Former Tegel operations manager Elmar Kleinert would like to fulfill his dream and fly to a private airport very close to his home. But the neighbors want to thwart his plans.
They fear unbearable engine noise. Both sides should have certainty by Monday at the latest. That's when the main committee of the municipality of Märkische Heide, an hour and a half south of Berlin, will meet. High on the agenda: the elected representatives' statement to the aviation authority regarding the "operation of a special airfield in Groß Leuthen." This refers to a 350-meter-long grass runway on the edge of the village, which Kleinert leased with a friend when he was still working at Tegel Airport. The two aviation enthusiasts own two old Piper Cub propeller planes, reports bz-berlin.de. "I want to take off for the Baltic Sea about once a week," says Kleinert, who is now the airport manager in Bremen – and owns a weekend house in Groß Leuthen. "Together, we've applied for 300 takeoffs and landings per year."