Have you ever noticed in the newspaper how many people complain about aircraft jet noise from the local airport? And have you ever considered that the airport most of the time was their first? How about that the residential developments encroached upon the buffer zone for the airport, as more space was needed for the city to grow? Is that really the airport's fault, or is that merely a free-market scenario, where the land is cheap and available, and there is nowhere else to build, but severe demands for housing during business cycle expansion periods? This entire issue is a Catch-22, because as the city grows, the airport grows, and therefore, there are more aircraft, and thus, more noise.
Not long ago, I was talking to an individual who lives not far from a major international airport, and their entire community would have large jets taking off right over their city, especially when the wind was going a different direction and the aircraft were taking off directly over the city.
My acquaintance noted that when he was a teenager, he would come out of the mall, and the roar and thunder of a wide body airliner would literally shake the ground.
Interestingly enough, I too grew up with airplane noise, but it was of a different type.
It was not one of passenger air travel, and the noises were really the sound of freedom.
Let me explain.
You see, I know all about airplane noise, I grew up on Navy Bases.
Of course, I loved the howl of an F-4 Phantom and got to the point I could identify all the various aircraft by the sounds.
Of course, the jet engines are getting quieter these days, and that is a good thing.
It is my contention that we use noise canceling technologies to eliminate those sounds on takeoff, as we could do this in a number of ways, using current technology.
It seems as if the noise abatement issues also cause less-than-totally safe flight patterns during critical times in flight, such as take-off.
And the buffer zone will prevent ground fatalities in the unfortunate event of a terrible crash.
Luckily, NASA in their NASA STATS program is working on fixing these things, and aerospace designers around the world, and especially in the top universities in the United States are working on better aircraft design to prevent noise.
Also, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and Pratt & Whitney have all worked very hard in making our jet engines quieter, more powerful, and even more fuel-efficient.
In the future, the noise won't nearly be what it has been in the past, and aircraft will be safer.
Not long ago, I was talking to an individual who lives not far from a major international airport, and their entire community would have large jets taking off right over their city, especially when the wind was going a different direction and the aircraft were taking off directly over the city.
My acquaintance noted that when he was a teenager, he would come out of the mall, and the roar and thunder of a wide body airliner would literally shake the ground.
Interestingly enough, I too grew up with airplane noise, but it was of a different type.
It was not one of passenger air travel, and the noises were really the sound of freedom.
Let me explain.
You see, I know all about airplane noise, I grew up on Navy Bases.
Of course, I loved the howl of an F-4 Phantom and got to the point I could identify all the various aircraft by the sounds.
Of course, the jet engines are getting quieter these days, and that is a good thing.
It is my contention that we use noise canceling technologies to eliminate those sounds on takeoff, as we could do this in a number of ways, using current technology.
It seems as if the noise abatement issues also cause less-than-totally safe flight patterns during critical times in flight, such as take-off.
And the buffer zone will prevent ground fatalities in the unfortunate event of a terrible crash.
Luckily, NASA in their NASA STATS program is working on fixing these things, and aerospace designers around the world, and especially in the top universities in the United States are working on better aircraft design to prevent noise.
Also, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and Pratt & Whitney have all worked very hard in making our jet engines quieter, more powerful, and even more fuel-efficient.
In the future, the noise won't nearly be what it has been in the past, and aircraft will be safer.