July report finds 75 hours of noticeable aircraft noise at Superior’s Pirate Park
Hankard Environmental recorded more aircraft noise at Pirate Park than at two other Superior monitoring sites near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.
A July measurement report from Hankard Environmental found aircraft noise at least 5 decibels above daytime ambient levels for about 75 hours at Superior’s Pirate Park. The report recorded about 47 hours at the Water Bladder site and 63 hours at the Community Center.
The measurements came from three sites near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. Pirate Park recorded 7,860 audible aircraft operations, including 4,513 minutes at least 5 decibels above ambient and 637 minutes at least 20 decibels above ambient. The site is near the runway 12R flight path and residences.
Water Bladder recorded 7,532 audible operations, with aircraft noise at least 5 decibels above ambient for 2,828 minutes and at least 20 decibels above ambient for 213 minutes. The site is off South Torreys Peak Drive and in a touch-and-go flight path.
The Community Center, in the runway 12L flight path, recorded 7,792 audible operations. Aircraft noise reached at least 5 decibels above ambient for 3,787 minutes and at least 20 decibels above ambient for 265 minutes. Its monthly average daytime ambient level was 45 decibels.
The report measured noise detected within 1.25 miles of each monitor. Hankard used sound meters, audio recorders and one-second aircraft-position data from automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast systems. It calculated daytime ambient levels using the sound level exceeded 90% of the time between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The report counted each touch-and-go as one operation, while the Federal Aviation Administration counts it as two. At Water Bladder, 2,103 audible operations were classified as touch-and-go activity; Pirate Park recorded 2,195.
Hankard also modeled conditions if later touch-and-go activity had occurred elsewhere. Replacing noise during those later intervals with the day’s ambient level reduced the 5-decibel-above-ambient total from 2,828 to 2,148 minutes at Water Bladder and from 4,513 to 3,676 minutes at Pirate Park. The report identifies those figures as modeled estimates rather than additional measurements.
Noise data were unavailable at Water Bladder on July 2, 3, 16, 20, 21 and 31 because of an equipment malfunction, the report says. It does not provide further detail about the malfunction.
The report describes aircraft activity and measured sound levels; it does not document a new regulation, policy change or Superior Town Council action.