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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-10-19-HFAC-min Hanscom Field Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of October 19, 2004 7:30 pm, Concord Town Hall Ms. Shapiro called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The minutes of September’s meeting will be held until the next meeting after everyone has had a chance to comment. 1. Noise Report - Ms. Arnold distributed the Summary of Monthly Noise Report, Comparison of September 2004 to September 2003. Overall, the total number of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. operations decreased, while night activity increased and civilian departure EXP increased only slightly. Complaints were down from the previous year. Mr. Williams asked how much of the increase in EXP from Stage 2 and Stage 3 jet operations occurred between 10 and 11 p.m. The FAA standard considers 10 p.m. the cut off time for daytime operations. Between 10 and 11 p.m. the noise impact as measured in the EXP is 10 times counted and is therefore considered something of a penalty. The night use fee goes into effect at 11 p.m. Ms. Arnold was fairly certain that the increase in EXP was evenly distributed from 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and that it was not concentrated in the 10 – 11 p.m. timeframe. Ms. Arnold referred to Page 5 of the Report to explain that in Sept. 2004, noise monitors showed an unusual decrease of 8.7 dB at Site 33. It is possible that the higher noise levels in Sept. 2003 were the result of trees being removed that created additional noise and may have skewed the numbers. Maintenance garage clean up is scheduled to start in November. The project site has undergone an extensive evaluation on how to remove contamination. Issues have been resolved and clean up work may begin. 2. Noise Monitoring System - The Massport board will consider an upgrade to the Noise Monitoring System on October 21, 2004. The current system, installed in early 1990, is maintained and calibrated annually to meet industry standards, but has become outdated over time with advances in computer technology. The Massport board will consider the system upgrade and authorize staff to negotiate a contract with Rannoch Corp. of Canada, to install new hardware and software as well as replace field monitors. In November Massport staff will coordinate with HFAC and begin a series of meetings to review the system’s capabilities. Massport will ask the vendor to make a presentation to HFAC at their Nov. meeting. The new system will provide data needed for researching and responding to questions about aircraft traffic and associated noise. Of the 36 new field monitors (microphones) 6 are located in the Hanscom area. There is one monitor in each of the four communities and two are on the airfield. Several committee members expressed interest in taking part in the discussions with Rannoch Corp. to provide input on the location of the monitors and consider adding new monitors. Ms. Arnold explained that existing monitors are likely to be replaced, not relocated and the poles will remain in place. Noise Working Group recommendations, which are listed in the ESPR, were considered when the RFP was written. Ms. Shapiro suggested forming a subcommittee as soon as possible to gather input from the communities. Mr. Walsh will send Ms. Shapiro the Noise Working Group membership list to use as initial contacts for the new subcommittee. Mr. Williams stated that he thinks that the group should be evaluating actual measured noise levels rather than the “modeled noise” as given by the EXP in the Noise Reports. The existing noise monitors pick up community noise as well as aircraft noise, and do not necessarily provide an accurate accounting of specific aircraft noise events. The new system can differentiate between aircraft and other noise and should be able to correlate noise events with actual discreet events to provide a better understanding of the noise impact of each event. Page 1 of 2 10/19/04 3. Runway 5/23 Safety Update . This project was reviewed extensively several years ago. At the Nov HFAC meeting, Mr. Ennis will provide background on the project which began in 1999 and will speak specifically on grading and wetlands issues. Mr. Walsh will provide copies of the report that was filed. Massport is beginning the permitting process; they have not filed with the Bedford Conservation Committee at this point. 4. Jet Aviation - Plans to pave an 80,000 square foot ramp extension are in the early design phase. Mr. Ennis will report on the project in November. 5. Hangar 24 - Responses to the RFP for Hangar 24 have been received and are under review. There is no set time frame for Massport to decide on a developer for this project. 6. Future Projects: Pine Hill RFP - The Pine Hill RFP is being drafted. No date has been set for when the RFP will go out. The project, as described in the ESPR, is for construction of up to two 12,000 square foot hangars. 7. Discussion item: VLJ - Mr. Williams described VLJ (very light jets) as a new type of small jet, not yet certificated by the FAA. The three major manufacturers are Eclipse, Adam Aircraft, and Cessna. Most of these jets have 2 pilot seats and 4 passenger seats. They are lighter than existing jets due to a number of high-tech innovations. The asking price is expected to be between $1.2 MM and $2.6 MM, less than half the entry level price of a small jet today. These jets are likely to be very quiet compared to jets flown now. They expect the majority of jets will be sold initially to owner operators for personal and business use. There is some speculation that they may be added to corporate fleets as a cost cutting measure. Pogo is a new company that intends to offer charter service around the country using VLJ. Existing hangars at Hanscom can accommodate planes with a maximum 39’ wing span. These jets have a wingspan greater than 40’. Hanscom may need to consider how it might accommodate these jets in the future. 8. Fly Friendly - A presentation on the Fly Friendly program was given by Cedric Daniel. The program is intended to encourage pilots to follow safe operating procedures and reduce noise levels at Hanscom Field. The AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) and NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) each have detailed guidelines and recommendations for flight operations outlined in the packet. Ms. Coppe mentioned that many people mistakenly believe that the nighttime fee for flight operations applies only when a complaint is made. Ms. Coppe suggested that Massport clarify that the nighttime fee schedule applies to all operations occurring between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. regardless of whether a complaint is received. While 653 complaints were made in September, about 300 of these were made by a single individual. It would be helpful to plot the source of complaints by location to get a better understanding of where they are coming from. Mr. Walsh reported that Massport has had some very preliminary discussions with a commercial passenger carrier. They have received no notice of potential interest from any cargo related carriers. Ms. Arnold expects the 2003 Annual Noise Report to be available by the next HFAC meeting and asked to include it as an agenda item. The next meeting is Nov 16, 2004. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm. Page 2 of 2 10/19/04