Collier now
FLY SAFE, FLY QUIET PROGRAM
28 March 2025
The “Fly Safe, Fly Quiet” logo is displayed on signs throughout Naples Airport’s main terminal and other buildings; on airfield fences, letterheads and coffee cups. It appears on the screens of self-service kiosks in the pilots’ lounge. The colorful logo is even on the doors of the trucks that fuel aircraft on the tarmac. It may seem to be overkill, but according to Naples Airport officials, the program that advertises the voluntary flight curfew between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. is working. The goal is to reduce noise from aircraft that would otherwise fly during those hours. “Naples Aviation is delighted to announce that our tenants have achieved a voluntary curfew compliance rate of 98.9% under the Fly Safe, Fly Quiet” program, the airport website ( flynaples.com) boasts. According to a list of top curfew violators the airport listed in February, there are those who, for whatever reason, still fly during the hours of the curfew. The Naples Airport program and other “voluntary restraint from flight” programs around the country are merely a request to avoid overnight flying. It’s also good to remember that these are curfew violations, not noise complaints — though both can be true at the same time. The top curfew violator for February? Treasure Coast Flight Training in Stuart, with 16 flights of multiple tail numbers. In fact, most of the violators are pilots learning nighttime flying skills. According to a Treasure Coast official who identified himself as Don Wheaton, Treasure Coast student pilots fly Cessnas, “which are much quieter” than private jets. “We fly into Naples from Stuart, do touch-and-goes and return,” Wheaton said. “A lot of our students are doing cross-country time building and all that. We also have students that fly at night for training.” In addition to a touch-and-go, the pilots will “sometimes go to the coffee shop over there and fly back out,” Wheaton said. The rest of the violators are a mix of training schools and private jet leasing companies. According to the Naples Airport Authority, in February, RexAir had a dozen “violations,” as did Naples Air Center, a pilot training program based on Aviation Drive. Triana Rodriguez, Naples Air Center’s dispatch manager, explained that its pilots also fly quieter prop planes. “Most of the people flying are students and they do have night requirements, so those are flying at night,” she said. “We only have one multi-engine [airplane]. The others are Cessna 172s and Piper Warriors.” The other February violators and their number of violations include FlexJet, a provider of fractional ownership aircraft, leasing and jet card services, with 10 nighttime flights; EnvySky, a Miami-based continuing education company that also provides time-building for pilots, with six violations; JetSelect, a charter service, with five; and Ameriflyers of Texas, another flight training school, with four violations. Every quarter, the airport also recognizes and “celebrates the efforts of aviation enthusiasts” w...