REPORT ON THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS AIR FORCE (RNLAF) JETS AT SPRINGFIELD-BECKLEY AIRPORT

What you can do

Call Base Operations 327-2332

Write a Letter to the Editor

Write to Ohio Air National Guard

Mark Wayda, Ph.D.

Director, Gov’t and Public Affairs

Ohio National Guard

2825 W. Dublin Granville Road

Columbus, OH 43235

Write to Governor StRickland

The Honorable Ted Strickland

Governor of Ohio

Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108

This web site is intended to provide easy access to information that has been obtained.  It is not complete, but to the best of our ability, it is correct.  If you have items to contribute, questions to ask, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact  hpaige@mac.com or stopjetnoise@aol.com.  Read the introductory material below, and then click on categories above and find the articles and some comments.  Thank you.

JANUARY 19 UPDATE:  Today a letter was received from the Federal Aviation Admisinstration to Senator Brown regarding the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport’s 2006 Noise Exposure Map update.  See this letter and additional comments under Correspondence.

JANUARY 17 UPDATE:   A news report in the Springfield News-Sun reveals that the Singapore Air Force will not come to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.  Reactions to this report on the website show polarization and a lack of civility that reflects the political reality of 21st century America.  See under “New Visitors.”  To me, it also points up the need to re-energize the civilian economy with a massive push for renewable energy and energy efficiency in all areas of the economy.  If we are going to have “make work” projects, let’s make those projects ones that offer products or services that increase the safety, efficiency, convenience, and comfort for the bulk of our population.   Under “Holland” one will find an article about our struggle published in Amsterdam’s De Telegraaf, along with an English translation.  Finally, under “Letters to Editor” there are new articles and some broken links have been repaired.

LATE UPDATES:   There are unconfirmed reports that the Royal Netherlands Air Force will leave Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport at the end of present contract in mid-2010.  The same reports say that negotiations with other tenants have NOT been successful.  This is cause for celebration, but not complacency.  Let us maintain pressure to return peace and quiet to our village.

We are still in the dark, officially, about the justification (or who is being paid off) for the Dutch contract.  See “FinalReply” on the CORRESPONDENCE page for the answer to our FOIA request.

The Yellow Springs News (finally!) has a major article on the jet noise.  See ARTICLES for a link.

The main issue surrounding the presence of the Royal Netherlands Air Force is noise.  The health effects of noise are documented, and the reality of those effects is demonstrated by regulations.  For example, Yellow Springs limits (but does not vigorously enforce) noise to 65 dB in residential and commercial areas and 75 dB in industrial areas.  More relevant is the airport’s Federal Aviation Agency’s Noise Compatibility Program (NCP) that was approved on March 18, 1997.  In that document (found under “NOISE”), the use of the runway pointing towards Yellow Springs was preferred:

“The city of Springfield recommends that the Ohio Air National Guard (OANG) air traffic control tower continue to designate Runway 24 as the predominant departure runway.  This procedure is intended to minimize noise impacts to the northeast of the airport.  Residential subdivisions and several neighboring churches are located to the northeast of the airport.”

Never mind the residences and churches southwest of the airport, in Yellow Springs! 

Noise also impacts housing values.  The decrease in values as a function of noise is well-documented.  Anecdotal support:  in a post on a site that answers questions for people moving to the Dayton area, one finds,

“As for Yellow Springs, I have been there a few times and it certainly has it’s own atmosphere.  The only thing that I can warn about is that it does get quite a lot of (F-16) jet noise from that ANG base.  So, if that is a concern, you might want to stay away from that area.  The reason people say it’s “hippie-ish” is because it has a few head shops and natural stores.  We didn’t look there because of the jet noise issue.”

Secondary issues include air pollution, safety concerns, and particularly opaqueness of the operation.

The Dutch F-16 aircraft are reported to use 10 to 20 gallons of fuel per minute in regular flight, and up to about 125 gallons per minute (about 2 gallons per second) under full power.

Aircraft accidents are rare, but they do occur.  The RNLAF has recorded 15 accidents with their F-16s, with 6 crew fatalities.  An accident involving Yellow Springs is not an event we wish to contemplate.

Regarding opaqueness or secrecy of the operation, letters to associated parties, OANG and the Dutch government, are generally not answered, suggesting that there is something to hide.  Phone calls appear to be useless.  News releases “selling” the presence of the Dutch planes speak of it in terms of $200 million for the local economy.  That is also heard from some local politicians and from the Base commander.  There is also a claim that it is a part of the “war on terror.”  Yet, the Dutch have now confirmed with the October 7, 2009 vote of Parliament that they will leave Afghanistan in the summer of 2010, and they have not participated in the Iraq war. 

So what is the explanation for why the Dutch are here?  We have not received a formal answer.  Reasons seem to change, depending on the audience.  Certainly a part of the answer is because they cannot fly as much or as loudly in Holland.  In some releases, Foreign Military Sales is said to be the reason for the Dutch presence here; we want to sell more fighter planes, such as the newer F-35.  But the Dutch are resisting the purchase of that aircraft because it is considerably louder than their F-16s.  Those Dutch F-16s are already noisier than the OANG (Ohio Air National Guard) F-16s because of a different engine, a P&W instead of a GE.  Finally, it is said that the Dutch contract is to keep the expensive upgrades to the OANG base in use, instead of being abandoned.  The OANG aircraft are slated to leave the base in 2010 because of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) decisions. 

The OANG base may have another occupant in 2010, the Singapore Air Force, which will have a dozen pilots to replace, or add to, the 14 Dutch pilots.  This is apparently waiting for a decision by Congress whether this mission will be funded!  Yes, that seems to be the story.  Our tax dollars, in addition to bailing out large banks may also fund more noise over the Village of Yellow Springs.  Check on “New Visitors” above for documents on the Singapore and the (now deferred) Danish plans to fly out of Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.

The reason for the ambiguity of the information on the contract with the RNLAF may be because there are problems if the details are known.  If our air space has been rented in a commercial business venture of some sort, we as a village and as individuals should be able to recover, from the parties involved, the loss of value of our properties and compensation for any noise-related health effects.

Thank you for reading this report.  By clicking on the categories at the top of the page, you will have access to many reports, communications, and articles.  If you have additional information on this topic, please send it to me.  Thank you.