Letter to editor: F-35Bs will be more than twice as loud
Letter to editor
F-35Bs will be more than twice as loud
In the May 2010 draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) for the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the key and crucial noise data for the F-35B was omitted in the 487 pages, substituting instead data assumptions based on the lighter, quieter Air Force F-35A: The Navy wanted the public to comment on the alternative proposals without this major environmental component.
Even now, after testing four F-35Bs at Patuxent since spring of this year, there is no shared data available. Just why isn’t the Navy or Lockheed Martin willing to share the noise data?
Nor could any elected leader – local, state or national – give us specific noise data.
According to the Naval Research Advisory Committee’s report on Jet Engine Noise Reduction, April 2009, the F-35A engine is twice as loud as the F-18E/F jet.
In Appendix A, page 49, the report states: “Noise has never been a design parameter for designing a new tactical aircraft, but rather aircraft such as the JSFG/ F-35 has a contract specification to only mitigate the noise. No requirement exists for engine noise staying below any threshold noise level.
“F-35A noise levels have undergone some measurement and appear to be comparable to the dB levels of other current tactical aircraft in Mil and after burner. However, the noise power, watts per square meter, not just dB, generated by the F-35A is two times greater than that generated by the F/A 18 E/F (the Super Hornet). All tactical engines grow in thrust over time, and that equates to even greater noise in the future.”
While all three F-35 variants use exactly the same engines, only the Marine Corps F-35B uses a swiveling engine exhaust nozzle and separate lift fans which adds weight, complexity and extra noise sources, making the F-35B noticeably noisier than the Air Force (F-35A) or Navy (F-35C) in certain flight configurations. We, therefore, surmise, the F-35B may be louder than the F-35A, the reason for the necessity of acquiring accurate noise data for an environmental impact statement.
The noise level coupled with the frequency of flights becomes vital information:
Alternative #1 which our community leaders support would give the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort 99,881 annual F-35B flight operations. That plus the additional 6,149 other aircraft operations gives Beaufort MCAS a total of 106,030 flight ops per year. A 71% increase in the number of flight ops annually from the number of flight ops we have today. Careful reading of the Marine Corp’s own draft EIS shows that MCAS Beaufort Under Alternative #1 is planning 422 flight operations every flying day, or 28.2 flight operations every hour of each flying day! (That is nearly one every two minutes.)
With two training squadrons – described as student pilots in the EIS – performing constantly in a one pilot, one engine supersonic jet, the safety risks as well as the noise increase dramatically.
Is this the future we wish for the nationally known “best small town” and for one of 12 “distinctive destinations”?
Can residents withstand the 71% increased rate of flight operations with the F-35B’s higher noise levels?
Jean Brown
Rick Butler
Rob Pollard
Lynne Morgan
www.best4beaufort.com
Beaufort, SC
Related posts:
- Letter to editor: F-35B puts out too much noise
- May 8: Hilton Head Island Airport Open House
- Letter to editor: Support Air Station Alternative 3
- F-35B jets are on the way: MCAS Beaufort slated for doubling of aircraft activity
- Letter to editor: Does Billy K’s re-branding of USCB make sense?
Comments
21 Responses to “Letter to editor: F-35Bs will be more than twice as loud”
I live on the same street & in the same neighborhood as the writers of this letter to the editor. We built here 23 years ago. MCAS & the jets were here when we built. We never expected MCAS to close. We never expected that they wouldn’t expand. These people have lived here 3 to 10 years. Some of them can look out their back window & see the landing strip across the ICW, as we can. Why did they think they could build this close to MCAS & then expect anything else? I sat in my home today and listened to the “sound of freedom” overhead. Yes, it can be very annoying at times, but it doesn’t happen every day.
I live right across 21 from the MCAS and I don’t want to hear ANYONE complain about noise. If we can put up with the noise here on Parker Drive then so can the rest of Beaufort.
Gotta love it cause it’s true:
“We will become a community of Lil Jon’s.
What…Whaaat….[HUH!?]….yeaaahhh…OOOKKKKK !!!”
Oh yea, and I work nights! So try sleeping at 6:30 when the afterburners are going off like fireworks! I’m still not complaining though!
I live on St. Helena too, and quit often hear them, sometimes directly over my house. But then again, I love to hear “The Sound of Freedom”.
To Cece and all the others who don’t want the new planes….you just retired here and you don’t care if the base closes and puts thousands of people out of work. I am glad you made it to retirement, but the rest of us still need to make a living.
There are still quiet areas in the county and a home buyer should be made aware of the noise levels by the Realtor before signing a contract. I live on St Helena Island and seldom hear an MCAS jet and even then they are miles away.
Areas west of Okatie are also quiet and while in Bluffton or Hilton Head, I have never heard one.
