Col David B. Wirth
Aircraft flyover noise is the major environmental issue recognized by communities near US military aircraft installations and ranges. Accurate aircraft noise footprints are essential to basing and operations decisions allowing military training and operational flights while attempting to mitigate effects for noise sensitive community areas. AFRL/HE is leading the development and establishment of an international aircraft flyover noise acoustic instrumentation range to significantly improve the fidelity and accuracy of the aircraft noise measurements and resulting noise footprints. The dB Towers aircraft acoustic instrumentation range employs a 3-dimensional array of microphones to capture the complete noise signature of an airplane or helicopter in flight. The approximately 60 microphones are arranged on two 1200–foot towers, along the centerline of a runway and perpendicular to the flight path. This range will be used by USAF, Army, and Navy organizations for significantly improving the accuracy of aircraft noise data and the resulting noise footprints. Local commanders will also be able to use the data to help make decisions on the most effective community noise management strategies.