StART SEA-TAC STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY ROUND TABLE

Transcription

1 StART SEA-TAC STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY ROUND TABLE StART FACILITATOR S MEETING SUMMARY AVIATION NOISE WORKING GROUP Mnday, January :30-7:30PM, Cnference Center, Sea-Tac Airprt Member Jhn Resing Terry Plumb Yarden Weidenfeld Chris Hall Earnest Thmpsn Mark Hppen Eric Zimmerman Je Scrci Jennifer Kester Rbert Akhtar Shelia Brush Tm Fagerstrm Rbert Tykski Tim Terber Sctt Kennedy Marc Milanese Stan Shepherd Sctt Ingham Steve Osterdahl Jasn Ritchie Vince Mestre Interest Represented Burien Des Mines Alaska Airlines Delta Airlines Alaska Airlines FAA L&B Facilitatr: Phyllis Shulman, Civic Alchemy; Nte Taker: Megan King, Flyd Snider Other Attendees: Tm Eckert, Delta Airlines; Lance Lyttle, Meeting Objectives: T cntinue discussins n the Glide Slpe Analysis and t identify and begin discussins n grund nise assessment actins. StART enhances cperatin between the and the neighbring cmmunities f Sea-Tac Airprt

2 Meeting Summary: Update n the Implementatin f the Draft Rlling Wrk Plan The updates included: Runway Use Agreement: The draft agreement has been frwarded t the FAA n 12/17. Likely review is delayed by the partial federal gvernment shutdwn. The next step will be a respnse frm the FAA. Late Night Nise Limitatin Prgram: Prt staff and the nise cnsultant are just cmpleting the analysis with a recmmendatin fr nise threshlds. The nise cnsultant and Prt staff are prpsing six nise threshlds t capture departure and arrival levels at fur nise mnitr lcatins. Staff expects t have updated nise threshlds ready t share with the Wrking Grup by the next meeting. It was stated that cmmunicatin with the airlines abut the prgram is expected t cmmence in March The Prt intends t cmmunicate individually with each airline and update the airlines at a number f venues befre the prgram s fficial launch. A320 Arrival Nise Retrfit: Prt staff shared a first draft f a letter that, nce finalized, will be sent t airlines that perate the A320 series aircraft at Sea-Tac. The letter asks fr a respnse frm airlines n their schedule and plans fr retrfitting their fleets. Prt staff will cntinue t revise the letter including strengthening language as t the Prt s gal and preferred utcmes related t the retrfit. Review f Pssible Actin Steps fr Glide Slpe Changes Prt staff presented alternatives fr Runway 34R glide slpe adjustments and put frth a recmmendatin. The recmmendatin (Alternative One) was stated as: Runway 34R (suth end, nrth flw) are Cat1/2 Runway 34R (the 1 st /inbard runway) is currently at 2.75 (ther runways are at 3.0), and Prt will attempt t increase t 3.1 Staff stated that currently, nly tw airprts (Cleveland and Newark) have a glide slpe greater than 3 degrees that are Cat 1/2. (SEA is a Cat1/2 n 34 RWY ends). The FAA priritizatin prcess fr the prject is utside f the Prt s cntrl and its ptential implementatin culd als be impacted by the partial federal gvernment shutdwn. Questins included: Fr glide slpe changes in height at certain distances, what is the resulting impact n nise levels? Respnse: Adjusting the glide slpe wuld nt be expected t result in a significant reductin in nise levels, but sme reductin culd be nticeable in certain lcatins. StART Facilitatr s Meeting Summary- Aviatin Nise Wrking Grup Page 2

3 Why is the relcatin f the glide slpe antenna ccurring as part f SAMP? Respnse: The glide slpe antennas are being mved t allw fr cnstructin f taxiways assciated with SAMP. Tw new parallel taxiways will be cnstructed. The path f ne f the taxiways will be ver the lcatin f the current antenna. SAMP als assumes changing the 2.75-degree angle t a standard 3.00-degree angle. Flight change prcedures typically require a twyear schedule fr FAA apprval. Hw wuld the Prt describe the benefit t the cmmunity members f the recmmended glide slpe changes? Respnse: Only tw ther airprts in the US currently have a CAT 1/2 apprach at 3.1 degrees. Alternative One aligns with the desire f StART members t implement actin as sn as pssible. Other glide slpe ptins put frward culd end up being impeded by pssible factrs that are utside f the Prt s cntrl. What is the gal f the change? Wuld this be an anmaly t have sme glide slpes at 3.1 degrees and sme at 3 degrees? Respnse: The gal wuld be t have all glide slpes aligned with ne standard, but variatin is allwed. Antenna culd be sited in a lcatin that allws fr future adjustments t glide slpe angles. Hw des the design prcess wrk? What are the next steps? Respnse: First, there wuld be a request t the Prt Cmmissin fr funding and t expedite the prcess, permissin t design at risk. This wuld allw the FAA t d a feasibility assessment, if requested. Culd this prject be cnducted utside the scpe f the SAMP? Respnse: The schedule f the SAMP is underway. If there were t be delays in SAMP, the prt culd lk fr means t ptentially pull the prject utside f that prcess. During the discussin, Wrking Grup members nted that taking actin n glide slpe is an example f a success, even if it has nly incremental benefit. Alaska Airlines lent their supprt t Alternative One. The FAA must apprve any changes t the glide slpe. Next Steps: The Wrking Grup will bring frward a recmmendatin t StART that a request be made t the Prt Cmmissin t expedite the prcess f changing the glide slpe and begin a design at risk. Utilizatin f Reverse Thrust Presentatin The nise cnsultant presented infrmatin defining what reverse thrust is, the purpse f using reverse thrust, hw it is utilized in flight peratins, and runway and weather cnditins that affect its use. Highlights f this infrmatin include: Reverse thrust is a misnmer engines d nt run in reverse. With newer aircraft, air instead f being directed ut the back f the engine, is directed ut twards the sides f the engine. StART Facilitatr s Meeting Summary- Aviatin Nise Wrking Grup Page 3

