Finally, assume that if these polite pilots knew they were disturbing the peace, they would be willing to climb higher faster and take other actions that would lessen engine noise in neighborhoods near the airport.

Those are the assumptions Martin County commissioners made when they voted last week to chip in $10,000 to go with a $40,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation to investigate a radar system that would "catch" noisy aircraft. Airport officials then could urge pilots to follow the county's voluntary noise-abatement rules.

Commissioners have asked a consultant to study radar systems and recommend one for the county to buy in about four months. Spending money on a radar system to identify violators of rules that can't be enforced, however, is a waste of money that will lead to a waste of time. The county better could spend the cash on an independent feasibility study to determine whether the busy airport should be moved to a location more remote than the heart of Stuart.

Airport Director Michael Moon said the radar system could help the county keep track of pilots who violate the voluntary noise restrictions and could verify complaints. Those complaints could be used to notify pilots of their violations, but since pilots face no penalty for ignoring noise rules, that seems an exercise in futility.

Martin commissioners have become ostrichlike in their steadfast refusal even to recognize legitimate citizen complaints about the airport. The complainers are just as firm in their opposition to any plan for the airport until a feasibility study addresses the idea of moving it. Commissioners also approved a contract with the Department of Transportation that calls for the agency to provide $160,000 in security upgrades such as fencing, gates, identification badges, security guards and a security vehicle.

Airport watchdog groups, however, are correct to be uneasy about county approval of such expenses, even if DOT is paying the bill. It's one more sign that commissioners are not willing to listen to the need for a study that would help decide whether the airport should be there at all.