wilrc

Where, specifically, does the AMA address sound control?

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Only place I can think of is the IMAC rules.

KidEpoxy

clubs may institute local rules themselves as well

Bird of Paradise

My Feedback: (4)

Check the leader club requirements. This is of course up to the local club.

Silent-AV8R

Pattern and IMAC both have sound rules. There are no other sound rules that apply to any aircraft outside of these two areas of competition. A couple of other competition areas require mufflers, but have no specific rules about sound, etc. beyond requiring the muffler.

There are no sound rules of any kind that affect general flying. The AMA Safety Code also has nothing in it regarding sound.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

Our flying field has a sound rule of 90 DB at 9 ft. Most any engine with a stock muffler will be just fine as well as most after market mufflers, but there are a few that will not make the cut. I think that this is a common number as I have heard of it at other fields that I have been to. I am not sure how it came about, it may have been a recomendation from the AMA at some point in time. Good Luck, Dave

Silent-AV8R

I am not aware of the AMA ever having made any recommendations. Lots of clubs used the pattern rules since they were set for nitro motors in more "normal" type planes before the big planes came on the scene. Frankly the whole concept of ground-based sound testing is fundamentally flawed, but that is a subject for another very long thread!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

90 db at 9 feet rules out high performance set ups but allows your standard industrial grade stuff to fly.

abel_pranger

Dave-

You are correct, and you have a good memory, because AMA's recommendation of 90 dBA @ 9 ft goes back at least as far as the early 1980's. Howard Crispin, Chairman of the AMA Sound Committee until his demise circa 1997-8 mentions in his compilation "SOUND AND MODEL AERONAUTICS, A handbook for model clubs," published by AMA 1991 makes mention of the EC voting to adopt that recommended level as official AMA policy. There were a number of studies done during the early 1970's By Association of Western Modelers et al that suggested recommending limits close to that level, and many European modeling orgs had adopted 82 dBA @ 7 meters, essentially the same level as 90 dBA @ 9 ft when the additional spreading loss due to the greater measurement distance is corrected for. Any or all of these precedents may have contributed to the level settled upon by AMA.

The AMA Sound Committee was reestablished early in 1998 and operated for about 2 years until prexy Dave Brown decided its work should be absorbed by the Flying Site Assistance Coordinator. During that interval, the recommendation was changed to advise compliance with community ordinances, which after all represent controlling authority. Emphasis shifted from recommendation of arbitrary source levels to compliance with community standards (as in local noise ordinances). Actually, the 90 @ 9 rule was ultimately aimed at controlling received levels. It often failed to measure up to that intention though, due to a couple of realities over which AMA has little control: not all model flying venues are equidistant from neighbors that might be affect by noise emanations, and not all communities apply the same standards and may apply different standards in the same ordinance(s) depending on factors such as time of day and zoning of the affected area. If interested in further info, the only source I can point to is the MA archives. Look for 'Sound Advice' columns published quarterly during 1998 - 99.

Abel

Erich_F

Add one more, RC Helicopter:

4.3.4: It is recommended that noise level be monitored. The maximum noise level should be 96 decibels (dB) measured at three (3) meters from the center line of the model when the helicopter is in stationary hover at one and one-half (1-1/2) meters over concrete or macadam. If the model is hovered over bare ground or short grass, the level should be 94 dB. The measurement should be taken at a height of one and one-half (1-1/2) meters and at a 90 degree angle to the flight path. Additionally, this should be on the exhaust side and slightly downwind from the exhaust point. The contestant should be notified if the model fails the test, although, at this point, there shall be no penalty imposed.

As you can see by the last statement, it's not a requirement. FAI on the other hand does have a sound requirement with penalty:

5.4.4. NOISE LIMIT
Noise level measurements must be made before the start of a competition, preferably during the official
practice day. The noise level must be measured at a distance of 3m (3 metre) while the helicopter is
hovering with the skids/landing gear at eye level over the centre of a 2m diameter circle. A remote
microphone mounted on a tripod must be used. The engine speed (RPM) must be the same as that used
during the hovering portion of the flight schedules. During the measurement the helicopter must be
rotated through 360º to determine the maximum noise level. The sound pressure level must not exceed
87dB (A) over a soft (grass) surface or 89dB (A) over a hard (asphalt, concrete, etc.) surface. If the noise
level limit is exceeded during the first measurement, two additional measurements must be made to
substantiate the excessive noise level. The competitor may modify the helicopter and/or silencer system
to reduce the noise level and after verification of an acceptable level, will be permitted to fly. If the noise
level cannot be reduced to or below the noise level limit it will not be allowed to fly in the competition. The
measuring equipment must be calibrated to the dB (A) sound pressure level scale defined in applicable
ISO Standards. If noise measuring equipment that can be calibrated to ISO Standards is not available,
the measurements will be advisory only and no competitor can be excluded from the competition.

crash99

My Feedback: (3)

Hum .................... I am glad we have no such rule nor do we need such a rule. It should be left up to the club. The AMA has no need to address this.

