Research into the improvement of the management of helicopter noise in the UK

Abstract

Helicopter noise has a negative impact on the quality of life for many people. Effected populations are not just those living close to heliports, but include those exposed to noise from helicopters used by emergency services, the military, and commercial companies. One problem identified in the UK is that it is often difficult to complain about helicopter noise, since it is unclear which organization is responsible for dealing with the complaint. Consequently, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, UK) has commissioned research to summarize the following: i. the nature and extent of the concern about helicopter noise in the UK ii. rules and regulations governing operations iii. existing procedures for handling complaints This stage of the project will produce a detailed report into the improvement of the management of helicopter noise. Also to be produced is a short non-technical guide including the means of redress for perceived disturbance. This paper reports on the findings of this project.

London Heliport

“…A recent study did include improving the management of helicopter noise. [ 14 ]There was no reference, except in one table, to rotary aircraft in the current UK Civil Aviation Authority New Airspace Change Policy document. [ 15 ]…”

“…Non-acoustical factors such visual intrusion, fear of crashing, air pollution, opinion on purpose of the flights, lack of control and property devaluation can be significant contributors to the lack of acceptability and subsequent annoyance experienced by local communities. [ 4 ]…”

The Roles of Soundscape Approaches in Landscape Design

“…[9] Currently, most of concerns on sonic environment focus on noise level reduction without considering context. However, increasing research evidences show that the sound levels are not sufficient or straightforward for a high quality acoustic environment, strongly evidenced by the research on aviation noise [10] [11] . Visual context, sound preference, meaning of sound sources, user expectation, and masking effects between unwanted and wanted sounds significantly influence human responses to sonic environment.…”

“…对听觉感受的理解及对声环境的反应来影响声景。" [9] 目前对声环境的关注点大多集中在降低噪声声压级上，而鲜少考 虑语境。但有关航空噪声的研究表明，要想实现高品质的声环境，仅 仅关注声压级是不够的，且难以直击要害 [10] [12] 。掩蔽是指由于另一种或多种声音的介入而使一种或多种声音不 可闻或部分不可闻，这是心理声学领域常被探讨的概念。掩蔽效应不 能直接降低所感知声音的响度，但可以显著减少交通噪声的干扰，使 声景更加自然、宜人 [13] 。在声景设计中，通过有益声音来掩蔽噪声的设 计手段已得到广泛认可 [14]~ [16] 。而通过叠加其他更有趣的声音来增强特 定的自然/人为声音或掩盖不受欢迎的声音也是可行方案之一(图1)。 2.3 声景与视觉景观 声景与视觉景观在空间上高度关联。户外空间中存在作为声源的多 样景观要素，而空间声音的生命力也主要由视觉景观的属性所决定 [17] 。 在不同的空间场景中，人们有不同的声音偏好。一般来说，自然 声是最受青睐的声音之一 [18] 。而在自然声中，常应用于景观设计实践中 的水声和树叶响声又最为人们所喜爱 [19] 。与此同时，声景作为语境与视 觉景观紧密关联，显著影响了人们在空间中的体验 [20][21] 。声音信号的来…”

Assessing the Soundscape Appropriateness in the Vicinity of a Heliport in an Urban Park of Quito (Ecuador) Using Immersive Audio-Visual Scenarios

“…The noise generated by helicopters is different from that generated by fixed-wing propeller-driven aircrafts. For propeller-driven aircrafts, the propeller axes are parallel to the direction of motion of the aircraft [23]. In the helicopter, however, the axes of rotation are normal to the direction of the flight.…”