Mapping the Jet Noise: Illuminating the Impact
Project work drawn from Capstone project by Jack Plasterer Online GIS Master’s Student, UW-Madison 2023-24, MSNSound, and Safe Skies Clean Water, Madison, WI.
This project aims to raise awareness about the increased noise pollution brought on by fighter jets stationed at Truax airfield in Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison Wisconsin is often described as one of the most livable places in the United States, and has received numerous “best city” awards. We live in a vibrant University town, culture hub, a nature loving city with a booming tech sector. The “City of Four Lakes” boasts 200+ miles of bike trails and the largest Saturday farmer’s market in the Nation. Madison has a lot going for it; in short, it is simply – booming!
Despite the city’s overall economic growth and success as a community, there’s suddenly another boom occurring in the skies above our fair city on the East and North side of Madison. Beginning in 2024, there has been a surge in jet noise related to aircraft activity, particularly from the F-35 military aircraft now based at the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Airfield,. adjoining Dane County Regional Airport.
F35 jets arrived in Madison to the Madison Truax training base in late April 2023. Since then, citizens on Madison’s East and North side have experienced noise levels up to four times louder than the former F-16 jets – as high as 120 dbA. On Madison’s North side, windows shake as the F35 jets pass by. Residents rush indoors and cover their ears. Inside homes, the noise is disruptive and loud.
How did these jets end up in Madison? In 2017, the Air Force was seeking a location to base its new fleet of F-35 aircraft. Local officials insisted the noise would not increase with a promise that F-35 jets were no louder than the F-16 jets already based at Truax. At the same time, concerns over noise and PFAS pollution were raised with protests and a community outcry. Both the City of Madison and its School Board adopted resolutions opposing the deployment of the jets. Of the 6,419 comments submitted to the Air Force in its Environmental Impact Statement for five potential sites, 89% concerned Madison. In the end, Madison’s Truax airfield became one of two urban based airfields selected to be home of the new F-35 jet planes 0 Madison and Montgomery, Alabama. Overall, the Madison community’s response has been mixed – some citizens celebrate the arrival; others living near the flight path bear adverse effects from the F-35 jet noise.
F-16 Era: May 2021-Sept. 2021
Madison citizens on the East and North sides experienced loud jet noise as the F-16 jets passed over homes, playgrounds and schools.
F-35 Era: May 2023-Present
F35 jets arrived in Madison to the Madison Truax training base in late April 2023
The information conveyed here draws from the ongoing work from the citizen-science based noise monitoring network called MSNSound. The aim of MSNSound is to detect, record and display noise events and aircraft activity in Madison’s airspace in real time. The noise detection stations located in Madison’s East and Northside neighborhoods are dedicated to monitoring and understanding aircraft noise in those areas and especially near Dane County Regional Airport. Recorded data are used to track trends in aircraft noise over time.
Check out the Jet Noise Mitigation Map and Jack’s work here. Data drawn from Madison’s F16 era – February 2024.
Check out the new Aircraft Noise Statistics interactive tool. The map allows you to explore more about the jet noise impact over time. MSN Sound is a community project designed to measure noise levels at various locations near the airport. Use the interactive map to see recorded live decibel readings.
For a deeper dive into noise mapping statistics go to MSN Sound Overview.
Map shared with the public
In 2020, Dane County Regional airport widely publicized a map that indicates the predicted noise patterns caused by all aircraft and measured in decibels (db). The map conveys a predicted DNL (Day Night Average Sound Level) in the area where the military jets arrive and depart. Domestic and military plane acoustic noise levels conveyed here does not convey maximum noise level created by the F-35 jets. The 2020 map uses time-averaged levels, which do not correspond to the 100+dB levels that we see when the jets actually fly over.
Now that the F-35s have arrived in Madison, MSNSound shows periodic readings much higher than NIOSH safe levels at 60-85db. According to the FAA, noise at this level is incompatible for residential housing. For more info about hearing loss and aircraft noise, see this link from the CDC for more information .
Wisconsin is set to apply for millions in federal grant funding that can be used to buy noise mitigation materials, such as windows and drywall to dampen the sound. A total of $5 million is specifically set aside for areas that recently received new fighter jets. This will not address the wide area affected across Madison’s North and East Side. Madison Cap Times Feb 2024.
Madison School Noise Map
In addition to the study on general community impact, concern and attention has been focused on the effects of jet noise on children, particularly in a school setting and where children play outside. This map indicates the buffer zone relative to the locations of nearby schools, highlighting elementary schools, preschools, and daycare centers.
ASHA sheds more light on trends related to noise and health effects.
January and February 2024, Madison’s Truax base held community listening sessions for Madison citizens, city and county leaders, and members of the Air National Guard. More community input was shared. View a summary of the listening sessions and learn more at the 115th Fighter Wing’s Madison F35 Community Connection Project.
Local citizens and local leaders call for a revised Truax mission and/or relocation of the F-35 jets. Concerns continue to be raised regarding low flying jets, noise impact, and the F-35 flight take off or landing direction(s) over Madison’s dense urban areas. Could the Truax base build a new runway for take off and landing outside the city?
MSNSound continues to monitor jet noise events and seek new avenues of cooperation with the Air National Guard.
Project authors and collaborators include:
Jack Plasterer, Online GIS Master’s Student, UW-Madison; 2023-24.
Safe Skies Clean Water
Scott Pigg, MSNSound
UW Madison Geography Department
Sources and News
Wisconsin Air National Guard receives F-35s
115th Fighter Wing Home Page
Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin – NEWS
https://www.safeskiescleanwaterwi.org/category/news/
How loud are those F-35s really? We’re starting to get some numbers
The military and F-35 opponents, though, disagree about which calculations should be used.