Does your flying club have a noise restriction?

[MattyMatt]

Several people in our club are now getting into larger planes 30-42% and I am now concerned about noise. Our club was in the middle of nowhere, but is now right on a new lake. This new lake is brining people with lots of money into the area to buy land or renovate the older pre existing houses.

Many of us have seen this scenario before, new high end houses being built near the field = 2-5 years before the field is gone due to noise issues.

So, my question(s) are: does your field have a noise restriction, what is it and what method are you using to measure and enforce it?

Please provide any input you can, I have the rules that IMAC and pattern use.

Thanks!

[JimC-MD]

Our club is not actively enforcing a noise limit at this point. AMA suggestions are a guidline. I remember when I first took my DA 50 powered Cap out to the field. One of the old gaurd (never see them fly) came out with the sound meter. I am running a slimline pitts smoke muffler and a mejzlik 22/8 prop. He measured 96db standing next to the model at about 3 feet. Told me it was too loud. I flew it, it had such good power to weight that it was rarely over half throttle. Most times I could not hear it over the 46 powered spad that was in the air. Several people even commented about it. I put the slimline on to quiet it down from a stock diverter because I do not like obnoxious sounding planes.

[IShootSharpStix]

Club restriction is - 90db at 9 Feet, or just do the best you can.....

[TeamFlatout]

Nope none.

[Edge 540]

Nothing on my home field, which is completely surrounded by Amish farmlands and corn. YS's on straight pipes are AMAZING!

[AHP]

Are only restriction is mufflers of some sort are required anything bigger than a .25 (or thereabouts) displacement.

[macanaw]

We do not have official regulations yet but with the proximity of houses these day we have made efforts to control our noise to some degree in hopes of not needing an official rule.

[Matchless]

I've been a member of my club for 22 years. During that time, we've lost 2 fields due to new construction moving closer. Before we lost the first one, we began imposing new rules regarding noise and using a DB meter to enforce them. Doing so helped us keep the field another 2 years IMO, however we eventually lost it anyway.

Some things to consider in rules about noise....
Different tones affect people in different ways.
Different tones also appear to 'carry' for further distances.
Different surfaces allow the sound to carry in different ways.... (thick woods kills the sound compared to an open desert surface)
Its not always the 'loudness' of noise that bothers people, but also the structure of the sound.

Props make as much or more noise than the engine in many cases.
You mentioned IMAC and pattern, they have great rules. Much research has also been done by the AMA on the subject. Call them and I'm sure they'll hook you up.

[crhammond]

Eventually development will always force your field to shut down noise or not. Noisy planes will make it happen sooner for sure.

The 3 clubs I fly at all have noise "rules" ... they all measure and record the noise of each airplane (engine/muffler/prop combo) - especially on planes that seem to be loud or are big so they might be loud. This is to keep a record in case someone complains. None of them enforce the rules. Even if you can prove you are quieter than a lawn mower, leaf blower etc it won't help once people start to complain.

If you want to keep a field as along as possible and have really nice sounding quiet airplanes use cans. I have 2 airplanes that aren't on cans and they use the J'Tec snuffler mufflers. I won't have a new airplane again without them a. because I like the nice quiet grunty sound and b. because I don't want to be blamed for being the noisy guy that lost the field...

[crhammond]

Oh yes - props make a huge difference too. I use carbon 2 blabe on cans; 3 blade on non-can setups.

The low tones of the bigger engines tend to carry a long way too so you want the sound to be muffled.

[DKnippen]

I belong to two clubs. One is run by the forest preserve and we have no time limits or sound restriction. No houses for miles.
The second club lost it's field not because of sound but because of the soccer Moms and fields that gradually grew around us. We bought property about a mile away and hopefully this will last us until houses, condo's or something else creeps in. No houses or sound limit there as well.....So far.

[Freddy Warbird]

Like DKnippen's Polar bear, Why is it that as an AMA society we just repeatedly, and willingly take it up the keister again, and again. Just bend for anything, and everything. To noisey! Bend over. Disturbing homes after the fact! Bend over. Disturbing birds, and fish in a nearby pond that was originally a rock quarry! Bend over, Your flying to high! Bend over etc... How about this one. A New Google building built on Government propery! Goodby! What ever happened to the good old day's of No Tresspassing on open land! There's alway Anarctica I quess, but I bet a jogging/bike path will find its way over there to.

It's getting worse for us.