Hanscom Field Advisory Commission ~ September, 2020 ~ Part II

September 29, 2020

Topics discussed during the September Hanscom Field Advisory Commission included questions about the new Massport Air Noise Response System; decoupling the Bedford Airfield Project from Concord’s Ross-Rectrix FBO development; a discussion of student pilot simulated mid-air engine failure and aerodynamic stall recovery over populated areas; Open Sky Symposium.

Massport Air Noise Response System Questioned

The Massachusetts Port Authority rolled out a streamlined air noise response system in August. Members of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission expressed disappointment in the change at its virtual meeting on September 15.

“I understand it’s a trade-off between speed and thoroughness of information, but I think the pendulum may have swung a little too far towards speed,” Commission member Emily Mitchell of the Bedford Select Board told Amber Goodspeed, Massport’s Airport Administrative Manager for Hanscom Field.

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Formerly, response letters to residents with air noise complaints or questions included up to two pages of information documenting the time, date, and location of the disturbance report; notation of any particular questions the caller asked; and detailed information on specific aircraft type, identification, registration, altitude over the caller’s home at the time of the disturbance.

The response also included explanations for practice patterns used by the local flight school students; and at times, local meteorological conditions determining runway usage and flightpaths.

The new streamlined email response from [email protected] now only states that a noise disturbance report has been received and will be added to the monthly air noise statistics.

Mitchell reacted with disappointment to Massport essentially stripping all data from its new email response to residents, saying, “I think it’s great that it’s faster and that means there’s not as much of a backlog.  But I think it was surprising, just based on what the response to complaints used to be.”

When HFAC Chair Christopher Eliot of Lincoln suggested that a reasonable goal for the new system should be to include all information that used to be provided in the new email replies to residents, Goodspeed replied she would ask if the Massport information technology development team finds it feasible. “As long as it doesn’t go over my reduced budget for the year, then we’ll consider it.”

“The goal is to reply to you swiftly, and that was the point of rolling out the new automatic responses,” she said.

Bedford Airfield Project Split from Concord Ross-Rectrix FBO Development

Goodspeed also noted that Massport has created a “North Apron” designation for projects planned for Bedford’s north airfield area, in order to clarify that those developments are separate from other projects on the airfield and in particular the so-called Pine Hill area in Concord.

During the past two years, Bedford resident Patty Dahlgren and others have repeatedly expressed concern that a new T-hangar complex Massport proposes to build in Bedford has been embedded within a Pine Hill corporate hangar expansion project, despite being separated geographically and involving different types of construction.

The two projects are linked in that the T-hangar complex proposed for Bedford is being built as a replacement for Concord T-hangars that are slated to be demolished to make way for the Ross-Rectrix FBO (fixed-base operator) expansion.

Massport proposes to build the new T-hangars on Bedford land that was once a residential mobile home park for military members and their families along Hartwell Road, across from The Edge Sports Center and adjacent to Instrumentation Laboratory.

Mitchell asked Goodspeed on behalf of a Bedford constituent if recent excavation noise heard in the Genetti Circle area could have been coming from an airfield project.  Goodspeed said that that the noise may have correlated with excavation work performed across the airfield from that neighborhood.

Student Pilot Simulated Mid-air Engine Failure and Aerodynamic Stall Recovery Training Sessions Over Populated Areas

During the meeting, a question was raised about if and how often local East Coast Aero Club flight school students are cutting and restarting their engines above Bedford and Ayer/Groton neighborhoods and if such maneuvers are safe and appropriate to practice over populated areas.

The question arose with regard to a recently received noise response letter from Massport saying that mid-air restart training practice may have been the reason a small plane registered to the flight school had repeatedly cut and restarted its engine over a Concord Road neighborhood one summer evening in 2019, explaining:

“The student pilot will intentionally cut his engine and practice a mid-air restart, which is a requirement to be learned before gaining a pilot’s license.  This is to ensure a pilot knows how to fly with no engine if a real-world emergency does take place and how to restart the engine to ensure a safe recovery.”

The letter went on to note that the absence of an identifying transponder signal detectable by the FlightAware.com flight tracking app may have been due to FlightAware’s inability to maintain a position lock on the aircraft if the engine is turned off and electrical power to the transponder is interrupted.

Thomas Hirsch of Bedford, HFAC member representing the Hanscom Pilots Association, discussed the differences between plane engine failures due to mechanical problems and aerodynamic stalls due to a plane not being flown or positioned correctly so that it loses lift.

He also explained that engine failure recovery techniques would only be practiced very near the airfield and with an instructor on board, so the student pilot could follow a flight path that would allow him to glide safely back to a runway.

Aerodynamic stall recovery, on the other hand, is practiced away from the airfield and at a high altitude to allow the pilot time to point the nose of the plane down and correct the angle of attack until the wings can achieve lift again, he said.

When asked if the East Coast Aero Club flight school might be able to provide data on how often its students practice these maneuvers, Hirsch explained that the numbers might vary according to individual instructors, as well as each student’s aptitude, with less able students needing to practice the techniques more often to improve their skills.

Residents of the Ayer-Groton area mentioned that they had frequently observed East Coast Aero Club flight school planes practicing such maneuvers near their neighborhoods.  One described recently watching a Hanscom-based flight school plane practicing stop and stalls over the Nashoba Valley Medical Center, neighboring homes, and a 45-unit elderly housing complex.

She questioned whether the Bedford-based flight school pilots were being respectful of such FAA-designated noise-sensitive sites, or following Massport’s voluntary “Fly Friendly” recommendations.

Hirsch replied that although it might be difficult to avoid all such sites all the time, “I agree, the pilots should be aware of the areas that are noise-sensitive and try and avoid them.”

Open Sky Symposium in November

Before closing the meeting, the chair mentioned the OpenSky (Virtual) Symposium on data-based aviation research scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13 (https://symposium.opensky-network.org).

From the website, “The OpenSky Network is a non-profit association based in Switzerland. It aims at improving the security, reliability, and efficiency of the air space usage by providing open access to real-world air traffic control data to the public.

“The OpenSky Network consists of a multitude of sensors connected to the Internet by volunteers, industrial supporters, and academic/governmental organizations. All collected raw data is archived in a large historical database. The database is primarily used by researchers from different areas to analyze and improve air traffic control technologies and processes.”

Next Meeting

HFAC’s next virtual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. People who would like to receive email notifications of HFAC meetings and agendas may register at the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission website hosted by the Town of Lincoln at https://www.lincolntown.org/AgendaCenter/Hanscom-Field-Airport-Commission-58.

Editor’s Note: Corrections to inaccurate text made on 9/30/2020

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