FAA have a noise spec?

The aircraft are certified to Stage number. No standard are Stage I. Older aircraft, usually with some sort of hush kit are Stage II (Gulfstream III was last in-production corporate aircraft that was II when everything else was already III). Stage III is current with Stage IV as the next standard.

The folks that will do testing on in-service aircraft are nasty neighbors around some airports. See Santa Monica and Van Nuys among others.

By the way the Europeans have the same standards but call them Chapter instead of Stage.

Jeff

 

ANOMS is what you're asking about Airport Noise and Operations Monitoring Systems. Those systems monitor the noise generated by aircraft operations (in flight). The systems can have fixed microphones on the ground to detect noise. The system logs flights and can allow a person to report a noisy aircraft and match it to what's been logged in the system. Different airports have different noise abatement procedures.
Here's the procedure in place for Fort Lauderdale Executive:

http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/fxe/pdf/Jet_Noise_Abatement_Diagram.pdf
http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/fxe/noise_alert.htm

 

The FAA doesn't (as far as I know), but plenty of individual airports do their own noise monitoring. They are quite happy to fine you if you exceed their noise limits-- and they can set their noise limits to be whatever they want.

 

John Wayne's situation is stupid and dangerous. The airport was there before everyone built up all around it. But since an airport doesn't vote but all the neighbors that willing bought next to it do it becomes a political mess.

The departing planes stand on their tail for departure to localize the noise then nose over with a big power cut back. Some pilots argue that this is not the safest flight profile in case of an emergency but, again, they aren't voters.

Even following the standard procedures for departures it is possible to violate the noise levels.

At Van Nuys there is some fool in/near Encino that complains about the noise but it has been proven that the noise levels from the 405 are higher than what departing jets from VNY are. No matter, fool continues his rants.

Jeff

 

To me, John Wayne is an accident waiting to happen and an airport that I will never choose to fly into by choice (and so far I haven't had to!). I put Reagan National on the same list. I have flown into and out of La Guardia but was never too happy doing so.

 

I agree, although having spent some time last week at the Airtel at Van Nuys, I doubt if the 405 is as loud as the G-III that took off at about 7am!

 

I used to listen to un-hushed G-IIs at Burbank take-off just after 8:00 am. They were dead heads by Arco so the pilots got to have some real fun.

The sound readings that the Encino person does is, as I remember it, near his home so the aircraft are already in the sky by the time he gets their sound. The noise footprint for certification allows high levels near the runway with fall off in db as one gets further away. The Airtel is fairly close to the runway.

Jeff

 

And I remember an un-hushed G-II taking off from Grumman's Bethpage airport nearly every morning about 7:30. I'll bet that anyone in the area who wasn't already awake was awakened by that!

 

Knew some pilots that figured if they were already up then their un-hushed G-II should make sure that everyone else should be too!

Jeff

 

I have received 3 warning letters re: noise violations in my little Citation SII. One from the Peoples Republic of Santa Monica, One from John Wayne, and even one from LAX! The one from LAX claimed I made a Southbound turn before a selected radial off the LAX VOR after 11pm. (John Wayne was after 10pm). The letters normally include warnings of massive fines for future violations and a copy of the radar track of your airplane in relation to the ground locations of the noise sensors.

This will probably make me very unpopular but, I just can't understand people who live or want to stay in a hotel (Airtel) right next to the runways at one of the nations busiest airports and cry, "That noisey airplane woke me up. WHAAAA! WHAAA!".

Take off and second segment climb are probably the two most critical flight profiles. It is also when your airplane is at its heaviest. This is when you are producing the most power. That power is what is keeping the airplane climbing and out of your hotel room or landing in nearby homes living rooms. That would be a lot more inconvenient than just getting woke up.

As for the earlier comment about the ARCO G-Jet guys making lots of noise just for the fun of it out of Burbank, well, thats just a bunch of BS. I could explain why but I don't want to make this rant any worse than it already is. (Although I will admit, for me, it would be fun knowing I'm waking up a bunch of whiners who want to sleep next to airports).

Next time drive 15 minutes north and stay at a quiet comfy hotel in Valencia, east 15 minutes to Pasadena, or 20 minutes west to Camarillo. Sleep all day in quiet and comfort.

Or, should you decide to stay at the Airtel again, please PM me. I will be sure to do a 6am departure and request an early turn out towards the east. Over the Airtel at 500' and rattle the windows just for you. Until then, sleep tight my babies.

By the way...kinda off topic....the Airtel has the best Cob Salad on earth. Just sayin'..

 

I wasn't complaining about the noise at the Airtel-- personally, I love the sound of a Spey engine at takeoff (or even a CJ-610!). And, I needed to be up by 7am anyway.

For me, the best part of the Airtel stay was hanging out at the bar with Clay Lacy and Bob Mays...

 

Speys, CJ610's, Dash-10's, Bars, Clay Lacy. You're my new best friend.

 

I was not slammin' on you personally or anyone in particular for that matter. Just those in general who choose to stay or live close to airports and then complain about the noise. It just gives the feds more ammo to regulate general aviation out of the sky. That and the three Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonades I had before my post probably didn't help matters.

 

This thread is making me nostalgic for my old Jet Commander days. We could rattle the windows with the best of them, especially on our typical 6:30am departure.

I still have not so fond memories of being a young copilot and occasionally being tasked with pulling the GPU plug. Hearing protection? We're in a hurry, son! We're sittin' here burnin' 1200 pounds per hour! Just get out there!

Oh to be 20 again...

 

Funny thing: when I was working in Grumman's Plant 1, near the south end of the runway, we could not hear the G-II taxi by, but we certainly could hear it when it took off. When the company's G-I taxiied by, that we could hear, but it was hardly louder on its takeoff roll. The difference between R-R Speys and Darts!

 

How is Bob Mays doing these days? Haven't seen him since they uncerimoniously tossed him out of Jet Center? Any report on Ken Tunnison?

Jeff

 

Bob is doing great. We flew together a couple of times last week, in a 980.

I don't know Ken Tunnison, sorry.

 

To be 60 again! When I see all the talk about noise I go back to '44 and '45 when the noise of R1820's and R1830's lulled me to sleep. Our barrack was at the end of the long runway at Langley and it was near the run up area and, of course, the start of the take off. When I went home for good, my cot was on a screened porch facing the Gulf of Mexico on Siesta Key. All I could hear was the soft lapping of the water and nothing else and I would wake up half in and half out of sleep. The sleep part had engines going and for some reason they would stop and I would find myself standing on the floor wondering what the hell happened to them. An odd situation but then I was always told that I was odd.