Residents' Perceptions and Field Measurements of Helicopter Operations

Despite the considerable research in the area of perceptions and annoyance in relation to noise levels research outside the context of commercial airports and military bases is lacking. Little is known about reactions to helicopter operations in areas where such disturbances are unexpected. Examples of such locations include several national parks and various communities in Hawaii affected by tour operations. A special federal aviation regulation has been enacted for the Grand Canyon National Park, and others may be precipitated from Public Law 100-91. At present, however, no legislative initiatives cover residential communities. The basic question that the research attempted to answer was whether, in towns of low-residential-density, exposure to loud, frequent, or long-lasting helicopter overflights corresponds to a negative attitude toward helicopter tour operations. Perceptual and actual noise measurements were collected, the former with a mail-back questionnaire survey and the latter with an extensive field survey. Investigations in four communities focused on potential relationships between people's annoyance and actual operational characteristics, such as noise intensity, frequency, and overflight duration. The expectation was substantiated that more exposure to helicopter overflights, particularly in terms of frequency and duration, relates to increasing annoyance.