Volume 6, Number 4, December, 1998 - Noise News International

Pan-American News
George Maling, Pan-American Editor
USA
In 1998 August, the U.S. FederalAviation
Administration (FAA) released the 1997
Progress Report on the Transition to
Quieter Airplanes. This is an edited version
ofa portion ofthat report. The full
reporr can be found on the Internet at
http://www.aee.jaa.gov/aee-300/part91/
96report/pt91-98.htm. - Ed. The full report
is the sixth annual report submitted
to Congress in response to 49 USC
47528, which establishes a uniform policy
at the national level to reduce aviation
noise by expediting the phaseout ofStage
2 airplanes and the transition to an all
Stage 3 fleet. The full report presents airplane
operators' compliance progress
from January I, 1997, through December
31, 1997.
The Airport Noise and Capacity Act
of 1990 (ANCA) (now codified at 49
USC 47521-47533) requires a phased
elimination ofthe operation ofcivil, subsonic
Stage 2 turbojet airplanes over
75,000 pounds to or from airports in the
contiguous United States by December
31, 1999. The statute also prohibits importation
ofStage 2 aircraft after November
11, 1990, but provides for
U.S.-owned Stage 2 airplanes leased to
foreign operators to be returned to operation
in the United States.
The regulations implementing the part
ofi\NCA known as the Stage 3 transition
rule were effective on September 25,
1991, and are codified at 14 CFR part 91,
Subpart I, Operating Noise Limits. The
regulations provide two options to meet
the schedule for the transition to 100 percent
Stage 3 by December 31, 1999. One
option allows an operator to meet the compliance
schedule by phasing out Stage 2
airplanes. Under this option, an operator
ma y operate no more than 75 percent of its
Stage 2 base level after December 31,
1994,50percent after December 31, 1996,
and 25 percent after December 31, 1998.
Base level is equal to the maximum number
of owned or leased Stage 2 airplanes
that were on an operator's operations
specifications on a single day selected by
the operator during the period January 1,
1990, through July 1, 1991. The second
option allows an operatorto meet the compliance
schedule by attaining a fleet composition
ofnot less than 55 percentStage 3
airplanes after December 31, 1994, 65
percent after December 31, 1996, and 75
percent after December 31, 1998. New entrant
operators (those that did not conduct
operations on or before November 5,
1990) must operate a fleet composed of at
least 25 percent Stage 3 airplanes after December
31, 1994, 50 percent after December
31, 1996, and 75 percent after
December 31, 1998. All operators must
operate 100 percent Stage 3 fleets after
December 31, 1999.
The statute provides that a domestic
air carrier may apply to the Secretary of
Transportation for a limited waiver beyond
the statutory deadline. The implementing
regulations provide for the grant
ofa waiver by the FAA at an interim compliance
date if a petitioner can show,
among other criteria, that a grant of a
waiver would be in the public interest. A
petitioner must also show that a reasonable
plan to meet compliance was established
and that a good faith effort was
made to implement that plan.
The composite data derived from the
1997 operator reports show that the number
of Stage 2 large civil subsonic turbojet
airplanes operating in the contiguous
United States continued to decline. By the
end of 1996, domestic and foreign operators
had collectively phased out 44.7 percent
of the Stage 2 airplane fleet. In 1997,
this figure increased by 6.9 percent for a
total cumulative Stage 2 fleet reduction of
51.6 percent from base level. Stage 2 airplanes
are being modified to meet Stage 3
noise levels or are being replaced by new
Stage 3 airplanes designed with the latest
quiet technology. The number of Stage 3
airplanes operating in the United States is
increasing. By the end of 1996, Stage 3
airplanes constituted 75.5 percent of the
combined domestic and foreign operator
fleets of large turbojet airplanes operating
to and from U.S. airports. In 1997, this fig-
ure increased by 4.3 percent for a total
Stage 3 fleet of 79.8 percent.
The FAA is monitoring each operator's
progress toward meeting the interim
compliance requirements. The agency
also monitors domestic operators' progress
against their stated compliance plans
through direct communication and provides
for contact with foreign operators
and foreign civil aviation officials to ensure
that they are aware of and prepared
to meet the interim compliance requirements.
Compliance monitoring is an ongoing
effort with the goal of assisting
operators in achieving interim compliance
deadlines.
Eriksson Research is Founded. Dr.
Larry 1. Eriksson has announced the formation
ofEriksson Research, LLC, an interdisciplinary
research and consulting
company. The company will focus on assisting
organizations in the application of
adaptive approaches to management,
technology, and education through research,
presentations, seminars, short
courses, and consulting. This will include
a broad range of product research and development
applications using adaptive
systems technology as well as the application
ofthese adaptive concepts to management
issues. Dr. Eriksson's previous
work has led to the creation of a wide
range of adaptive control technology and
products as well as the formation of
Digisonix, a leader in the application of
adaptive technology to active sound and
vibration control and digital communications
systems. More recently, he has been
expanding the application of these concepts
to management issues as well. Previously
he was Vice-president ofresearch
for Nelson Industries, Inc., and following
the recent purchase of Nelson by the
Cummins Engine Company, he was the
Chief Technical Officer of the
FleetguardlNelson Filtration and Acoustics
Systems unit. Dr. Eriksson is a Fellow
ofthe Acoustical Society of America and
the Society of Automotive Engineers.
The company Internet site IS
http://www.execpc.coml-erikres.
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