Aircraft noise has not increased, Hollywood Burbank Airport official says
Hollywood Burbank Airport officials addressed this week some of the recent concerns they have received from Burbank residents regarding noise.
Patrick Lammerding, the airport’s new deputy executive director of planning and development, briefed members of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday about airfield operations and procedures, as well as talked about the questions raised by the public.
Residents expressed concerns about the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen, before it was fully implemented in Southern California earlier this year.
Since NextGen was launched around March, residents have contacted both city and airport officials, claiming that the new satellite-based radar system has been the cause of increased noise, especially during takeoffs.
NextGen was developed to increase safety when airplanes depart and arrive at airports, as well as make flight paths more fuel and time efficient.
Lammerding, who recently worked for the FAA as an assistant manager and an airport certification safety inspector for the federal agency’s Los Angeles district office, said NextGen has not changed the procedures of how airplanes depart or fly into Hollywood Burbank.
He added that flight paths have changed because of the new system, but the changes occur about 20 miles away from the airport.
The noise could be due to several factors, including the weight of the aircraft, air temperature and wind, Lammerding said.
An airplane will be able to ascend sooner and at a steeper grade if there is less weight in it. On the other hand, a plane will use more of the runway and climb up at a flatter angle if it is heavier with more passengers and cargo, Lammerding said.
Additionally, aircraft can ascend more quickly if the air temperature is cooler because the air is more dense in cooler weather, which is more ideal for pilots and planes, Lammerding said.
“You will tend to have a lower altitude [of departure] on average during the summer as you would during the winter,” Lammerding said. “Same thing goes over the course of a day. If you’re on an early morning flight, the early morning flight will have a better rate of climb.”
The speed and direction of the wind also factors in during takeoffs. Lammerding said it is preferable to depart into a headwind, in which the wind helps the rate of climb and allows the pilot to ascend faster. He added that a tailwind results in a shallower takeoff.
When asked about the voluntary curfew at Hollywood Burbank, Lammerding said airlines are not to schedule any flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. However, general aviation carriers, which include corporate and charter companies Atlantic Aviation and JetSuiteX, can leave or arrive at the airport at any time of day.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
