By Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 2, 2007

The runway at Leesburg Executive Airport was getting steady traffic on a recent morning from amateur pilots practicing their landing skills. A tiny Cessna 172 droned across the asphalt, its engine revving as it climbed into the sky. The sound petered off into a low hum as it circled and landed, ready for another try.

Brad Ackmann, a flight instructor, watched and listened. Neighbors in housing developments to the north occasionally complain about the noise, he said, and pilots try to keep out of their way.

But there will be no way to keep out of the way of a development proposed on the western edge of the airport, he said. Called Crosstrail, it is expected to bring 1,000 houses within earshot of the runway.

"The strange thing is, you know the people are going to complain even if they move in knowing the airport is there," said Ackmann, 21, of Leesburg.

And if they complain, it could eventually force the town of Leesburg to shut down the airport, according to aviation experts who say the advance of housing developments is one of the leading threats to small airports across the country.

"Nationwide, we are losing nearly two airports a month, and one of the overriding issues is encroachment," said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which has been lobbying against Crosstrail.

Later this month, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will decide whether to give the developer the go-ahead to build the 500-acre complex of houses, shops and offices just south of Leesburg. The board already has adjusted zoning in the area to make way for the Peterson Co.'s project, but it is divided on whether Peterson has made the project palatable enough for its neighbors.

Among the supervisors' concerns is the airport. Although airport officials stress that accidents are rare, there have been six crashes at or near the airport since 2000.

But a larger issue is noise. If residents complain about air traffic, the town could limit any plans to expand the airport. Eventually, critics of the project say, protests could grow so loud that the town would be forced to close the airport.

And that would harm more than just a few amateur pilots. The airport, one of about a dozen small airports in the region, contributes an estimated $45 million to the local economy each year. In addition, it has received millions of dollars in federal money for its role in keeping small aircraft off the busy runways at Dulles International Airport.

Three flight schools operate out of the Leesburg airport, as well as emergency helicopters. It does a brisk business among corporate executives who come to the region for meetings.

Advocates of Crosstrail say predictions that the airport could close are exaggerated. David D'Onofrio, a spokesman for Peterson, said the project includes 2 million square feet of office space that would increase business at the airport. And the homeowners -- who would join others homeowners already living in that area -- would be informed of the airport's presence before they sign their deeds.

Besides, the Federal Aviation Administration already has said Crosstrail's houses are far enough from the airport that noise shouldn't be much of a problem, said Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run), who says he supports having homes in that area but has yet to decide whether he will vote for Crosstrail.

"They're meeting the guidelines that have been laid out by FAA," Staton said. "You have to believe the FAA would create minimum guidelines that are reasonable."

But that doesn't take into account that the airport is expected to grow in the coming years, critics of the project say. Nor does it allow for the whims of residents who might complain anyway. One need only to look to the problems at Ocean City's municipal airport, which is seeking to expand but is facing strong opposition from nearby residents, they say.

"There's nothing wrong with putting compatible businesses near an airport, but residential near an airport is just setting in motion the wheels of conflict," Dancy said. "Eventually, homeowners are going to complain about the noise coming from the airport. It doesn't matter that the airport was there 40 years before the houses."

The Leesburg Executive Airport was founded in 1963 by Arthur Godfrey, a broadcasting legend who would often refer to his airfield as "the cow pasture." Today, it has a modern terminal with the ability to accept planes coming in from overseas. About 50,000 small airplanes touch down there each year.

Although hundreds of houses have cropped up in the vicinity, the airport remains hemmed in by little more than trees. Deer are often spotted on the runway. On Friday morning, a few minutes after a Beechcraft Bonanza slid onto the runway, a fox trotted out of the trees to have a look.

Brad Ackmann said he learned to fly in 2002 at this airport. He plans to get a job as a pilot for one of the major airlines.

"Airline pilots have to go somewhere to learn what they're doing," Ackmann said. "It would be a shame if this place had to close down."