Brüel & Kjær EMS Page 1 Noise Office RAAF BASE AMBERLEY: 2017 AMBERLEY SUPER HORNET REPORT PREPARED BY: BRÜEL & KJÆR 2 February 2018
Brüel & Kjær EMS Page 1 Noise Office
RAAF BASE AMBERLEY: 2017 AMBERLEY SUPER HORNET
REPORT
PREPARED BY: BRÜEL & KJÆR
2 February 2018
Brüel & Kjær EMS Page 2 Noise Office
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 3
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 4
RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 8
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES ....................................................................................................... 20
OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................. 26
AIRCRAFT NOISE .......................................................................................................................... 29
Appendix A – Detailed Movement Counts .................................................................................. 32
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Brüel and Kjær has completed the 2017 annual Australian Super Hornet analysis for RAAF Base Amberley using the Noise Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) data to validate the number of Military Fast Jet (MFJ) aircraft movements.
A total number of 3863 combined take-offs, landings and circuit movements were
identified as operating at RAAF Base Amberley during this period. The movements
consisted of:
- 1813 Arrivals; - 1797 Departures; and - 253 Circuits.
These movements were identified and validated using the following methods:
1. Track visualisation and data validation processes 2. Identification of discrete military SSR codes 3. Airspace Analysis - a review of the military flying areas and their commonly
flown procedures, together with geometrical analysis of the available tracks i.e. their speed and altitude profiles
4. Noise Recognition - utilising the 1 sec Leq data and studying the noise profiles to identify aircraft flying in formation but without an active transponder
Of the total 3863 aircraft movements, it was found that 962 MFJ aircraft were not
recorded in the radar data. These were identified using noise recognition
techniques.
In accordance with the Super Hornet Management Plan:
• MFJ movements during 2017 were found to utilise runway 15/33 only for arrivals, departures and circuits; runway 04/22 was utilised on one occasion by MFJ aircraft;
• 70.0% of MFJ arrival movements to RAAF Amberley completed the Initial and Pitch procedure; and
• All detected circuit operations were conducted to the west of runway 15/33.
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INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE
The aim of the Amberley Super Hornet report is to identify and verify the number
of MFJ movements at RAAF Base Amberley, and to demonstrate compliance with
the Amberley Super Hornet Noise Management Plan. It also provides a rationale
for circumstances where non-compliant procedures have been executed.
DATA ANALYSIS
This analysis has utilised the track data from the NFPMS together with the
available 1 sec Leq data and noise recognition techniques from the runway end
Noise Monitoring Terminals (NMTs) to validate the number of aircraft
movements.
NMTs 1, 2, 3 and 4, located at the end of each runway, were used to identify
additional aircraft not present in the NFPMS system due to the nature of MFJ
operating procedures, such as formation flying.
The runway layout and corresponding runway end monitors are shown in the
diagram below.
Figure 1 Runway Noise Monitoring Terminals at RAAF Base Amberley
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The real-time analysis of the 1 sec Leq data evaluates the aircraft operations corresponding to RAAF Base Amberley based on the detection parameters that are set at the NMT. Figure 2 depicts a typical F18 track recorded in the NFPMS departing from runway 15 and Figure 3 then goes on to illustrate the corresponding 1 sec Leq noise data, recorded at the time the aircraft passes NMT 2 south of the runway.
Figure 2 F18 departure from runway 15
The following noise graph shows that the lead departing aircraft has its
transponder switched on and produces a valid correlated noise event. The
following noise peaks indicate there were an additional 3 jets in formation (nose
to tail) operating without a transponder.
Figure 3 1 sec Leq data shows four noise peaks corresponding to one aircraft track
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MOVEMENT COUNTS
From the RAAF Australian Super Hornet Noise Management Plan V 3.0:
MOVEMENTS
45. A ‘movement’ is a single take-off or landing by a single aircraft at an airfield.
Generally, each aircraft flight involves two movements, although this number
may increase for missions which include practice take-off and landing circuits
around the airfield.
