs to free up main ramp space for transient aircraft. Staff will take the input back to the engineer and return with revised concepts.
• Fly-In Club Gathering Update: A club event is scheduled for September 16–20. The club recently posted its agenda, and 13 people have already signed up, most of them flying in; staff estimate 7–10 aircraft. The group will use airport facilities for a meeting room and patio cookout, and aircraft may be parked on grass due to ramp constraints. A proposed Smokehouse pancake fly-in on September 19 was discussed and deemed likely to conflict with the club aircraft being on site; the idea was set aside.
• Reports: Control tower development — 900 pages of engineering documents were received; $2.1 million was received for tower design (paying EXP), and $4 million in 100% FAA funding was awarded toward partial construction; more fundraising will still be needed. Rules/regulations/standards update remains on hold. Master plan — Delta Consultants have kicked off the analysis; no status yet. Operations data — Commissioner Mike built an ADS-B-based dashboard (running less than a month) tracking landings, takeoffs, touch-and-goes, aircraft types, runway usage, winds, and tower hours, to be cross-checked against FAA tower counts and used for noise-abatement and tax discussions. Government affairs — Town Council is again asking about aircraft personal property tax; staff will build a package before the next budget summit, including regional airport tax rates, town 2025/2026 budget data, prior historical work, and quotes from pilots and airport residents; commissioners were asked to contribute tail numbers and fuel data to show potential economic impact. Airport operations — tower at 50% design; parallel taxiway design 60% complete; runway pavement rehab was pushed to the following Monday due to weather (a test strip passed); security fence completed; South End environmental approval obtained; the airport finished the budget year over revenues and under expenditures; the T-hangar waitlist will reopen in the coming weeks, with a lottery planned for the initial application window; one tie-down is available. June operations totaled just over 9,100 (approximately 9,170), flat versus last year but up 7% year-to-date. Noise complaints have ticked up, primarily from Evergreen Meadows (northward takeoffs) and Village Walk (aircraft circling on downwind for spacing); there were no late-night touch-and-goes.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda adopted as amended; prior month's minutes adopted.
• Air show performer lineup and grounds plan reviewed; staff continue outreach for military and static displays.
• South Parcel: Commission gave preliminary direction favoring a flexible tie-down/box-hangar concept, with self-serve fuel kept at the existing lower-cost south tie-down location. Staff will refine concepts with the engineer and return.
• The September 19 Smokehouse pancake fly-in was flagged as conflicting with the club gathering and will not be pursued for that date.
• Staff were directed to compile an aircraft-tax information package for Town Council ahead of the budget summit, incorporating data contributions from commissioners.
• The Commission passed a motion to move into closed session pursuant to the applicable Virginia code provision; the public portion of the recording ended there.