A recent Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis on Helicopter noise information for airports and communities has been published and is available for download. The synthesis focuses on providing airport operators and communities with a better understanding of helicopter noise and a description of the current state of practices that are effective for managing helicopter noise impacts. This synthesis is one of three ACRP projects that have been undertaken on helicopter noise. The other two studies on helicopter noise are the ACRP S02-44 “Guidance for Helicopter Community Noise Prediction” which has been completed and addresses improved technical methods to model helicopter noise and ACRP S02-48 “Assessing Community Annoyance of Helicopter Noise” investigating acoustical and non-acoustical factors influencing community annoyance with helicopter noise which was underway at the time ACRP S02-13 was produced.
The Synthesis comprises a literature search as well as survey responses from ten airports to find out about their helicopter issues and current helicopter noise management programs. The research revealed that the most effective practices for mitigating helicopter noise included community outreach, helicopter noise management programs, technology, noise abatement programs, media pooling, fees based on quiet technology, and voluntary operational limits and curfews. Of these strategies, the airport survey respondents agreed that outreach to the community and operators was the most important part of their noise management programs and entailed updating websites, educating the public and operators in person, and notifying the public of either temporary or permanent changes in helicopter routes. The airport survey respondents were also uniform in their response that simply publishing noise mitigation procedures without making operators aware of them was not effective.
ACRP projects are supported by the non-profit Transportation Research Board with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. For a copy of the Synthesis and more detailed information, please visit http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/174859.aspx.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Shelley Ewalt.
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