Now we had a fun day at the field it is now time to put the planes to bed. Place the TX on charge and hope for good weather for tomorrow.

Crash99

mscic-RCU

My Feedback: (6)

All clubs should be aware if the governing body (city, county, township, etc) has sound requirements. We lost a field here due to complaints about noise and the township enforced its noise ordinance and shut the club down.

crash99

My Feedback: (3)

That is a shame and I hate to hear anyone lost their field. I know we have to be safe. 3 miles away there is now a race track and I hated it. It is so loud that you can hear in on the other side of town. We live in a class 3 county so there is no county noise law or any other county laws.

I guess we should feel lucky.


Crash99

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

I forgot about the FAI rule. I knew about the other one but also knew it was a recomendation.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

This is why I haven't gotten a response from AMA about this very issue! I only asked for reccomendations-guidelines, not a hard fast rule. 1 week later, still no response.
zx32tt

bradpaul

We were facing noise complaints about a two years ago from a neighbor who just did not want us flying from our field. Unfortunately the county noise ordinance was similar to the AMA policy in that no specific noise limit or measurement was specified. The ordinance just referred to noise as a nuisance. The AMA (District AVP) had a good suggestion to invest in a noise meter and measure our planes and helis. With the exception of one plane (and that was a high speed electric wing) all passed at 90db/9ft. We decided to use that as our baseline.

We then measured and documented the noise from the highway that borders one end of the field and was closed to the neighbors house then our planes. We took measurements at 12ft and adjusted the measurements accordingly. Nothing we flew came anywhere near to the levels from dump trucks, and Harleys......... Armed with that info we met informally with the county code enforcement manager to pre-empt any official complaint from the neighbor. We also sent a summary of the findings to the neighbor. We are still flying two years later, and so far the neighbor has been quiet.

Brad

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

We may have to do the same thing at our field. We have 1 irate neighbor that wants us to leave. The club has been in operation for over 20 yrs with out any issue. Yesterday the county police got involved. I don't know what the outcome will be.[]

cj_rumley

Do some boning up on the topic [link=http://www.hudnoise.com/hudstandard.html]HERE.[/link] You'll have an advantage over the complainant if you understand objective sound levels that are recommended and widely adopted for community standards, and the rationale for setting them.
Did the cops cite the county ordinance you are allegedly not in compliance with?

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

The cops are on our side. They watched & listened to us fly and saw no reason for anyone to complain.

cj_rumley

That's good news, but your prior posts lead me to think you don't really expect that's the end of the story. Do yourself a big favor and get smart on noise abatement standards now, before the next encounter happens.

Cletus

rolsen12

Sound control will not keep a flying field.
You must change the way the comunity around your field relates to your activity.
They usualty think that you are playing with very expensiove toys.
Thy raising some mony for a local charity.

cj_rumley

Sound control does not in and of itself keep flying fields, as some clubs lose their fields for reasons marginally related to, or totally unrelated to noise annoyance.
Improving the acceptance of the club as a good neighbor in the community is certainly worthwhile and it has definitely been an asset in defending our club against various charges by an obnoxious neighbor. I certainly won't diminish the value of our efforts to establish good relations with the community planning group, for example.
Bear in mind though there is a tendency of people that are intolerant of the activities of their neighbors, and file complaints, toward the fringes of the general populace wrt to irritability. There may simply be no sound level emanating from your flying activity that is low enough to satisfy them. Community noise abatement standards that are objective are there to protect people that generate sound as a byproduct of their activities, too. If you respect those standards, you can have the support of the community and have unreasonable complaints dismissed as without merit. If you don't operate within the standards, local authorities are left with no choice but to rule for the complainer and bar your operations until they are in compliance.

Cletus

KidEpoxy

Wasnt there a club in Florida that got noise complaints from neighbors,
which was odd because it was a glider club [&:]

fred herbert

how about air polution ,check those glow engines and that will be the end of it. every club has a noise pansy, and his mouth is more anoying than any plane.stuff your db meter, where is the polution concern [>:]

cyclops2

Just when we thought it was safe. Fred shows up with a Methane meter.