These "Growler" aircraft are causing an acoustic disturbance locally as wel=
l. The noise of their take-offs from Ault Airfield on Whidby Island affects=
San Juan Islands residents and is annoyingly audible even here in Victoria=
, from Oak Bay to the east side of the Saanich peninsula at distances from =
28 to 35 miles, due to the fact that there is no land between here and ther=
e, plus low frequencies travel farther=96and these are low frequencies. The=
sound is akin to a prolonged thunder rumble or a giant blowtorch.
I can hardly imagine what it sounds like adjacent to the NAS at Whidby Isla=
nd.
Here's a relevant clipping from last year: http://seattletimes.com/html/lo=
calnews/2022511067_whidbeynoisexml.html
I wonder if it is part of the design mandate to make a military jet as loud=
as possible to have an intimidating effect on the enemy. If that's the cas=
e, then that thinking would seem to be out of place on an aircraft with the=
intended role of the Growler. The Boeing "Dreamliner" shows how quiet turb=
ojet engines with vastly more thrust than the Growler can be with appropria=
te design, where quietness is the design goal (and it is, nowadays, in civi=
lian aircraft).
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