AIRCRAFT NOISE INFORMATION PACK: Table of Contents CANNING VALE 1. Aircraft movements affecting Canning Vale... 2 2. Effects of wind on runway selection... 2 3. Seasonal winds... 2 4. Flight path illustrations... 4 4.1. Perth Airport... 4 4.2. Jandakot Airport... 5 4.3. All movements... 6 6. Airport operating hours... 9 7. WebTrak... 9
1. Aircraft movements affecting Canning Vale Canning Vale is located to the south of Perth Airport and adjacent to Jandakot Airport and is affected by noise from aircraft: arriving from the south to land on Runway 03 ( north flow below left) departing towards the south from Runway 21 ( south flow below right), and arriving, departing and training at Jandakot Airport. 2. Effects of wind on runway selection Aircraft must generally take off and land into the wind for safety reasons. Therefore when the wind is northerly, aircraft will be arriving from the south and departing to the north. When the wind is southerly you can expect to have aircraft departing to the south. When the wind is calm or light, air traffic controllers must select the most suitable runway based on consideration of a number of factors. Please refer to our fact sheet on Runway Selection which explains how these decisions are made. Because the runway direction that can be used at any given time depends largely on the wind direction, it is not always possible to share the noise. 3. Seasonal winds Because aircraft must take off and land into the wind, Perth s seasonal wind patterns play a role in how frequently a particular runway direction is used. Perth tends to experience more northerly winds in the cooler months and fewer in the warmer months. Therefore, usage of Runway 03 tends to rise to its highest level around June July each year and decrease for the rest of the year. The opposite is true for Runway 21. The following chart illustrates this. It shows the actual usage of all runways from January 2012 May 2015: 2
12000 RUNWAY USAGE CHART: ALL RUNWAYS 2012 - MAY 2015 * Runway works closed rwy 06/24 Jun-Aug 2011, Jun-July 2012 and August 2013-March 2014 NUMBER OF MOVEMENTS 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 RWY 03 RWY 21 RWY 06 RWY 24 0 Jan-12 Feb-12 Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 Apr-13 May-13 Jun-13 Jul-13 Aug-13 Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13 Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 The next chart shows the seasonal usage pattern for Runway 03 between 2008 and 2015: 8000 RUNWAY 03 USAGE 2008 - MAY 2015 * Runway works closed rwy 06/24 Jun-Aug 2011, Jun-July 2012 and August 2013 to March 2014 NUMBER OF MOVEMENTS 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC If the typical seasonal weather patterns hold, you can expect to experience more arrivals over Canning Vale during the winter months and more departures in the summer months. The arriving aircraft can be expected to be at lower altitudes than the departures. Because the arriving aircraft are lower, you may find these are more noisy than the departures. If this is the case you will be experiencing the peak noise periods over the winter months. 3
4. Flight path illustrations 4.1. Perth Airport The following image shows arrivals to Runway 03 over your suburb which is highlighted in pink and labelled. You can generally expect these aircraft to be in the range of 2000 3000 feet in altitude over your suburb, however this is not a limit and some may be higher and some lower: The long approach shown in the image above that begins south of Jandakot Airport and passes over Canning Vale is an Instrument Landing System approach. When Runway 03 is the duty runway, this approach will be used by most international aircraft and some domestic aircraft. It will be used by all aircraft when the weather is bad. At night aircraft making visual approaches will also join this approach around 8 nautical miles from the runway threshold, which is around the southern boundary of Canning Vale. When aircraft join the long ILS approach they will be at altitudes of around 3000ft. At this point they are only 3 4 minutes away from touching down which is why they are relatively low and descending rapidly. The following image shows departures from Runway 21 over your suburb. These aircraft will generally be at altitudes of 3500 5000 feet over your suburb but some may be higher and some lower. This is because the climb ability of aircraft will always vary according to factors such as the type of aircraft, how heavily laden it is and even the meteorological conditions at the time: 4
4.2. Jandakot Airport Your suburb is also affected by aircraft operating from Jandakot Airport. The image below shows the typical movements for a 24 hour period: 5
4.3. All movements To bring all of the Perth flight movements into context, the following image shows all flight movements for Perth Airport, Jandakot Airport and Pearce RAAF Base over a 24 hour period. This was a day when a wind change meant that both runway directions were used at Perth Airport: 6
5. Historical flight path images The following images of Perth Airport aircraft movements for the same week in different years are provided for comparison purposes. Figure 1: Perth Airport movements 1 7 June 2015 7
Figure 2: Perth Airport movements 1 7 June 2014 Figure 3: Perth Airport movements 1 7 June 2012 8
Figure 4: Perth Airport movements 1 7 June 2010* *Note: in 2010 data was not collected after an aircraft reached 10,000ft in altitude. This is why the tracks in the above image stop while those in the previous images continue. 6. Airport operating hours Perth and Jandakot Airports do not have curfews so aircraft may come and go at any time. Curfews must be enacted by Federal legislation. Only four airports in Australia have curfews Essendon, Adelaide, Sydney and the Gold Coast. The Federal Government has not indicated an intention to expand the current curfew arrangements beyond these airports. 7. WebTrak You can explore movements in your area using our online tool, WebTrak, which is designed to assist you to gain a better understanding of aircraft operations and noise in your area including historical trends, traffic patterns and seasonal variations. You can access WebTrak and more information about how to use it here: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/webtrak/ 9
