Quiet glide to solve airport noise
Planes that glide to the runway, weave around noise sensitive residential areas and emit no excessive sound beyond the airport boundary are the future for Perth Airport.
And the future has started to arrive with the introduction of the first of new quieter flight paths this month and with the new generation super quiet Boeing 787 used by three airlines.
Over the next 10 years, the noise impact for residents around Perth Airport will be dramatically reduced despite the growth in air traffic.
One of the enablers for the noise reduction will be the third runway planned for late this decade.
That runway will allow the sharing of noise and will be a catalyst for a total airspace redesign by AirServices Australia, the air traffic control provider.
The technologies being rolled out are the Continuous Descent Approach and Required Navigation Performance.
Put simply, CDA allows planes to glide to landing and eliminate a stepped approach that requires the pilots to increase power and thus noise.
The noise impact is reduced by 20 per cent.
RNP is essentially a statement of the technological capability of the plane that allows it to use precise GPS navigation, so a flight path can be designed with accuracy to within a few metres.
This makes it possible to avoid noise-sensitive areas.
RNP is being rolled out at Perth Airport, with one approach route designed and operational.
Many more will follow.
Other much quieter planes will soon join the Boeing 787.
The Qantas Group and Virgin Australia have ordered the 180-seat A320NEO and Boeing 737MAX that have new technology engines which will be 40 per cent quieter than the planes they replace.
Within 10 years, it is expected that all the older generation planes that make the most noise will be consigned to scrap, replaced by quieter models.
Perth Airport and AirServices are actively engaged on fast tracking more initiatives to cut noise.
One concept is to have planes fly a steeper angle of approach similar to those used at London City Airport.
The 120-seat Airbus A318's steep approach procedure enables a 5.5 degree descent angle rather than the standard 3 degrees.
According to Airbus, the A318 climbs and reaches cruising altitude more quickly than any other plane operating out of the airport, with significantly reduced noise compared with previous generation jetliners.
The noise around Perth Airport will be dramatically reduced.
