TagFAA(684)

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023 is a proposed Senate bill that would authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration from fiscal years 2024 through 2028. The legislation covers a wide range of aviation topics including airport planning, noise compatibility programs, safety improvements, airspace modernization, and aviation workforce development. Of particular relevance to airport noise policy, the bill includes provisions on flight profile optimization, performance-based navigation, and NextGen airspace modernization efforts that can affect flight paths and noise impacts on communities near airports like Sea-Tac.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public input to help develop a national strategy for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), which includes electric and hybrid-electric aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing. The strategy aims to address safety, infrastructure, community impacts, and regulatory frameworks for these emerging aircraft technologies. While this notice does not specifically address Sea-Tac Airport or local noise policy, noise reduction compared to traditional aviation is cited as one potential benefit of AAM operations.

NASA's X-59 aircraft is being used in a community response test campaign to study how people on the ground react to sonic booms from supersonic flight. The mission, called Quesst, aims to collect data that could help regulators move from a blanket speed-based ban on supersonic flight over U.S. land to a noise-based standard. Current federal rules prohibit civil aircraft from flying faster than Mach 1 over the United States, but NASA hopes its findings could lead to updated, sound-level-focused regulations.

The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions Initiative (EAGLE) is a coalition of government and industry partners, including the FAA and major aviation associations, working to eliminate lead emissions from aviation gasoline by the end of 2030 without compromising the safety or efficiency of general aviation. The initiative operates through four key pillars: supply chain infrastructure and deployment, research and innovation, unleaded fuel evaluation and authorization, and regulation and policy activities. A presentation on the initiative was delivered at the Aviation Noise & Emissions Symposium at U.C. Davis on May 2, 2023.

Airbus's 'fello'fly' program explores formation flying as a fuel-saving technique, where a follower aircraft positions itself in the smooth updraft of a leading aircraft's wake to recover otherwise wasted kinetic energy. This approach can reduce trip fuel consumption and emissions by around 5% for the follower aircraft, making it most beneficial on long-haul routes exceeding 2,000 nautical miles. Key factors affecting savings include aircraft pairing, the follower's position on the vortex, time spent in formation, and fuel used to enter the formation.

The FAA is reviewing its civil aviation noise policy, which is based on decades-old research, to better address how aircraft noise affects communities near airports like Sea-Tac. The review examines noise measurement systems, acceptable noise thresholds, and the impact of aviation noise on residents—including annoyance, sleep disturbance, and health effects. Public and stakeholder input is being sought to help modernize the policy.