Noise Complaints and Information Service RUNWAY SELECTION Weather, in particular wind speed and direction, is generally the main factor in determining which runways are in use at an airport, in which direction aircraft will take off and land and which flight paths are used. At all times, the safe operation of aircraft will be the primary consideration. This factsheet explains how runways are selected for use, limitations on runway selection and how runways are named. The decision of which runway is in use at any time can have an impact on aircraft noise experienced by residents around airports. Air traffic control tries to minimise the number of aircraft flying over residential areas when arriving or departing from an airport. Runway names Runways are named using a numbering system which reflects the runways orientation. The number, between 01 and 36, correlates to the degrees on a compass. This means that: a runway numbered 09 points east (90 ) a runway numbered 18 points south (180 ) a runway numbered 27 points west (270 ) a runway numbered 36 points to the north (360 rather than 0 ). A runway can normally be used in both directions, and has a different name to refer to each end. For example, Runway 09 in one direction is west to east, Runway 27 is east to west when used in the other direction. The two numbers always differ by 18 (180 ). Some airports have parallel runways, or runways which run next to each other. These are identified by adding Left (L), Centre (C) or Right (R) to the runway number. This can be seen in the photograph of Archerfield Airport (pictured right) with Runway 10L and Runway 10R. When used in the opposite direction, Runway 10R becomes Runway 28L. Selection of runway in use Aircraft take-off and land into the wind, or with minimal tail wind. Based on the wind direction, air traffic control will decide which runway is to be used at any given time. Larger airports tend to have more than one runway, so that a runway is always available depending on the wind direction. Airports with just one runway are generally constructed so that the runway is aligned with the prevailing wind. Runway selection is monitored at all times, as weather conditions can quickly change. Every runway has a wind indicator known as an anemometer, and wind observations contribute to the runway selection decision. When a runway is selected it needs to be available for an extended period of time to allow pilots to plan their descent, approach and landing. As this involves anticipation of developing trends, aircraft may continue to land on a runway for a period when weather conditions at a local level no longer appear to warrant it.
Other factors that air traffic control will take into consideration when deciding which runway to use include: Runway conditions Wind the number and type of aircraft programmed for the airport length of runway(s) weather conditions (both present and forecast); including wind velocity and gradient, wind shear, wake turbulence effects and position of the sun availability of approach aids in poor visibility conditions location of other aircraft taxiing distances, including availability of taxiways braking conditions. Some airports also have preferred runway systems. This means that if wind conditions, workload and traffic conditions permit, a particular runway will be used to move traffic as efficiently as possible to reduce the noise impact over residential areas. Seasonal trends In many Australian cities, prevailing winds vary by season. This means that one runway may get used more in one season than in another. As a result, some communities may be affected predominantly by noise from arriving aircraft in one season, and by departing aircraft in another. Noise variation while changing runways A sudden change of wind direction when the wind is strong may require aircraft established for arrival on one runway to divert to land in the opposite direction. This can require an immediate operational change. In these circumstances, air traffic control will safely divert aircraft. This can lead to aircraft using flight paths over areas that generally experience few overflying aircraft. Limitations on runway selection Operating in strong tailwind and crosswind conditions can have adverse effects on aircraft performance during take-off, approach and landing. Certain conditions set out in the table below generally preclude the use of a runway. Completely dry Not completely dry Crosswind exceeds 20 KT including gusts Downwind exceeds 5 KT including gusts Crosswind exceeds 20 KT including gusts There is a downwind component Air traffic control may nominate a runway when a crosswind or downwind exceeds these conditions: if an alternative runway does not exist if a landing is not possible on an alternative runway if noise abatement procedures recommend the use of that runway and air traffic control considers that this would not compromise safety. The decision to take off or land rests solely with the pilot-incommand. The pilot must ensure that the runway is suitable for the operation of the aircraft. When a pilot asks for an alternative runway for operational reasons, this will be provided without the aircraft being delayed. Further Information Specific Noise Abatement Procedures (NAP) for individual airports may be found at: www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/ current/dap/aeroprocchartstoc.htm Information on the Sydney Airport Long Term Operating Plan (LTOP) may be found at: www.airservicesaustralia. com/publications/reports-and-statistics/sydney-airport-andassociated-airspace-ltop/ Airservices has published other factsheets about aircraft operations and noise, which can be found at: www. airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information/ For more information p 1300 301 120 (within Australia) f 02 6268 4233 or +61 2 6268 4233 (outside Australia) e info@airservicesaustralia.com www.airservicesaustralia.com 12-139SEP Corporate Communication