The total aircraft movements in this report are calculated as follows:
• Arrival = 1 movement
• Departure = 1 movement
• Circuit* = 1 movement
Additional aircraft movements that are not present in the NFPMS but identified
through noise recognition techniques were then added to complete the total
number of identified MFJ movements.
*When the circuit detection algorithms were implemented in the NFPMS, the
intent was to capture the number of circuits performed, thus why a circuit is
counted as one movement. Aircraft operating in the circuit pattern but without
a transponder are not able to be detected due to the absence of traceable radar
data.
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LIMITATIONS AND DETERMINING FACTORS
Due to the limitations in the flight data availability in the NFPMS, Brüel and Kjær
utilise a number of processing procedures based on known performance
characteristics and specific flight procedures to determine the identification of
MFJ aircraft.
Due to the absence of detailed radar data, 68.7% of the identified MFJs during
2017 are of ‘unknown’ aircraft type. Of these 68.7%, the majority are suspected
of being Super Hornets and the remaining portion are made up of a
combination of visiting MFJ aircraft, such as Classic Hornets and Hawks from
other RAAF bases, as well as fast jets from foreign forces.
Due to the adoption of a holistic approach to fast jet noise, the calculations in
this report have been completed using all known MFJs which include, but are
not limited to, F18s, Hawks and visiting fast jets from Singapore and the US.
Movements from foreign forces are included in, but not limited to, the
following months:
- February: F15s (SAF) - February/March: F35s - August/September: F16s (SAF) - November/December: B1s (US) and AJETs (CA)
Brüel and Kjær acknowledge and are continuing to improve noise recognition
techniques to identify more MFJ aircraft operating without the use of SSR.
While ‘nose to tail’ departures are able to be identified in the NFPMS (due to
noise profiles), techniques in detecting ‘paired’ departures are still developing.
The inability to identify ‘paired’ departures often results in lower departure
counts compared to arrival counts.
The following radar outages were identified at RAAF Amberley during 2017:
- 1-Jan 0000 to 3-Mar 0800 (radar system upgrade resulting in major interruption of radar data to the NFPMS)
- 28-Jun 0955 to 29-Jun 1100 - 2-Aug 1358 to 2-Aug 1538 - 25-Aug 0810 to 25-Aug 1320 - 7-Dec 1500 to 8-Dec 0700
During these radar outages times, noise recognition techniques have been used
to identify MFJ aircraft operating at RAAF Amberley.
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RESULTS
TOTAL AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS
The analysis of the 1 sec Leq data and the study of the corresponding noise
profiles to identify additional MFJ aircraft resulted in a significant improvement
in the number of MFJ movements during 2017. Table 1 shows the combined
overall number of aircraft movements during 2017 at RAAF Base Amberley.
A more detailed set of movement counts can be found in Appendix A – Detailed
Movement Counts
TOTAL MOVEMENTS 2017
Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
January 121 121 73 315
February 260 257 0 517
March 177 175 3 355
April 61 67 32 160
May 95 95 13 203
June 33 28 1 62
July 268 267 29 564
August 224 210 89 523
September 234 233 6 473
October 130 137 4 271
November 197 192 3 392
December 13 15 0 28
Total 1813 1797 253 3863
Table 1 Total movement counts during 2017
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Figure 4 Total movements per month
Figure 5 Movements per month by operation type
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MOVEMENTS PER WEEK
From the ASH Noise Management Plan V4.0:
21. Planned periods of flying operations.
d. Maximum of 46 weeks of planned flying operations per calendar year,
with periods of respite from flying operations scheduled over the new year
and mid-year.
The NFPMS detects a flying week as Monday to Sunday. Any single movement
detected between a Monday to Sunday period triggers a weekly movement
count.
