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1 1 (January 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govbhvw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.ri E~$~ & January 27, 2020 Aircraft Noise and Air Traffic Control Modernization The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is replacing its radar-based air traffic control system with a satellite-based navigation and tracking system called NextGen. The stated purpose of NextGen is to increase airspace utilization and improve air traffic flows, allowing airliners to fly more efficiently, thereby cutting fuel consumption and reducing emissions. In order to achieve these objectives, FAA is reconfiguring airspace by modifying flight routes, and by creating new approach and departure procedures at airports. Planning and implementing these changes has met with backlash from some communities where overflights have become more frequent, prompting legislative action regarding FAA's approaches to measuring aircraft noise, assessing impacts, and conducting community outreach. N exGe C ,n e\ . As part of the NextGen effort, FAA is establishing new approach and departure patterns at airports to implement precision navigation capabilities. FAA refers to these procedures as Performance Based Navigation (PBN). To implement PBN in complex airspace around major metropolitan areas, FAA is conducting a number of projects under its metroplex program. In planning each metroplex airspace reconfiguration, FAA prepares an environmental assessment allowing for input from communities that may be affected by proposed changes to flight patterns. Currently there are 11 metroplex projects in various stages of study and implementation (see Figure 1). Figure I. FAA Metroplex Projects Source: CRS analysis of FAA data. FAA reversed an earlier airspace restructuring it had implemented in Phoenix, AZ, following numerous noise complaints, criticism regarding limited community involvement in the process, and legal action challenging implementation of the flight path changes. FAA previously implemented a major airspace redesign separate from its metroplex program in the New York-New Jersey- Philadelphia region, which has also faced considerable community criticism. ~asr~i ~Z crrNoise Put simply, noise is unwanted sound. Sound intensity is measured in terms of pressure exerted on the ear using a logarithmic decibel (dB) scale. For roughly every 10 dB increase, humans perceive a sound to double in loudness, so 70 dB would sound roughly twice as loud as 60 dB. A noise registering 80 dB would sound roughly twice as loud as 70 dB, and four times as loud as 60 dB. FAA regulations require aircraft noise measurements as part of the certification process for new aircraft designs. Sound levels are measured under three conditions: (1) during full-power takeoff measured from a position offset 450 meters (m) laterally from the runway centerline and abeam the point of peak noise; (2) flyover, measured from directly beneath the flightpath at a position 6,500m from the start of the takeoff roll and past the point of initial power reduction after takeoff; and (3) approach, measured from directly beneath the flightpath at a point 2,000m from the runway threshold. A normalization procedure, called the Effective Perceived Noise Level (EPNL), is used to account for tones and sound duration. The sum of these three measurements must be below the noise certification standard for that particular aircraft, which depends on its maximum takeoff weight and the number of engines. Noise certification standards, referred to as stages, have become more stringent over the years as engine and airframe noise reduction technology has improved. Aircraft produced in the late 1960s through 1975 had to meet Stage 2 noise standards. In the mid-1970s, FAA set more stringent Stage 3 criteria for new aircraft and aircraft engines, which became mandatory for all new jet airplanes by the late 1980s. Noisier Stage 2 airplanes were gradually phased out and were completely banned from routine operation in U.S. airspace by 2016. In 2005, FAA promulgated Stage 4 standards, which mandated a cumulative reduction of 10 EPNLdB across the three measurement conditions compared to Stage 3, and in 2017, FAA adopted Stage 5 standards requiring a further cumulative reduction of 7 EPNLdB below Stage 4 standards. Since these standards apply only to new aircraft designs, it usually takes several years for operational noise levels to noticeably decrease as airline fleets are slowly replaced. To describe noise levels in communities, aircraft noise is modeled based on flight operations across an average busy .O 'T mppm qq\ p\w gn'a', ggmm a 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

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