Willo and airplane noise (Phoenix, Tempe: homes, school, quality of life)

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

The main question here is: who doesnt like the sound of a jet engine?!

It's the soundtrack to my life.

I usually sit in row 1--or farthest forward seats available--and I always take OFF my noise canceling headphones just before the engines spool up. Something about that noise never gets old to me, even though I hear it constantly. At one point I commuted on Midwest Airlines (all first class 717s) so the seats were identical, and I'd pick seats near the back, just to listen to the RB211s. Well that, and they started meal and booze service from the back too.

But I can understand why people who weren't hearing any before, would be taken aback at the sudden change to their environment. Some areas of Phoenix had things changed up without any notification.

[observer53]

They turn west of Willo, more like 15th Avenue, it's the neighborhoods just east and west of 19th Ave that have taken the brunt of it.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

It's the soundtrack to my life.

I usually sit in row 1--or farthest forward seats available--and I always take OFF my noise canceling headphones just before the engines spool up. Something about that noise never gets old to me, even though I hear it constantly. At one point I commuted on Midwest Airlines (all first class 717s) so the seats were identical, and I'd pick seats near the back, just to listen to the RB211s. Well that, and they started meal and booze service from the back too.

But I can understand why people who weren't hearing any before, would be taken aback at the sudden change to their environment. Some areas of Phoenix had things changed up without any notification.

Im with ya there, buddy! That buzzsaw sound they make gets my blood going. And theres nothing better than an old MD-80 thundering down the runway. Best. Sound. On. Earth.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Interesting, for me, I prefer the sound of prop engines. It's more historical to me, makes my wind take off more. You don't feel it much on larger airliners but some of the smaller jets out there, you can feel more G force when they open up the engines on takeoff. Love that feeling of power.

I once went up as a passenger in an old biplane for a half hour in N. California, a trick-flying kind of thing, just to experience the aerobatics and the way it looked and felt. Still remember it all these years later. It was an open cockpit so quite an overall sensation doing loops and being upside down over the valley floor. I don't know for sure but I would hope there are similar pilots/businesses here in the Valley. I recommend it highly.

[ElleTea]

Hearing a plane fire up when you are getting ready for take-off is far different than living under a flight path with planes overhead constantly!

I lived right by the Deer Valley Airport and that was bad enough!

[pbenjamin]

I am on the Willo board. I live in the northern part of Willo and haven't noticed much change since the FAA changed the flight paths. There are people in the southern part of Willo, however, the southwest portion in particular, who are very upset about the noise.

We have joined with the associations from the FQ Story, Encanto-Palmcroft and Roosevelt associations along with residents of the Woodland Historic District in filing a Petition for Review against the FAA in the US Court of Appeals. The petition was filed July 31. We are represented by former Phoenix Mayor and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.

It really comes down to where you live in Willo as to whether or not this is an issue. The FQ Story neighborhood (southwest of Willo, bounded by 7th Avenue, McDowell, Grand Avenue and Roosevelt) would appear to be the most impacted.

If you did sit at Rollover Donuts you probably wouldn't notice the planes (you'd hear the light rail though). If you sat outside at Vovomeena you might hear them though.

[DougStark]

If you think jet engines are loud now, you probably don't remember back in the late 50s and early 60s when turbojet engines were the norm on jets. They were UNBELIEVABLY loud and left a plume of smoke behind them.

Fortunately, turbojet engines have been replaced by quieter turbofan jet engines.

And let's not forget the ill-fated Concord jet plans. Loud enough to shatter windows and cause sonic booms!

[TempeAZnative]

I grew up right under the fight path in Tempe 1st St and Hardy. After a while you don't even hear the planes anymore. It's funny that they are crying now that they are affected by noise, but it's ok when it was someone elses problem. It's a fact of life with an airport in the city proper. As others have posted it will probably end up with the FAA paying for soundproofing windows and such.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

I grew up right under the fight path in Tempe 1st St and Hardy. After a while you don't even hear the planes anymore. It's funny that they are crying now that they are affected by noise, but it's ok when it was someone elses problem. It's a fact of life with an airport in the city proper. As others have posted it will probably end up with the FAA paying for soundproofing windows and such.

I wouldn't characterize these people as "crying". They bought their homes a fair distance from the airport. The flight paths were clearly established and there were downtown high rises in between them and the airport.

One night a couple of months ago there was a storm and some backup at Sky Harbor such that they expanded the flight path to go over our house. It was so loud that we couldn't hear conversations or the television inside of our house with the doors and windows shut, and the planes were less than a minute apart. I could just imagine what it would be like to sit out at one's pool in the evening while this is going on. It only lasted a couple of hours for us but these people are living with it daily. No FAA money for thicker windows could possibly compensate for that.

Quality of life, not to mention property values, are severely impacted by this. See the government chop a couple hundred grand off the value of your house and you would "cry" too. The end result will be going back to the previous pattern which involved flying over the river bed and industrial areas. This is all about saving the airlines money on fuel at the expense of homeowners.

[smoochaz]

To the OP - if it's that important for you to be far away from airport noise - then I would suggest picking an area of town where it's not questionable about noise - there are plenty of places dependent of course on distance from your job and what you need to be close to and your budget. There are plenty of articles detailing all the flight path discussions (go to azcentral.com).

Best of luck!

Maha