Table 2 shows the number of movements per week during 2017, where MFJ
movements were recorded and identified in 46 weeks of the year which
included 10 weeks with reduced activity (highlighted below):
MOVEMENTS PER WEEK 2017
Week Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
1 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0
3 44 44 43 131
4 45 45 11 101
5 67 64 19 150
6 75 74 0 149
7 63 64 0 127
8 61 58 0 119
9 64 68 0 132
10 54 56 2 112
11 32 32 0 64
12 26 19 1 46
13 27 29 0 56
14 3 0 0 3
15 35 35 29 99
16 10 13 0 23
17 13 19 3 35
18 18 18 7 43
19 32 32 5 69
20 19 19 1 39
21 19 18 0 37
22 7 14 0 21
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MOVEMENTS PER WEEK 2017 CONTINUED…
Week Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
23 6 0 0 6
24 0 0 0 0
25 0 0 0 0
26 27 22 1 50
27 15 9 3 27
28 91 84 10 185
29 100 106 10 216
30 60 66 5 131
31 12 11 12 35
32 76 69 60 205
33 36 37 9 82
34 48 44 6 98
35 59 58 3 120
36 60 61 2 123
37 49 48 2 99
38 40 40 0 80
39 80 77 2 159
40 23 25 0 48
41 40 44 0 84
42 6 4 1 11
43 38 41 3 82
44 61 61 0 122
45 35 34 0 69
46 32 33 0 65
47 50 46 3 99
48 53 52 0 105
49 0 2 0 2
50 2 2 0 4
51 0 0 0 0
52 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 1813 1797 253 3863
Table 2 Movements per week 2017
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Figure 6 Total Movements per week 2017
Figure 7 Movements per week 2017 by operation type
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MOVEMENTS PER DAY OF WEEK
During 2017 most MFJ movements were conducted on weekdays, where there
were a total 80 movements detected on weekend days for the reporting year.
Table 3 shows the distribution of movements per day of the week. A detailed
list of weekend movements can be found in the separate summary document
2017 ASH Annual Noise Report – Data Extract.
MOVEMENTS PER DAY OF WEEK 2017
Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
Monday 335 328 52 715
Tuesday 433 423 97 953
Wednesday 414 431 56 901
Thursday 398 389 23 810
Friday 190 193 21 404
Saturday 26 15 0 41
Sunday 17 18 4 39
TOTAL 1813 1797 253 3863
Table 3 Movements per day of the week 2017
*Some weekend movements were identified as being associated with the
Avalon Air Show, V8 Supercars – Ipswich and Gold Coast, Brisbane Aviation
Expo. and Sunsuper Riverfire Festival.
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Figure 8 Total movements per day 2017
Figure 9 Movements per day 2017 by operation type
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MOVEMENTS PER DAY/NIGHT
Table 4 shows the number of movements per hourly range as outlined in the
ASH Noise Management Plan.
*The 22 movements identified between 11pm – 7am occurred on a Thursday
and Friday:
- 30-Jun-2017, 05:48:23AM – 19 departures to YBTL (Exercise Diamond Storm)
- 13-Jul-2017, 05:43:13AM – 06:53:29AM – 2x deps and 1x arr
*There were no continuous circuits after 10pm
A detailed list of movements between 10pm – 7am can be found in the separate
summary document 2017 ASH Annual Noise Report – Data Extract.
MOVEMENTS PER HOURLY RANGE 2017
Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
7am-7pm 1608 1675 221 3504
7pm-8pm 33 92 11 136
8pm-10pm 171 9 21 201
10pm-11pm 0 0 0 0
11pm-7am 1 21 0 22
TOTAL 1813 1797 253 3863
Table 4 MFJ movements per hourly range
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Figure 10 Movements per hourly range 2017
Figure 11 Movements per hourly range 2017 by operation type
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MOVEMENTS PER HOUR
Table 5 shows the number of movements per hour, which is calculated per the
NFPMS Arrival or Departure Time of the movement.
