Fed up with Sault College airplane noise, west-end farmer hopes petition takes off

A Sault Ste. Marie farmer who lives in the west end of town is voicing frustration over the noise generated from airplanes flying above his property, specifically those tied to Sault College’s Aviation Technology - Flight program.

Jim Grisdale has operated a 25-acre strawberry and vegetable farm on Leighs Bay Road, near Base Line, for the past two decades.

Situated near the college’s flight path, Grisdale claims the roaring has become so prevalent in recent years that it has affected his health and well-being.

Spending most of his days outside, the landowner estimates the airplanes flying over his house can get as loud as 70 decibels, suggesting anything in the 90-decibel range is considered dangerous.

“The whole area is just vibrating with noise — it’s nuts,” he said. “You can’t even talk. Every time they go by, you have to stop. It’s constant, just one after another. It’s brutal out here.”

Despite repeatedly attempting to contact the college, the Sault Ste. Marie Airport, and city councillors, Grisdale feels he hasn’t received an adequate response to his concerns. Fed up, he recently sent a lengthy letter to the editor to numerous local media outlets.

“I’ve been bringing it up to them for ten years; I’ve been putting up with it for 20,” he said. “I’ve felt alone in this fight all along. Nobody seems to want to help.”

In an email to SooToday, Sault College aviation program chair Greg Farish said they “acknowledge this concern and want to reassure our community that safety and regulatory compliance guide all flight operations.”

Farish estimates they receive one, perhaps two noise complaints in an average year.

The aviation program, which provides instruction to 150 students across the three-year curriculum, operates the Zlin Z242L single-engine aircraft for primary training through to commercial pilot license.

Sault College’s board of governors approved the purchase of two new planes of that model in January 2022, costing approximately $500,000 each. The planes were made by Zlin Aircraft in the Czech Republic.

The purchase of those two aircraft has brought the school’s single-engine fleet to 12.

The college also operates three twin-engine planes, the Piper Seminole, for students in the final year of training.

A retired Algoma Steel employee, Grisdale’s concerns appear to be directed towards the single-engine models, suggesting they’re too noisy and fly over his farm up to 60 times a day.

“They’re really loud, and they’re old planes,” he said. “It’s demoralizing when they buy new planes and you hope they’re quieter, but they end up being louder. They’re all the same planes, same model, same year pretty much. I never hear any of the other planes go by.”

Operating in the Sault since 1995, the Zlin models use an ordinary engine, according to Farish.

The aviation chair said the calendar age of the planes does not reflect its capability, explaining they satisfy the Integrated Licensing program requirements for a complex or advanced aircraft.

“The engine used in both our single engine Zlin and twin-engine Seminole is common to many other light aircraft,” Farish wrote. “Aircraft in the same performance category and complexity as the Zlin and Seminole may also be considered louder than other aircraft.”

“The most basic training aircraft, with half the power and weight may be considered quieter but they do not satisfy the criteria as an advanced and complex training aircraft required to prepare pilots for the cockpit of a modern airliner,” he added.

Grisdale recommended that the college add “silencers” to its aircraft, and he’s even asked them to consider altering or expanding their flight paths altogether to avoid going over as many residences so frequently.

“Outfit them with the silencers, then there’s no issue anymore,” he said. “It’s better for them and better for us. That’s the only solution to the whole thing. They can move their flight plans all over or disperse them, covering more area.”

Neither idea would be particularly realistic, said Farish.

“In the design of aircraft and aircraft components, safety and reliability is paramount,” he wrote. “Our aircraft do have mufflers with a simple reliable construction.”

“The practice areas and general routes flown have been developed with Nav Canada to make the best use of the available airspace, comply with aviation regulations and in consideration of the student training environment,” he added. “The configuration of the practice areas and traffic flow minimizes conflict between aircraft arriving and departing the Sault Ste. Marie Airport.”

Sault College oversees several practice areas to the north and northeast of the airport, including two areas to the east beyond Echo Bay along Highway 17, as well as three designated practice areas in U.S. airspace.

The single engines also fly over Lake Superior while remaining within gliding distance of land, except during take-off and landing.

Farish noted they’re mindful not to overuse one particular area of a location for training.

“As a student progresses through the program, the exercises they are learning change,” he wrote. “During initial training, they tend to spend a lot of time in the local practice areas as they build upon their skills. As they become more proficient with all the basic skills, they then move onto navigation, which takes them outside the practice areas travelling to Gore Bay, Elliot Lake, Chapleau and Wawa.”

With frustrations reaching a boiling point for Grisdale, the west-end farmer has created a petition to determine if his thoughts on the matter are supported by other members of the community — particularly those who are camp owners or reside near the college’s flight path.

“I want to show the councillors, Sault College, and the airport that it’s not just me — it’s a lot of people,” he said. “This isn’t just a one off or ten people complaining all the time. I’m hoping to get at least 50 signatures, but I think it’s going to be a lot more, especially with the camp owners all over the place.”

As of this morning, the petition had seven signatures, 

During a phone interview with SooToday, Sault Ste. Marie Airport CEO Terry Bos said he feels empathetic to the noise issue but admits there isn’t much that can be done to solve Grisdale’s concerns.

“The college is simply just following the design for the airport and operating within the regulations and guidelines they can operate in,” he said. “I would assume it would take some huge aeronautical study in order to see if there’s even a possibility at looking at different approaches. We certainly can’t reconfigure the airfield.”

“The airport was built in the 1960s, long before any of the houses in this area were built,” Bos added. “It’s got designed approaches and departures that are approved by Nav Canada that have to be used.”

Farish reiterated that Sault College Aviation “is a long-standing program that continues to help fill the much-needed global demand for pilots.”

Their training includes classroom instruction combined with simulator training in five simulators as well as practical flight training.

“[This] ensures we train and develop competent aviation professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful,” Farish wrote.

“The program is awesome; it’s important and I believe in it,” Grisdale concluded. “I believe in training and all that stuff. It’s just not fair to us. They have to do something about the noise."