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Home My WebLink About2025-07-15-HFAC-min Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC) Minutes 15 July 2025 Prepared by Massport Staff Video of HFAC Meeting on the Lincoln, MA TV Page: https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/lincoln/?page=HOME HFAC Website: https://sites.google.com/view/hfac Call to Order: Christopher Eliot called the meeting to order at 7:01pm Announcements: th Christopher Eliot recording HFAC Meeting; greeted all to July 15 meeting pursuant to MA Open Meeting Law Thomas Hirsch shared potential for Beta Technologies, an aerospace manufacturer developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and electric conventional aircraft, to present at the September HFAC Minutes: The June 2025 Meeting Minutes were reviewed for approval The June 2025 Meeting Minutes were approved 5-0 o Barbara Katzenberg asked for additional verbiage to Thomas Hirsch bullet in Agenda Items about experimental Merlin aircraft to better reflect the concerns from residents about takeoffs and landings at Hanscom Field o Terri Ackerman had a question about SAF Action Item that was answered as an Agenda Item o and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) mission at Hanscom Field; pushed to an Agenda item for more discussion o HFAC Chair Margaret Coppe was not present to vote Monthly Noise Reports: presented by Amber Goodspeed In June 2024 as compared to June 2025: 7am - 11pm operations decreased 9.8% in June 2025 Singles (including touch and goes) decreased 15.8% in June 2025 Turbo activity decreased 15.1% in June 2025 Jet operations increased 0.5% in June 2025 Helicopter activity increased 1.1% in June 2025 Night Operations (11pm-7am) decreased 21.7% with 534 in June 2024 compared to 140 in June 2025 Capital Programs and Third Party Development Reports: Amber Goodspeed presented the Capital Programs and Third Party Development reports and noted that: Atlantic Aviation fuel tank installation at existing fuel farm expected for August-September timeframe Runway Realty Ventures LLC (RRV) filed the Notice of Project Change (NPC) in the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office Environmental Monitor; public comment period extended until July 25 Rehabilitation work and geometry compliance as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of Taxiway Echo and addition of Taxiway Echo 5 now targeted at beginning of April 2026 o Environmental permits filed under EEA #16969 on MEPA Office Environmental Monitor o Public comment period open till August 20 with a virtual public meeting scheduled for July 30 2025 at 6:00 pm Cargo or Scheduled Commercial Passenger Services Amber Goodspeed stated there have been no requests for future scheduled passenger or cargo service Agenda Items: Topics discussed on published agenda: Christopher Eliot reopened discussion on U.S. ICE flights operating through Hanscom Field o Barbara Katzenberg expressed concern about how aircraft have and are now being used at Hanscom Field but surmised that no data will be published about ICE flights to take definitive action o Thomas Hirsch reiterated that Hanscom Field is a public use airfield and HFAC cannot regulate use o Elizabeth Coules expressed her opinion that ICE flights are perceived as a political issue o Terrence Parker thought HFAC should provide input as it is an issue of community concern o Terri Ackerman to draft a statement o Motion to draft statement passed 4-1 with Thomas Hirsch dissenting Christopher Eliot discussed how Runway Realty Ventures, LLC (RRV) filed the NPC to separate out the old Navy Hangar to rent to Merlin Labs, an aerospace startup building takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy o Katie Winchell stated she understood through the public meetings that the Navy Hangar will still remain part of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report DEIR associated with the North Airfield project o Elizabeth Coules expressed her feelings of distrust for RRV based on the original submission of the DEIR o Terri Ackerman indicated she reached out to Merlin to receive more information about their safety protocols for takeoff and landings at Hanscom Field; Thomas Hirsch explained experimental aircraft will takeoff and land like any other Cessna Caravan operating at Hanscom Field and only perform testing in less congested flight area o Thomas Hirsch expounded on the fact that technology to land autonomously is used every day o Jennifer Boles added that Merlin is attempting to train the autonomous pilot to be able to function using human language and interpret verbal commands; Thomas Hirsch added that the FAA environment uses a precise vocabulary in a controlled environment allowing commands to be understood more reliably o Barbara Katzenberg suggested that based on the varied opinions that each concerned individual conduct their own research and submit a separate letter as part of the public input in lieu of a joint statement from HFAC o HFAC voted unanimously to send separate letters indicating they are part of HFAC but speaking individually Christopher Eliot discussed the Massachusetts Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Working Group o The SAF Working Group is a partnership between the MA Port Authority (Massport) and various Massachusetts agencies that aims to explore steps for advancing technology and policies to support SAF development and deployment o Christopher Eliot shared report developed with actionable recommendations for Governor Maura Healey o MA Commonwealth subsidies needed in short term to help pay for the scale-up of SAF production and delivery o Christopher Eliot presented math and chemistry calculations provided by Mark Sandeen, Town of Lexington Select Board Member, to produce SAF through direct air capture; report indicates utilizing technology from Lydian Labs to combine CO emissions, water and renewable electricity to create carbon-neutral fuels 2 o Terri Ackerman asked about any alternative fuels: Christopher Eliot listed electricity, that has range limitations, and hydrogen, which is dangerous to work with and requires significant amounts of electricity to produce o Janet Miller pointed out current limitations of electric aircraft; could be utilized for regional flights o Barbara Katzenberg volunteered to formulate a draft response to SAF Working Group report for the HAFC to review at next meeting; will utilize Citizen Comments: Chris Boles had questioned Merlin Lab engineer at the public meetings about autonomous take off and landing operations at Hanscom Field and the engineer indicated the Merlin Pilot would be tested; also expressed concern about the development project being divided o Thomas Hirsch responded that pilot would be on the aircraft, monitoring any operation on all flights Jennifer Boles provided her opinion on the trustworthiness of the information RRV has supplied Other Business: The date for the next HFAC meeting will be at 7:00 pm on September 16 2025 HFAC upcoming meeting date (August or September) will be left for HFAC Chair Margaret Coppe to decide Notice of Project Change (NPC) public comment period extended until July 25 2025 Taxiway Echo virtual public meeting scheduled for July 30 2025 at 6:00 pm Action Items: Draft HFAC position on ICE mission at Hanscom Field and request for flight data Massport research EXP group for Cessna Caravan C208 Draft response to MA Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Workgroup Recommendations for HFAC review Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Attendees: Terri Ackerman, Christopher Eliot, Thomas Hirsch, Barbara Katzenberg, Terrence Parker, Amber Goodspeed, Mike Vatalaro, Dakota Antelman, Karen B., Christopher Boles, Jennifer Boles, Elizabeth Coules, Carol Haines, Piper Pavelich, Wendy Rovelli, Anne Sobol, Jenny Stewart and Katie Winchell.