Last March, one of my fellow Rotarians, Jackie Bonner, reached out regarding the issue of low-flying airplanes over her home south of the airport. It was not only the close proximity of the airplanes, but the loud noise, some worse than others. After listening to her concerns, I asked her to start recording the time and day of the flights over her home that were most bothersome. With that information, we were able to track many of the flights and aircraft. It was discovered that most were in compliance with the altitude restrictions over her home and were definitely legal.
What I thought was maybe Jackie needed to see the airport from a pilot’s perspective in the air. So, I asked her if she would like to go flying with me in my Cherokee 180. My plan was to give her a San Francisco Bay Tour and then fly the traffic pattern a bit.
That next Saturday, Jackie showed up at my hangar to go flying. Two things she was impressed with right away before we took off:
(1) the radio information at the end of AWOS reminding pilots to “follow the Gnoss Field noise abatement procedures and avoid the homes south of the airport” and
(2) the sign at the runup area of runway 31:
We had a wonderful flight, perfect weather and Jackie was able to get some fantastic shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. She reported back:
“My flight with Sue was wonderful, especially since the weather was glorious! It was so generous of her to take me aloft. Apart from the enjoyable flight, I did see that Gnoss Field does its best to alert pilots to stay away from the area where I live. Mostly, I was able to see just how close we live to the airport and how keeping away from the houses upon landing involves some skillful flying by pilots. It’s clear that the size and maybe age of the plane engine makes a difference to how much noise it makes. I can see planes coming in to land from my window and sometimes they are pretty quiet and sometimes not, so I guess there’s nothing to be done about that.”
Jackie Bonner, neighbor south of Gnoss Field
The big take away: We showed Jackie we are listening, we care and are trying our best to minimize the noise. We hope we can be this effective with the rest of our neighbors close to the airport.