Q: Who controls the planes flying overhead and why are there so many flights over noise sensitive areas?
A: The FAA and Federal Aviation Regulations control the flight paths and routing of aircraft into and out of every airport. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? does not control the routing of traffic near the airport or anywhere in the Denver airspace system. The airport can only encourage pilots on VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flights to fly over unpopulated areas, but these areas are disappearing rapidly. And, VFR arrivals and departures account for only a fraction of the total operations conducted. The local FAA number is 303-342-1100, if you should have questions regarding the operation of aircraft in our airspace.
Q: Aren't these aircraft flying too low?
A: Most of the jet aircraft taking-off and landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? are following the established departure procedures or glide path for our instrument approach and must make certain altitude adjustments at certain points to perform a safe landing. An aircraft's ability to fly the designated approach or departure is what primarily governs the design of these procedures. An aircraft must be able to slow from its cruising speed to its landing speed during the approach, and likewise must maintain a certain minimum speed on departure to stay airborne. Thus its angle of climb is limited. Of course terrain avoidance and obstacle clearance are also primary concerns. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? does not have any enforcement authority over aircraft that violate the regulations and fly too low. If you believe an aircraft is flying too low, please contact the FAA directly to report these violations.
Q: Why can't airplanes climb higher before flying over residential areas?
A: Airplanes at this elevation (5670 feet above sea level) do not perform as well as they would at lower elevations. This means that they can not climb as quickly as they could otherwise (the air is thinner so the wing, engine and propeller are less efficient, so the climb angle is shallower) and thus their noise footprint on the ground is larger. An airplane will usually use the lowest power setting possible for takeoff as this saves on engine wear and fuel, and is incidentally quieter. At a higher altitude airport like Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport?, they must use a higher power setting for safety reasons (that is, the engines do not provide as much thrust at this elevation) than they could get away with at lower levels and so they are louder. The result is that overall they are closer to the ground for a longer period of time, and there is nothing that can change this physical fact.
Q: Why can't the planes fly to the south of the Rock Creek subdivision? Or, why do they HAVE to fly over my subdivision?
A: Rock Creek subdivision will soon span the entire western aerial access to the airport so overflights of this area are unavoidable. Currently, our noise abatement procedures encourage VFR traffic to fly south of the development but these procedures are not mandatory and will soon be impossible to perform. The Flight Check Director for the FAA determines the safest route for IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) aircraft to follow with respect to terrain avoidance and airspace procedures; the airport cannot change them and we do not have control over aircraft after they leave our runways. Flight safety must take priority over all other concerns. Often, while pilots may desire to limit their noise impact below, they are also occupied with the demands of aircraft control, navigation and traffic avoidance.
Q: Can't Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? change the routing of the planes?
A: Traffic arriving and departing Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? become part of the Denver airspace system and must mix with traffic arriving and departing DIA, Centennial, Front Range and other airports, as each aircraft is assigned altitudes and headings that will safely integrate them into that system. The control tower at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? only controls those aircraft within 5 miles of the airport and below 3000' above ground. Aircraft outside this envelope generally are under the control of Denver Center or are VFR and regulated by Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. To change one component of the system results in changes to other parts of the system, and therefore, any changes to our aircraft routes are significant. But again, the FAA, not Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport?, determines them.
Q: Why do aircraft take-off and land at early and late hours?
A: While there are a variety of reasons for jet aircraft operating in the early morning and late evening hours, a number of them are medical flights with patients or critical organs on board, or check carrying cargo operations. Many other flights are the corporations and businesses based near the airport and are conducting business throughout the country.
Q: Why wasn't I notified of the airport when I moved in?
A: An Avigation Easement is required to be signed by each and every homeowner in our Influence Area before they purchase their house. This document is to ensure residents are aware of and accept the noise and vibration aircraft may generate while operating at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport?. Consult the documents from your closing or call your city for more information.
Q. How does Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? reconcile with the FAA and individual pilots that do not comply with the voluntary noise abatement program?
