Quiet Flying
by Jenny Radley
A new
flight path trial was announced in May 2008 as part of the on going
Quiet Flying Project. John Gregory secretary
of the
Farnborough Aerodrome Consultative Committee (FACC) issued the
following statement;
From 0700 on Thursday 8th May 2008 a new trial procedure for departing
aircraft will commence. This is a further refinement of procedures
under the Quiet Flying Programme that has been underway since May 2007.
The new trial will be based on the routing of the aircraft from runway 24 only. If the aircraft is routing to the north, the existing procedure of 2 miles straight ahead using the best rate of climb will continue. If the aircraft is routing to the south, the aircraft will be instructed to take a 20° turn to the left after reaching a safe altitude (normally 500ft).
The aim of this trial is to route aircraft over the unpopulated areas of army land and therefore reduce the amount of aircraft passing close to Church Crookham.
The green [sic -> black] line on the map below gives an indicative route of how this may look.
The trial is expected to run until November 2008 when the data gathered from the 18 month trial will be examined with a view to formalising procedures in 2009.
TAG would welcome comments regarding the trial on the dedicated phone line 01252-526001.
Regards,
John F. Gregory
The new trial will be based on the routing of the aircraft from runway 24 only. If the aircraft is routing to the north, the existing procedure of 2 miles straight ahead using the best rate of climb will continue. If the aircraft is routing to the south, the aircraft will be instructed to take a 20° turn to the left after reaching a safe altitude (normally 500ft).
The aim of this trial is to route aircraft over the unpopulated areas of army land and therefore reduce the amount of aircraft passing close to Church Crookham.
The green [sic -> black] line on the map below gives an indicative route of how this may look.
The trial is expected to run until November 2008 when the data gathered from the 18 month trial will be examined with a view to formalising procedures in 2009.
TAG would welcome comments regarding the trial on the dedicated phone line 01252-526001.
Regards,
John F. Gregory
When in 2005 TAG, the operator of Farnborough Aerodrome, submitted an application to double the number of weekend flights, the request was met with a huge number of fierce objections from the general public. The application was refused and TAG subsequently appealed. We still await the outcome of the appeal at time of writing.
TAG were shocked that so many people felt aggrieved about their operation. They decided to try and mitigate some of the noise annoyance which they clearly cause people. So, in May '07 TAG introduced a trial initiative which they call the Quiet Flying Programme (QFP).
The QFP includes a number of measures designed to reduce the impact of noise on local residents. The most significant for us living here in Hart, being the alteration to the flight noise abatement procedures.
Prior to 1st May 2007 an aircraft leaving Farnborough could turn anyway it liked (subject to Air Traffic Control) once it had acquired an altitude of 1,800ft. Aircraft will acquire 1,800ft at different distances from the aerodrome & most aircraft easily reach 1,800ft before crossing over Church Crookham. Consequently aircraft taking off from Farnborough were spreading themselves widely (& evenly) across the local area thus producing a uniform and dissipated spread of potential noise annoyance. However, from TAG’s point of view, this did create a large population resistant to any future expansion plans that they may have.
On 1st May 2007 TAG introduced a number of measures to counter this spread effect and instigated a trial flight plan that narrowed the area over flown by departing (& arriving) aircraft. The idea was that aircraft would climb as rapidly as they could (the higher they are the quieter they would be from the ground) and to stop the spread of annoyance they would not be allowed to turn until 2.5 nautical miles from the aerodrome (a point roughly out towards Zebon Copse).
In the first month the number of complaints dropped by a factor of 4, and those of us who lived under the flight path noted that the extra height did appear to reduce the impact of noise. However, RAF Odiham raised a concern about departing aircraft having an impact on their own activities and so they requested that aircraft be allowed to turn at 2.0nm. This change was instigated on 8th June 2007. Since that date the number and intensity of complaints being raised both with TAG and with us has risen considerably.
It should be said that TAG’s acceptance that they are a noise sensitive airport and willingness to try to do something about it should be welcomed. It is a sign that they have shifted from the state of indifference which they have historically shown towards the impact they had on local residents. They are now demonstrating an awareness that we are all their neighbours and they are acknowledging that they should try to lessen their impact upon us.
So why are these good intentions causing such intense annoyance? We believe that it is down to the interaction of a number of factors;
- By concentrating flights over a narrower area those who are over-flown are done so more often and so these movements cross a perception threshold, after which all flights become annoying.
- The 2.0nm turning threshold has increased (by a huge amount) the number of aircraft over flying some densely populated areas.
- The steeper climb means that the aircraft are higher in the sky and are therefore obvious across a wider area.
- TAG publicized the QFP widely in the media – this will have raised awareness and expectations of the noise issue (even if just at a subliminal level).
- TAG has had their busiest summer on record (with a 26% increase of traffic compared to last year). This will have increased the baseline level of noise annoyance.
We will continue to work with TAG, representing local people to ensure that the most equitable solution can be reached. Neither TAG nor the local residential population are going to go away – so we have to continue to work together.
If you feel that an individual flight has been particularly annoying then you should report it to TAG’s complaint line (01252 526001). Please give as much detail (date, time of flight, your location) as possible – by understanding which flights cause the most annoyance then it is easier to focus in on what changes could have the greatest benefit.
You can
contact me by E-Mail at:
JennyR@ccguk.com