Afterburned? Residents in the F-35 Flight Path Share Their Views on the Plane

[unhappycamper]

http://www.7dvt.com/2013afterburned-residents-f-35-flight-path-share-their-views-plane



Kelley Sims

Afterburned? Residents in the F-35 Flight Path Share Their Views on the Plane
By Charles Eichacker (12.11.13)

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy stood with the top brass but sounded a populist note at a press conference last week celebrating the U.S. Air Force’s announcement that 18 F-35 fighter planes would fly out of Burlington International Airport.

“I’ve never seen such a grassroots effort in this state,” Leahy remarked to 200 members of the Vermont Air National Guard.

But for some people who make their homes near the airport, Leahy’s statement didn’t convey the whole picture.

“Yeah, there’s broad grassroots support. But there’s also broad grassroots opposition,” said Julian Portilla, a Winooski resident and associate professor at Champlain College who counts himself among the opponents.

[MADem]

1. How much louder is an F - 35 than F - 16?

Is there any appreciable difference, really?

It's not like these people have been sitting there listening to nothing but birds singing, and then BOOOOOOM they're dealing with jet engine noise.

They've been in a military a/c flight path all along.

[caraher]

2. Apparently there's no difference

In fact, the F-35 may be quieter... this graphic is from page 10 of a report on noise for Navy jets, and it shows the F-35 and F-16 as 145 dB in Military power and, in afterburner, the F-16 at 150 dB and the F-35 at 148 dB - so the F-35 is arguably quieter! This is more about whether to base fighters there at all...

[MADem]

3. Great graph! A lot of the discussion is about noise, though....

“They’re gonna be noisy,” he said of the F-35s, “but every jet is noisy.”

“That’s the noise of freedom,” his wife added.

Portilla and his wife, Kari Hoose, a teacher at Champlain Valley Union High School, listed several reasons for their opposition to the planes. The Air Force hasn’t demonstrated the safety or cost-effectiveness of the jets, Portilla said, and no one has raised the possibility of creating a fund for homeowners whose property values drop as a result of the basing. With three young children, the couple is worried about the impact on students and believes thicker windows should be installed in schools to protect their hearing.

[caraher]

4. "every jet is noisy"

So yes, the main discussion is noise, but if the attendant noise is deemed unacceptable, the effect is to ban fighters.

[MADem]

5. Well, my only point is that the discussion does seem to center around noise.

I'm not reading a lot of "swords into plowshares" or other objections in that article. Not saying they don't exist, they're just not covered. The gripes seem to be that the noise lowers property values and could affect the kids' hearing and they need thicker windows on the school as a consequence...

It doesn't look like the noise will be deemed 'unacceptable,' though--the presence of the fighters also has an economic benefit to the area, apparently.