(Air Force) Academy revamps flight programs to address neighbors' concerns over noise, safety

[unhappycamper]

http://gazette.com/academy-revamps-flight-programs-to-address-neighbors-concerns-over-noise-safety/article/1520718



The Cirrus Aircraft T-53A is a small, single engine aircraft at the Academy that replaced the fleet of Diamond DA-40 T-52s in the spring of 2012. It is slightly larger than the T-52 and has a slightly higher horsepower engine. It provides exposure to powered flight and gives cadets the opportunity to solo.

Academy revamps flight programs to address neighbors' concerns over noise, safety
By Tom Roeder Updated: May 29, 2014 at 8:25 pm

The U.S. Air Force Academy is trying to quiet down its flying programs this summer to appease neighbors who have demanded changes.

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Trouble over noise from cadet flight training started last summer when the school's flight programs were at their loudest and boiled over at a meeting last fall.

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Academy flight programs total 25,000 sorties per year. Last summer, all of them were concentrated on the 18,500-acre campus and surrounding neighborhoods after Pentagon budget cuts forced the academy to close its alternate airfield.

And, driven by Federal Aviation Administration concerns, the academy compressed its take-off and landing patterns last year, leaving as many as 14 single-engine trainers at a time droning over rooftops.