Courtesy Photo | A map of Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, and its noise contours. The outermost line...... read more read more
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It is a typical evening in the West Valley of Maricopa County. As you are driving home from a long day at work, you hear the thundering of an aircraft soaring high above your car. But there is nothing to fear that thundering is the sound of pilots training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.
The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB is the largest fighter wing in the USAF, and home to more than 120 F-35A Lightning IIs and 20 F-16 Fighting Falcons. Named after 2nd Lt. Frank Luke Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honor for achieving 18 aerial victories in World War I, Luke AFB is responsible for training 75% of the world’s F-35 pilots. Luke AFB takes student pilots from zero to hero with training lasting up to eight months and has graduated more than 61,000 pilots since 1941. Airmen leave the training base ready to win tomorrow’s fight.
Today, the base has a $3.8 billion economic impact to the state of Arizona and the 56th FW trains service members from allied nations such as Norway, Italy, and more. But with Luke AFB’s flourishing operations comes additional noise creation.
Since the base focuses primarily on training fighter pilots, Luke AFB conducts about 100-150 flights each day, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Although these are the usual flying hours, pilots may occasionally fly outside of this window to accomplish unique mission requirements such as training with other agencies.
Flying operations may be noisy at times, but the wing ensures all flights are in accordance with state, local, and federal guidelines in addition to those defined by the Air Installations Compatible Use Zones.
“We're doing our best to be good stewards of our training in a responsible way for the community,” said Lt Col. Tyler Smith, 56th Operations Group deputy commander and F-35 instructor pilot. “We try our best to mitigate the noise that we create. However, there's a certain amount of unavoidable noise that's going to happen when you're operating fighter jets.”
The Department of Defense manages the AICUZ program to promote collaborative planning for compatible development to sustain mission and community goals. The program aims to protect the health, safety, and welfare of community members from the effects of aircraft operations, including noise pollution.
This program establishes noise contours and accident potential zones around Luke AFB. Noise contours are based on an average annual day of airfield operations and are shown in Day-Night Average Sound Level, or DNL. Noise contours ranging from 65DNL to 80 DNL and the APZs identify compatible land uses in these sensitive areas.
“Luke’s current noise contours are codified in Arizona state law and identify the average noise levels on a decibel level,” said Christopher Toale, 56th FW Community Initiatives Team director. “Anywhere above 65 decibels is generally accepted as an industry standard for when noise becomes a nuisance. For this reason, Arizona state law prohibits homes from being built inside the 65-decibel line unless residential buildings were built before 2001.”
Arizona State Statute 28-8481 mandates that all new buildings inside the 65 decibel contours require building materials to reduce the sound decibels for sound attenuation anywhere between 15-40 decibels depending on the location and what the project is.
Homes built inside the 65 DNL before 2001 do not have to follow the statute. However, the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation has a program called the Community Noise Mitigation Program which offers city or county governments a $75 million grant for specified buildings, including residential homes, built inside the 65 DNL to use for new insulation to lessen the noise.
When taking off from the runway, the safety of pilots, aircraft, and the community are at the forefront, which involves coordination with the local air traffic control and the 56th FW Range Management Office. Aircraft take off from Luke AFB and fly to one of several areas within the Barry M. Goldwater Range or military special use airspace designated for military training. The RMO is responsible for scheduling flights and managing the 14,585 square miles of available training space [SL6] at the BMGR and military operating airspace. The RMO is also responsible for land management of the BMGR and as such conduct scientific studies to ensure the flora and fauna within the range are safe from harm.
For example, the RMO tracks endangered species like the Sonoran pronghorn on the BMGR and ensures that they are not in danger of any harm from flight missions. The RMO can redirect pilots to a different target for their exercises when necessary. This helps ensure the range remains an effective place for pilots and other agencies to train with weapons, rehearse maneuvers, and meet their mission requirements without significant environmental impact.
In addition to all the restrictions set in place, the 56th FW Public Affairs Office also fields calls concerning aircraft noise. The RMO investigates potential noise infractions, informs the 56th OG of the incident if necessary, and works with public affairs to explain the situation to community members. According to Charles Buchanan, the 56th FW/RMO director, if the pilot who created the noise broke any rules, it is not typically intentional.
“While our noise can be startling or an inconvenience, it is part of our training. And in the case of sonic booms, it can be equally if not more disturbing,” said Buchanan. “But those sonic booms are also part and parcel to our training, and we need to train the right way so we can build the right instinctive habits for those pilots.”
56th FW pilots do their best to mitigate noise over residential areas by avoiding them as much as possible while also achieving mission objectives. However, besides the noise that is being created by the jets, there are other factors that impact how loud aircraft can be.
The weather and time of year can have a great impact on noise. Low hanging clouds can trap noise and make F-35s and F-16s sound even louder than they are. The direction of takeoffs and landings can differ depending on seasonal changes in the wind, so different residential neighborhoods may experience more noise than they are used to. Toale stated that many instances of excessive noise happen to specific areas at very specific times of the day and are often temporary. Some residents acclimatize after living in the valley for long periods.
In addition to the RMO and instructor pilots, the CIT builds and strengthens long-lasting relationships with the community. The team provides training on noise science and what to expect when coexisting with the base to create understanding and continuation of mission success.
“This CIT office and the folks that work with us are here to protect the long-term interests of Luke Air Force Base with the community’s safety in mind, first and foremost,” said Toale. “Everything we do is limiting the impact on the community while still engaging and doing what we need to for national defense, but we still have a mission and we have to be here to do it. Critical to accomplishing our mission is the CIT office’s engagement with the community on a daily basis.”
For more information about noise and flying operations, please visit our website at www.luke.af.mil, check the factsheet, or email 56fw.pa@us.af.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2024 18:39 |
| Story ID: | 477950 |
| Location: | LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 111 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Thunder Overhead: Understanding Jet Noise, by 2nd Lt. Suejin Lim, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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