Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN)

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)

Tech Report

United States

AGR-PUBLIC AND TRIBAL LANDS-PUBLIC AND TRIBAL LANDS ; AGR-IMPACTS-Environment ; NTL-AVIATION-Aviation Energy and Environment ; NTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-Aviation Energy and Environment ;

The first objective of this study was to evaluate the series of model enhancements that were included in

INM as a result of the recommendations from the GCNP MVS. Specifically, there was a desire to

evaluate the performance of the latest versions of INM and NMSim1, compared with the “gold

standard” data measured in the GCNP MVS. The second, but equally important objective of the

current study was to examine the issue of model usability, e.g., ease of operation, runtime, data

input/availability, etc. The issue of usability is of particular importance within the context of Air Tour

Management Plans (ATMPs), as the development of ATMPs is a public process, which will require

noise modeling in well over 100 National Parks. Additionally, as a result of a court ruling regarding

environmental studies associated with St. George Airport in Utah, the courts identified the requirement

to also consider the cumulative effects of noise from all aviation sectors on a National Park, including

the effects of high altitude jet aircraft. Hence, the third objective of the current study was to assess the

applicability of the two models with regard to assessing noise from high altitude jet aircraft. In support

of the third objective a field measurement study was also conducted.

PDF

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center