MOVEMENTS PER HOUR 2017
Hour Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
00 0 0 0 0
01 0 0 0 0
02 0 0 0 0
03 0 0 0 0
04 0 0 0 0
05 0 21 0 21
06 1 0 0 1
07 3 8 0 11
08 1 37 0 38
09 26 335 10 371
10 125 343 22 490
11 436 63 54 553
12 114 43 9 166
13 91 208 12 311
14 188 477 52 717
15 343 42 33 418
16 204 11 19 234
17 62 8 1 71
18 15 100 9 124
19 33 92 11 136
20 126 9 19 154
21 45 0 2 47
22 0 0 0 0
23 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 1813 1797 253 3863
Table 5 Movements per hour 2017
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Figure 12 Total movements per hour 2017
Figure 13 Movements per hour 2017 by operation type
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RUNWAY USAGE
In 2017 MFJ aircraft utilised runways 15 and 33, except for:
- one paired arrival to runway 22, 18-Aug-2017 12:12:08 PM.
Arrivals Departures Circuits Total
Usage %
RWY 33 856 727 127 1710
44%
RWY 15 955 1070 126 2151
56%
RWY 22 2 0 0 2
0%
RWY 04 0 0 0 0
0%
TOTAL 1813 1797 253 3863
100%
Table 6 MFJ Runway usage during 2017
Figure 14 Runway usage distribution 2017
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OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
ALL OPERATIONS
Figure 15 Track density for all MFJ operations 2017
Figure 16 Track plot for all MFJ operations 2017
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ARRIVALS
Figure 17 Track Density MFJ arrivals 2017
Figure 18 Track plot MFJ arrivals 2017
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The arrival procedures have been shown in more detail in Table 7 and Figure 19.
The arrival procedures identified in the NFPMS are as follows:
- I&P: Initial & Pitch procedure, - Straight In from 10nm, and - Other Approach – an arrival that does not conform to I&P or straight in
from 10nm
I&P Straight In from 10nm
Other Approach
Total
Usage %
RWY 33 635 28 193 856 47%
RWY 15 638 136 181 955 53%
RWY 22 0 0 2 2 0%
RWY 04 0 0 0 0 0%
TOTAL 1273 164 376 1813 100%
% 70% 9% 21% 100%
Table 7 Arrival procedures breakdown 2017
Figure 19 Arrival procedures 2017
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*Straight In arrivals from 10nm are determined in the NFPMS by using zones to
filter out radar tracks that penetrate them.
Figure 20 Straight In arrivals from 10nm at Amberley
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DEPARTURES
Figure 21 Track density MFJ departures 2017
Figure 22 Track plot MFJ departures 2017
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CIRCUITS
Figure 23 Track density MFJ circuits 2017
In 2017, all MFJ circuits were conducted to the west of the base.
CIRCUIT DIRECTION TOTAL
LEFT RIGHT
RWY 33 126 126
RWY 15 127 127
RWY 22
RWY 04
TOTAL 126 127 253
Table 8 MFJ Circuits 2017
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OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
ALTITUDE LIMITATIONS OVER IPSWICH
There were 2 detected movements that operated below 1500ft within 10nm of
RAAF Base Amberley during 2017, both of which occurred on ANZAC day.
Figure 24 MFJ operations below 1500ft above Ipswich
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LEFT TURN DEPARTURES FROM RUNWAY 15 BEFORE 4NM
There were 6 MFJ movements that turned left after departing runway 15
identified during 2017.
Date Time Operation
Type Runway
Flight Number
Beacon Aircraft
Type Destination
/Origin Formation
08/03/2017 08:40:03 D 15 ASY1015 1153 F35 PGUA 1
22/10/2017 13:43:00 D 15 COGR11 2543 HAWK
22/10/2017 15:30:22 D 15 COGR 2526 HAWK 1
13/11/2017 08:13:25 D 15 PTHR20 2512 HAWK YWLM
*2 operations on 22/10/2017 are suspected to be participating in the V8
Supercars Aerial Display at Gold Coast.
