Source document · Hudson Valley Regional Airport
The full text of the procedures governing aircraft noise at KPOU — reproduced as published, with what the document does and does not say about its own authority.
The page carries two names as contacts — David C. Whalen, Acting Commissioner and Jeff Durand, Airport Director — and a site-wide footer reading © Copyright 2003–2026 Dutchess County Government – OCIS. OCIS is the County's information services office: the web publisher, not the author of an aviation procedure.
So the document that governs how aircraft are asked to fly over 68,481 residents has no version, no adoption date, no revision history, and no named author. There is no way for a resident to know when it last changed, what it said before, or who decided.
Every source below was retrieved and checked on 23 August 2026. Where a document has no date of its own, that is noted rather than inferred.
The governing document reproduced on this page. Undated, unversioned, no named author.
"Know Before You Go" sheet. Carries the Runway 06 touch-and-go prohibition, the hot spots, seasonal tower hours, and the Airport Manager number for noise enquiries.
The version cited in the August 2026 briefing deck. Useful for showing the Runway 06 restriction has stood unchanged from February 2023 to June 2026.
Source of the page references used throughout the issues list: p.24 peak demand, p.31 Runway 06 line of sight and the MOR safety action, p.82 zoning, p.91 surveys, p.107 Tradewind forecast, p.119 TAF, p.121, p.124 growth forecast.
Effective 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2026. Lists turboprop and jet landing fees only; single-engine piston training aircraft do not appear.
The direct link. Reachable from the procedures page, but not from the County homepage or any municipal site.
These surfaced while verifying the sources above and are not yet reflected in the issues list. Two of them bear directly on claims residents are currently making.
A completed NEPA assessment on the runway at the centre of the line-of-sight question, with a Finding of No Significant Impact.
An existing County noise analysis. Read it before commissioning a new study — and before saying no noise analysis exists.
A public participation record does exist for this project. It is not the Master Plan consultation — but anyone claiming "no public input was gathered" should know this is on the County's site first.
A County audit of the airport. Unreviewed; may bear on fee collection, operations reporting and accountability.
The full assessment, dated 22 April 2021. Appendix M lists the preparers.
For airport records: DPW Records Access Officer, 626 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie NY 12603. Acknowledgment due within five business days.
All text below quoted from the County's Noise Abatement Procedures page, retrieved 23 August 2026.
It must be understood that safety must always be considered above any noise abatement procedure. The Hudson Valley Regional Airport urges pilots to comply with these procedures where safety is not compromised.
This sentence governs everything below it. "Urges" is the operative verb.
Priority during winds of 6 knots or less. The stated rationale: the majority of traffic would approach over the least congested area in terms of noise. Winds are from the northwest most of the year, coinciding with priority use of Runway 24.
Note the rationale is about approaches, not departures.
Intersection departures are not authorized for turbojet and large aircraft. The County has accepted the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) noise abatement programme for turbojets.
Scope is turbojets. No departure procedure is published for single-engine piston training aircraft — the category that generates most movements.
NBAA approach procedures incorporated, maintaining a relatively steep low-power approach.
We would request that the use of reverse thrust be limited to only the amount necessary for safety purposes… All pilots who utilize reverse thrust for landing are requested to minimize use where safety is not compromised.
As required by FARs, maintain VASI or ILS glide slope to the runway. We are emphasizing this requirement for runway 6 because of the close proximity of residential housing. Pilots must maintain a slope at or above the VASI and Glide Slope.
The only obligatory provision on the page — and it restates an existing federal regulation rather than creating an airport rule. It is also the only provision that names residential proximity as the reason.
Most instruction is stated to be accomplished outside the Airport Control Zone, north and across the Hudson River. Emergency procedures, unusual attitude and exaggerated manoeuvres are requested to be conducted in those areas. Training programmes are "strongly urged" to incorporate noise abatement procedures.
Arrivals maintain 1,200 MSL as long as feasible; departures climb to 1,200 MSL as long as feasible; maintain 1,000 AGL in the vicinity of residential areas outside the airport boundary.
| Category | MSL | AGL |
|---|---|---|
| Small aircraft | 1,200 ft | 1,000 ft |
| Large and turbo-jet | 2,000 ft | 1,800 ft |
Based maintenance facilities are asked for no night-time maintenance run-ups from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Pre-flight run-ups required by the FAA are exempt, with a request for lower RPM where possible. Based turbojet operations between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. "should" be notified to the Department of Aviation in advance, or before 10:00 a.m. the next business day.
Advance notice being anticipated means night turbojet operations are anticipated.
Tower hours stated as 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. local. When the tower is closed, use left-hand traffic and self-announce on 124.00.
| Source | Summer | Winter |
|---|---|---|
| County noise abatement page | 0700–2300 | 0700–2300 |
| FAA KPOU sheet (9 Jun 2026) | 0700–2200 | 0700–2100 |
| Resident briefing deck (Aug 2026) | 0700–2200 | 0700–2200 |
Compare: County page · FAA sheet, 9 Jun 2026
Three documents, three answers. It matters operationally: the run-up restriction begins at 11:00 p.m., so on the FAA's hours there is a window of one to two hours each evening in which the tower is closed, aircraft self-announce, and the noise restriction has not yet begun.
| Number | Published as | By |
|---|---|---|
| 845-463-6000 | Airport administration, Mon–Fri 0800–1600 | County |
| 845-849-3770 | "Noise abatement procedures in effect, contact Airport Manager for details" | FAA |
| 845-462-3434 | Tower administrative — drone questions | County / FAA |
A resident and a pilot asking the same question about the same procedures are sent to two different offices.
Compare: County page · FAA sheet · complaint form
Neither document states an altitude a departing aircraft should reach before turning. The NBAA procedures the County adopted apply to turbojets. Any compliance figure measured against a 900 ft threshold must first establish where that threshold comes from and whether it applies to a Cessna 172.
Checked against: County page · FAA sheet, 9 Jun 2026 — neither states one.
Reading the document for what it does not contain is as informative as reading what it does. There is no monitoring provision, no compliance reporting, no consequence for non-compliance, no review cycle, and no mechanism by which a resident learns the outcome of anything. Every substantive provision except the VASI restatement is a request addressed to pilots, and no party is assigned to check whether the requests are honoured.