Posted on 08/17/2005 6:06:15 PM PDT by SandRat
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is bracing for a spike in noise complaints when a squadron of British warplanes arrives in Tucson next week.
Eight Royal Air Force GR4 Tornado jets will touch down Aug. 27 for a month of training that will put them in the skies seven days a week.
The British attack jets are notably louder than the A-10s and C-130s typically flown at D-M, and their arrival tends to generate extra complaints to the base's public affairs office, a D-M official said Tuesday.
Exact noise comparisons were not readily available, but a 2001 Air Force environmental impact study that looked at decibel levels of several military aircraft said a Tornado jet traveling 2,000 feet above the ground sounds about the same as a motorcycle 25 feet away.
D-M issued a news release Tuesday to let the public know ahead of time about the impending arrival of the British jets.
"They do create a lot more noise," D-M spokesman Capt. DeJon Redd said of the Tornado jets, which come to town for training on a regular basis, sometimes once or twice a year.
"We're trying to be good neighbors and inform the Tucson community," he said. "We take great pride in being able to host them and hope the city of Tucson feels the same way."
Not everyone wants to roll out the welcome mat.
Daniel Patterson of the citizens group Tucsonans for Quality of Life, which is concerned about military jet noise and safety, said: "Tucsonans are going to pay the price in more lost quality of life," when the Tornados arrive.
"Bringing more aircraft and foreign aircraft to Tucson is not a good idea," he said.
The Tornados will be flying in and out of D-M on their way to training exercises at the Barry M. Goldwater Range, west of the city. They are part of Operation Snowbird, a program run by the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing in Tucson.
About 85 percent of the extra flights will use D-M's southeasterly flight corridor, near the Rita Ranch area. The rest will use the northeast corridor, over the city center.
All flights will take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The British jets are due to leave Sept. 30, Redd said.
He said the training is crucial because British forces are key U.S. allies overseas and they need to train alongside American pilots to prepare for war.
"The training we do applies directly to current combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan," Redd said.
*notes that husband was a submariner* Not all submariners now. *whispers* Just the nukes and you know most of them don't have common sense anyway. Carter's a great example...
cut-outs on the mufflers....
"2000" feet? NO way...for the Tornado..200 feet is considered a "high" approach..maybe we can get the plate glass franchise for the area around the base..
I take it you have never been camping in the takeoff path of a B-52.
Listening to the BRAC commission on base closings.
One of the things they took into consideration was encroachment and complaints.
I say if someone is crazy enough to buy a house near and airport or air base they should just learn to accept the consequences of noise.
BTTT!!!!!!
It's typical of Tucson Lefties reported on in the Arizona RED STAR. It is a good news and the lefts take on it is why I posted it.
They want the $$$$ D-M brings in but the jets are a hazard to the (pick 0ne or more)
a. environment
b. children
c. hearing
d. birds
e. water
f. air
g. schools
h. surrounding communities
When I was in elementary school in the early 60s there was a poem the boys thought was clever.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
You've got a nose
Like a B52
From my grade school days:
Roses are red
violets are dead
sugar is lumpy
and so is your head!
Awesome. The louder the better. Turn and burn.
I'd settle for some 'Huns', and a couple of 'Thuds' for good measure ;)
/jasper
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