Figure 25 MFJ departures from runway 15 that turned left before 4nm
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LEFT TURN DEPARTURES FROM RUNWAY 33 BEFORE 4NM
There were 114 MFJ movements detected that turned left before 4nm after
take-off from runway 33.
Figure 26 MFJ departures from runway 33 that turned left before 4nm
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AIRCRAFT NOISE
N70 N85 & N100
Table 9 shows the total number of recorded noise events at each location that
were correlated to MFJ aircraft during 2017.
CORRELATED NOISE EVENTS 2017
>70dB >85dB >100dB
NMT 5 Willowbank Cemetery 2055 186 4
NMT 6 Kholo Gardens 92 1
NMT 7 Walloon PS 730 75
NMT 8 Yamanto COC 3059 926 4
TOTAL 5936 1188 8
Table 9 Total MFJ noise events 2017
The peak noise events identified at each monitoring location are shown below:
Peak L(A)Max dB
NMT 5 Willowbank Cemetery 107.2
NMT 6 Kholo Gardens 86.7
NMT 7 Walloon PS 98.9
NMT 8 Yamanto COC 103.1
Table 10 Peak noise levels at each monitoring location
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The N70, N85 and N100 noise event data per forecast flying day at each
monitoring location is shown in Table 11 N70, N85 and N100 data per forecast flying
day 2017Table 11.
*The N noise values are determined by the total annual noise events divided by
230 flying days (46 weeks at 5 days a week)
NOISE EVENTS PER FLYING DAY 2017
N70 N85 N100
NMT 5 Willowbank Cemetery 8.93 0.81 0.02
NMT 6 Kholo Gardens 0.40 0.00 0.00
NMT 7 Walloon PS 3.17 0.33 0.00
NMT 8 Yamanto COC 13.30 4.03 0.02
Table 11 N70, N85 and N100 data per forecast flying day 2017
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24 HOUR QUARTERLY AVERAGE AIRCRAFT LEQ DATA
Table 12 shows the quarterly average Leq data for all aircraft noise events at
each monitoring location during 2017.
Average 24hr Leq 2017
Quarterly Average 24hr L(A)eq in 2017
Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4
NMT 5 Willowbank Cemetery 52.2 52.7 52.6 49.7
NMT 6 Kholo Gardens 40.2 36.7 38.5 35.4
NMT 7 Walloon PS 42.3 48.2 51.9 46.6
NMT 8 Yamanto COC 56.3 59.8 58.5 56.6
Table 12 Quarterly average Leq data 2017
*Noise outages that occurred for 2017 are included below:
NMT 7 was missing data:
- 6/Nov/17 0000 to 14/Nov/17 1400
NMT8 was missing data:
- 1/Feb/17 0200 to 6/Feb/17 1100
- 16/Feb/17 0240 to 21/Feb/17 1200
- 18/Mar/17 1000 to 28/Mar/17 1500
- 28/Apr/17 2300 to 4/May/17 0700
- 4/May/17 0800 to 12/May/17 1200
- 14/May/17 0700 to 17/May/17 1000
- 17/May/17 1100 to 25/May/17 1400
- 3/Jun/17 2300 to 4/Jun/17 0700
The outages at both monitors were due to hardware issues.
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APPENDIX A – DETAILED MOVEMENT COUNTS
ARRIVALS DEPARTURES No. of
CIRCUITS
Total
Movements NFPMS NOISE REC TOTAL NFPMS NOISE REC TOTAL
January 92 29 121 87 34 121 73 315
February 151 109 260 156 101 257 0 517
March 151 26 177 95 80 175 3 355
April 58 3 61 42 25 67 32 160
May 86 9 95 54 41 95 13 203
June 20 13 33 9 19 28 1 62
July 248 20 268 152 115 267 29 564
August 214 10 224 146 64 210 89 523
September 209 25 234 145 88 233 6 473
October 124 6 130 86 51 137 4 271
November 182 15 197 118 74 192 3 392
December 12 1 13 11 4 15 0 28
TOTAL 1547 266 1813 1101 696 1797 253 3863