An AICUZ map is linked below. Usually anywhere 2 or more miles outside that will will be quieter.
http://www.lowcountryjlus.org/aicuz.html
I believe that bringing the training squadrons for the new jets here will be a disaster for Beaufort. We retired to Beaufort because of its charm and natural beauty. The existing jet noise can be more than an annoyance and I fear that the new jets will drive us right out of town. I hope that a better solution will be found.
I’m a resident since 1967 when I was one year old. I would not only welcome the new planes but would be proud to be a part of the community that supports and is supported by them!
When you retired to Beaufort, didn’t you notice there was a Marine Corps Air Station? You’re no different than the people who moved to PORT Royal and complained about the port there. Now the port is gone. Hope you enjoy your peace and quiet when the air station is gone and everyone has to move out from lack of work.
I have lived here a long time. In fairness I was brought to Beaufort by my father who served in the US Marines. I love to watch the planes flighing around. I never minded the sound. I own land in the flight zone and would not think twice about living there. I often stop from playing with my sons to watch f-18′s fly overhead. I have also been offshore and seen them fly over very close to the water. All too cool. Keep em flying. Keep Beauforts young ones in love with the military bases we have the honor of hosting in our fair city. We are better for having them here.
Lets force the Marine Corp to close MCAS Beaufort. Then see what happens to real estate values when all of those homes in Laurel Bay hit the market, not to mention the vast tracts of land on the then former base come open. Beaufort needs the military to maintain the economy, but the military does NOT need Beaufort.
I agree with you 100%. The military has other options, they do not need Beaufort as much as Beaufort needs them.
It is a shame that a small group meeting out at Pleasant Point are so vehemently against the new planes that will carry the useful life span of the local airstation well into the future. Without MCAS Beaufort has no good options for a recovery such as was the case after the Navy left Charleston.
Maybe some people come to the “best small town” and for one of 12 “distinctive destinations” (Beaufort) because of the MCAS and MCRD???
Shops and restaurants are closing at an alarming rate. The “best small town” is downsizing, retiring and outsourcing everything.
So maybe it’s time for something fresh and new.
Real estate agents should pay attention to this new marketing tool. “Home located where you can hear the Sound of Freedom”!
There are quieter areas, like here on St Helena, so this gives folks a choice. The American Way! Freedom to choose.
Jolie Watts,
I love your reply! I’m one of those people who hope to live there some day and I don’t care if there’s a little bit of noise in the air. Yeah for the Sound of Freedom!
Re: F-35′s Noise, Scenario Option, I would like to ask that anyone who is oppossed to the F-35, the F-18, The Air Station in general answer this one question, did you sign an ACUZ document when you purchased your property?
MCAS, MCRD, Naval Hospital Beaufort were all here long before most of who is here now arrived. So I find it quite interesting that those folks who choose to move here long after the military arrived in Beaufort now want them gone.
Now there will be those who say, OH NO we love the Military, we just do not want more noise, more flights, more dissruption, well I think we all want the best for our men in Uniform and this is what is best for our Military.
So as I read what the naysayers are saying, am reminded of a speach given almost 10 years ago…..”you are either with us or against us”…George H W Bush
So as you complain about the F35 ask your self; are you for the preservation of our freedom as a nation with a world class defense program are are you against that?
I can happily live with both the extra flights and increased noise. I’m not trying to sell time shares in a condo.
The quality of life that I knew growing up in Port Royal (I’m 44 now) has already been destroyed here.
We will become a community of Lil Jon’s.
What…Whaaat….whaaaat….yeaaahhh…OOOKKKKK !!!
Dear Editor,
I am disappointed at the selfish outlook of the letter writers who are more concerned with the imaginary ‘resale value’ of their homes than they are with the security of the nation. If the F-35B is noisy, get used to it. The F-8 and the F-4 used to be even louder when their afterburners lit off.
The men and women who are willing to defend you in some very dangerous parts of the world, must find it very reassuring that you are more concerned with the resale value of your property than you are with their ability to train realistically and prepare for battle.
Is the land of the free and the home of the brave or is it the land of the whiners and the home of the complainers?
Jim Pennell
At last! A comprehensive report on the noise expectations for this new aircraft that apparently is factual and doesn’t dodge the bullet. What “Best4Beaufort” reports in this letter should be taken VERY seriously!!!
We have always thought we were lucky to live in a beautiful area that happened to also have military bases. The politicians, however, seem to want to have a full fledged “military town” where that is all there is. . . . just military. . . . because many will leave and those who would have come, won’t when the quality of life is destroyed. Sad. Don’t forget to vote!!!
There is more than enough of yall here now, we don’t want any more to come to visit or to stay. Bring on the ‘Sound of Freedom’ F-35′s.