Aviation Noise

 Aircraft Noise in Aviation

One of the biggest environmental impacts we face in aviation is noise.  There's is nothing about operating an aircraft that is quiet. I'm going to explain this impact from two different points of view, military, and civilian.  

    Here in Northwest Florida, we have multiple bases that operate military aircraft.  Here at Hurlburt Field, we have different C-130s including the AC-130J Gunships.  These aircraft shoot 30mm and 105mm rounds every night which makes a lot of noise. Over at Eglin AFB, they have F-15s, F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s which are extremely loud.  Eglin AFB does try to inform the locals when they will hear noise during particular times during training (Whitlock, 2021).  The Air Force in general tries their best to mitigate noise whenever it can and also takes this into consideration when choosing a location for certain aircraft (March 23, 2022).  There are multiple noise complaints throughout the year and while we would all love to say "Well you shouldn't have moved near military bases" we still have to be respectful of our civilian neighbors.  One key piece of information is that the FAA has no authority to regulate military aircraft operations. 

    This is also the case for civilian airports.  While there is no cure for airport noise, there are regulations and checklists that are followed to reduce the impact on the community (March 11, 2022).  Airport Noise Compatibility Planning 14 CFR Part 150 covers these requirements.  Commercial aircraft are an important part of our everyday lives not only for travel but also for our economy therefore, aviation noise will always be an issue.  However, we can try to minimize the effect on the community. 

    The commercial sector already does the best they can do for noise abatement.  They schedule their flights during the day when most people are up and at work anyways.  For military aviation, scheduling can play a big part in reducing noise complaints.  For instance, the AC-130Js can shoot until 10:00 p.m. which gives the locals the ability to have uninterrupted rest for their next days' work.  For Eglin AFB, I would propose that the fighter aircraft fly during the day from the hours of 0800 to 1800.  This covers the busiest part of the day in which people's attention is on other things instead of the aircraft noise.  Another way to mitigate the noise is when building a new airport or modifying an existing one, orient the runways so that the approaches and departures are not overflying populated areas. 

Airport noise. (2022, March 11). Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/airport_noise/

Air Force Magazine. (2022, March 23), Getting on with the neighbors, Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0310neighbors/

Whitlock, A. (2021, January 21). Eglin Air Force Base warns nearby residents about future aircraft noise. WEAR. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://weartv.com/news/local/eglin-air-force-base-warns-nearby-residents-about-future-aircraft-noise