4 Weather affects usage. Reverse thrust prvides an imprved margin f safety and is less ptinal in wet cnditins. Reverse thrust is just as effective in wet cnditins as in dry cnditins. Shrt runways are als a reasn fr the use f reverse thrust. In Eurpe, airprts have requests fr the reduced use f reverse thrust, but n hard requirements. O Hare Airprt in Chicag requests airline pilts t use reverse thrust t the least degree pssible. Seattle als requests pilts t use reverse thrust n mre than necessary during the nighttime hurs. Current language culd be mre effective if changed t say use n mre than necessary fr safety. Alaska Airlines Directr, ATC & Airspace Operatins reviewed Alaska Airline s utilizatin f reverse thrust during nrmal runway peratins. These peratins included: Reverse Thrust Slide: Max Reverse: (70-100%) is used in emergency situatins nly. Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines have plicies that encurage use f idle reverse thrust during evening/night hurs (10PM-7AM). Use f idle thrust is based n length f runway, weather cnditins, lad, and whether the aut breaking system is peratinal. Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines are explring with the FAA if there is a way t change taxi prcedures during suth-flw peratins t increase efficiency and reduce the number f times airplanes have t stp t wait t crss an active runway. This stpping and starting culd be a significant cntributr t airfield grund nise. Fr example, ging frm idle thrust t breakaway thrust is apprximately a 10 times increase in nise. It was als acknwledged that an increase in nise culd ccur when multiple aircraft start their engines at the same time. It was stated that what cmmunity members might think is nise frm reverse thrust may actually be the stpping and starting f taxing engines. StART participants nted that this cnfirms the experiences f cmmunity members, particularly in. Changing taxi prcedures has the ptential t significantly decrease grund nise, reduce fuel cnsumptin, increase safety, and reduce the time it takes t get t the gates. The airlines are wrking with the FAA and have designated a 60-day test plan t implement new taxi prcedures beginning in March. This plan culd als reduce the number f aircraft staged n the SW side f the airprt waiting t crss runways. The decisin prcess fr a permanent prcedure change includes running a test f the new prcedures fr 60 days, review f the data by the FAA Safety Bard and FAA authrizatin. FAA has stated that they are supprtive f the 60-day test. A StART member stated that the psychlgical impact f thinking that nthing is being dne makes issues wrse, r mre painful. It is imprtant t cmmunicate the changes that StART is initiating as well as imprtant safety cnsideratins that may cnstrain chices. Next steps: Wrking Grup members agreed that it culd be useful t create less ambiguus language t pilts t use reverse thrust n mre than necessary fr safety. The Prt will prepare mdified language t share with the grup during an upcming meeting. Bth, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines representatives stated that their flight manuals direct the use f idle thrust unless needed fr safety, and agreed that updated language frm the culd be helpful. The Wrking Grup cllectively expressed supprt fr the test plan. StART Facilitatr s Meeting Summary- Aviatin Nise Wrking Grup Page 4

5 Airfield Nise Assessment Optins and Cnsideratins The nise cnsultant reviewed sme f the ptential tpics t cnsider in an airfield nise assessment. FAA has a prgram they are putting in place that reduces queuing n taxiways, called TDFM (flw management prgram) that ptimizes the release f aircraft frm the gates all the way t the next gate at the next airprt. The gal is t minimize queuing and t eliminate cnflict r delays. Sea-Tac is n list t be included in deplyment test, but relatively lw n the list because Sea-Tac has limited space t hld aircraft. Takeff Rll: Use f de-rated thrust during takeff is already being utilized s is nt recmmended fr further analysis. The Wrking Grup added sund barriers as a ptential tpic t cnsider in an airfield nise assessment. Wrking Grup members cmmented that it culd be helpful t learn mre abut a grund run-up enclsure (GRE) fr aircraft maintenance and cmmunicate this knwledge t the cmmunity at large. It was stated that there is cnfusin in the cmmunity abut the use f a GRE and whether they cntribute t the reductin f maintenance nise. This was recmmended as a pssible presentatin and discussin at a Wrking Grup r StART meeting. It was requested that additinal ideas fr tpics be ed t the facilitatr. StART Facilitatr s Meeting Summary- Aviatin Nise Wrking Grup Page 5