■ 09 January 2012 | 12:48 PM
More Noise at Oceana, more Facts
More Noise at Oceana, Facts; There was an article in Sunday’s Pilot discussing the increase of Jet noise at Oceana. As the article stated, noise has increased, and it will continue until late summer. The noise will increase periodically through the period when squadrons prepare to go aboard carriers.
FACTS; Fentress is the primary field used by Oceana squadrons for Day/Night Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP). The field will be closed until late summer.
-Oceana has the capability (facility) to accomplish the FCLP mission. (Runways, carrier landing aids) There are conditions at Oceana that are less than optimum, but acceptable, for FCLP; No carrier deck lighting on any runway, (available at Fentress), ambient light, higher flight pattern and conflict with the normal landing pattern. (Oceana has been used successfully when Fentress has been closed in the past)
-There are 4 runways at Oceana; 2 parallel NE/SW, 5/23 and 2 parallel NW/SE 32/14 runways. For over a year one of the NE/SW runways has been closed for repair. (Presently 5L expects to be open in April). Normally the primary runways are the NE/SW( 5/23.) It is hard to do FCLP on the single runway and still conduct normal operations.
- The other runways, 32/14 (NW/SE) are normally used 14 percent of the year. The Navy has been using this runway as the primary runway, while construction on the NE/SW(5/23) runways, causing noise to many who do not hear the noise with such frequency. The departure to the North from runways 32, causes more noise over the Great Neck area.
- FCLP normally has multiple aircraft in the pattern causing the pattern to be extended. This causes noise in the London Bridge area when FCLP is being conducted on the NW/32 runway. The area just south of Hilltop and Lynnheaven Mall area is impacted when the NE(5) runway is used. (The NE(5) will be used more frequently when construction on 5L is compete.)
-Regardless of which runways are being used, people living close (within 2 ½ miles of the field) will be affected by the increase of FCLP at Oceana.
-The Navy is using fields in South Carolina and Florida to supplement Oceana for FCLP during the Fentress closing, this will take some of the FCLP requirement from Oceana.
Bottom Line; There is going to be increased noise around Oceana while local squadrons are conducting FCLP. The area affected will change according to the runway in use, but Oceana FCLP is a definite requirement until the repair at Fentress is complete.
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Close Oceana NOW
It is unconcionable that the Navy would even consider resuming flights without even waiting for an investigation of the recent jet disaster. You see, the pilots can eject-they are trained and equipped to save their necks if their plane crashes. We, the local population, have no choice but to be burned alive. Sure, the pilots can try to fly the plane until the last minute, but bottom line is that their choice will be to take out the mall, a school or an apartment complex. These planes are a tragedy to our city. They should never have come here. It is disgusting to hear the mayor speake about this. Our lives are totally expendible to both the Navy and the city and training STUDENT pilots takes precedence over our very existance.
I disagree with one fact presented. The first fact that Fentress
is the primary runway to perform FCLP operations. Yes, it is the current desire of the Secretary to utilize Fentress as the primary runway for FCLP operations, but according to his documentation, the home field is the desired field to perform this operation with an OLF absorbing the overflow.
Because of encroachment concerns, this first fact is now a norm. It shouldn't be, but it is. This fact is a want by the Secretary. He told us this in his FEIS documentation in 2003 when he studied putting the Super Hornets at Oceana. In reality, what the people around Oceana are experiencing in the coming months should be closer to the NORM. The Secretary also knows this, but is trying to convince the region Fentress is the primary field.
this is why the secretary calls Oceana the most capable
of all his air facilities and why Oceana is also the least favorable to perform the mission assigned. Encroachment concerns about noise. All these facts the Admiral mentioned have been known down here in NC for years. We knew Oceana could do the job. Yet we have actually had representatives of the Secretary telling us Oceana is not designed to perform FCLP operations.
O, they will try to caveat it but many of us realized early on that Oceana is capable of perform FCLP operations and it would be much cheaper to put in the lights, etc mentioned instead of condemning a single acre of land for an OLF. This is about using or not using Oceana as it could be. What the people are hearing is how Oceana should function normally. No 2nd OLF required.