A: We continually promote our program to our tenants and users and have bi-weekly meetings with the FAA control tower manager. The campaign will be ongoing and involves airport staff going to each business with maps and information on why aircraft noise is a critical issue that the airport needs help mitigating. As the program is voluntary, we focus on the most frequent users of the airport. It is important to note that business jets are normally on IFR flight plans when arriving and departing and so are limited in what they can do to minimize their noise footprint. As newer and quieter aircraft hit the market there will be a noticeable reduction in total noise from the airport. We are also continuing to collect information form the National Business Aircraft Association on their noise mitigation programs.
Q: What does calling the noise line do?
Noise Complaint Line (303) 271-4874
A: The noise line is used to track the effectiveness of the noise program and to try to identify excessively loud aircraft. Complaints are naturally higher in the summer months as aircraft performance suffers in hotter temperatures and more people spend time with windows and doors open, or head outside to enjoy the weather. So we know this is a time to heavily promote the program. Also, if there are a large number of complaints against one particular aircraft at a specific date and time, we can sometimes track the "offender" and contact the company directly. The airport has found this direct company contact to be very beneficial.
Calling the noise line for every aircraft that flies overhead reduces the effectiveness of the program.
Q: How are noise hotline statistics kept?
A: Noise statistics are reported in a format similar to that used by Denver International Airport. They are tracked by neighborhood and by household to help us determine where the problem areas are. The offending aircraft can sometimes, but not always, be tracked down. When the situation warrants, we can sometimes contact the owner of the aircraft and discuss the situation. As an airport that is part of the National Airspace System and is a NPIAS (National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, meaning the Federal Government has designated it as being essential to the nation's air transportation system) facility, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? cannot deny access to the airport to any specific user nor does it have the authority to limit the hours of operation.
Q: What about airports that have had Federal assistance in their noise mitigation efforts?
A: Those efforts are mostly directed at airports with residences that lie within an area of very high noise levels as delineated by the airport's noise contours. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? does not have a significant number (if any) residences in this area and the projected noise contours for the airport over the next 20 years actually show a decrease in the noise contour lines because of the quieter aircraft that are being produced. Airports that experience a change in classification may also see changes in their noise contours. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? is and always has been a "Reliever" for Denver International Airport and the master plan does not address a change to that status.
Q: What is Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? doing about noise?
A: We have a very proactive noise abatement program with maps and guidelines for airport users. We meet with flight schools and other tenants to continually stress the importance of mitigating noise. Weekly briefs to our tenants often promote the noise program. Our noise abatement program is meant to help the users of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? co-exist peacefully with the surrounding communities. It is the responsibility and option of each pilot to follow the airport recommended noise abatement procedures, while staying within the safe operational parameters of their aircraft. However, we cannot control the traffic once it departs as that is the FAA's area of authority.
Our traffic pattern altitude is already 1200', 200' higher than the FAA 1000' standard (Traffic Pattern Altitude is the height above the runways). This is not an arbitrary number, and is closely tied to aircraft performance limitations in the landing phase of flight. Thus, aircraft here need to lose an additional 200' of altitude before landing, resulting in a potential for higher speeds on landing. Also, aircraft staying in the pattern must be able to take off and climb to this altitude before landing again, which actually may increase noise in some instances because they must be at full power for a longer period. This procedure was implemented some years ago and is being evaluated.
Additionally, we continue to advise the surrounding cities and developers on how the airport will affect their developments. In some neighborhoods Avigation Easements are included in the closing paperwork so residents are aware that the airport is here and the potential hazards associated with living nearby.
We will continue to make recommendations and promote our noise abatement program to try to minimize the impact of aircraft noise as much as possible.
Q: How can I get more information about events and issues at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport??
A: The airport has a weekly brief, "Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport? Update", that is available via email. Contact the airport office at 303-271-4850 to get on the distribution list or email or fax your information to amcgonig@jeffco.us
*Definitions:
Reliever Airport
A metropolitan area general aviation airport with facilities and services suitable for attracting and diverting general aviation activity away from major air carrier airports.
General Aviation
Refers to all civil aircraft and operations that are not classified as air carrier or commuter. The types of aircraft used in general aviation activities cover a wide spectrum from corporate multi-engine jet aircraft piloted by professional crews to amateur built, single-engine acrobatic planes. This classification also includes military aircraft.
