F-35 Public Brief Lt Col Luke “Torch” Ahmann 158 Fighter Wing Plans F-35 Program Integration Officer

Sources  DEIS –Authors: ACC / Cardno-TEC / Wily –EIS public records  Acoustic Engineer Interviews  FAA Part 150  Federal Housing Agency  Burlington Airport Documents/Interviews  Personal Experience –Resident / years / deployments / F-35 factory / training base and simulator

Overview  Mission  State Impact  EIS Timeline –Public Involvement  Noise Primer  DOH Concerns  Questions

 Air to Ground –Interdiction –Close Air Support  Air to Air –Offensive Counter Air –Defensive Counter Air –Aerospace Control Alert  Burlington VT, Bangor ME, Charleston SC, Shaw AFB SC, Otis ANGB, MA, Langley AFB, VA  24 / 7/ 365 Mission Federal Mission

 Work directly for the Governor  Quick Reaction Forces “QRF” –Trained medical and emergency response  Ice Storm  Hurricane Irene –Road clearing –Water containment –Aviation liaisons –Logistics and Supplies State Mission

State Impact  1100 strong –~400 full-time / ~700 part-time –$53M annual payroll  Drill weekends (1 weekend / month) –$325,000 annually  ~$27,000 per drill weekend (hotel, food, services contract)  VTANG Fire Dept –$2.5 M annual operating costs  Air National Guard Mission Training Center – 8-10 pilots / 2-3 weeks per month –~$50,000 per month in airfare / hotels / perdiem / rental cars  TFI / Community Basing –20 active duty members (expanding) –Handy Suites in Essex Junction

F-35 EIS Timeline  Notice of Intent (Public Registrar):Jan 10  Scoping Meetings:Dec 09-Mar 10  Draft EIS:13 Apr 12  Public Comment Period:14 Apr-20 Jun 12  EPA Concurrence:3 Jul 12  Final EIS:Jan 13  Record of Decision:Feb 13 –Mission/Cost/Capacity/Environment/Judgment  If selected, aircraft arrival 2020

Noise “Primer”  65 DNL Line Definition –“DNL is the community noise metric recommended by the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA] 1974) and has been adopted by most federal agencies (Federal Interagency Committee on Noise 1992). It has been well established that DNL correlates well with long-term community response to noise (Schultz 1978, Finegold et al. 1994).” EIS C-11 –“There are several points of interest in the noise-annoyance relation. The first is DNL of 65 dB. This is a level most commonly used for noise planning purposes and represents a compromise between community impact and the need for activities like aviation which do cause noise.” C-14 –65 DNL = 12.29% Highly Annoyed  30 Years of residents inside the 65 DNL in VT –Proven as compatible with residential use –Common nation-wide  Is the F35 going to louder or quieter than the F16?

SeattleBoston 65 DNL not unique to VT

2012 DEIS

2006 FAA / 2012 DEIS

Examples Luke AFB Nellis AFB

Comparison F-4 (1986) F-16 (1986) F-35 (2012)

Comparison F-16 (1986) F-16 (2012)

Noise Summary  F-16 and F-35 are nearly indistinguishable (Hill EIS public testimony) –20 of 22 local representative locations (“receptors”) are imperceptible to the human ear. (C-6 / BR4-32) –WPTZ 5 Part Series: F16 AB > F35 MIL PWR  65 DNL line can be changed with noise mitigation procedures –RWY OPS, Pattern, Procedures, Days, Hours –Winooski School  “Once the F-35A is operating at the selected base(s), the pilots will have consistently flown the operational profiles defined in this EIS or modified them to accommodate the unique qualities of the F-35A” (Page 2-43)

EIS Identifies 22 local points as “receptors” Noise change <3Db unrecognizable to the naked ear Scenario 2: 20 of 22 <3Db 4 of 22 are an unknown difference

DOH Concerns  “9 of 15 studied areas have negative impacts”  Truth: 3 (pg ES-62) –2 of which derive from noise –All 3 are also issues currently

Average Flight = 1.5 hours Takeoff phase = seconds F-35 80% above 23,000 ft F-16 80% below 23,000 ft DOH Concerns

 “There are negative health effects and impacts to children”  VTANG: –EIS Structure –“Research studies regarding the non auditory health effects of aircraft noise are ambiguous, at best, and often contradictory. Yet, even those studies which purport to find such health effects use time-average noise levels of 75db and higher for their research” (C-19) –“In summary, there is no scientific basis for a claim that potential health effects exist for aircraft time average sound levels below 75db. (C-20)

DOH Concerns  “Can you explore whether someone from the AF can present on safety and crash likelihood”  VTANG: –No F-35 has ever crashed. Currently flying at Eglin AFB with >500 sorties to date –It will have flown for over 10 years before coming to VT in 2020 –It will not be a Test aircraft in VT. Testing was accomplished by LM test pilots at LM test facility –F16 History: NO Class A Mishaps in VT since coming to VT in 1986 (better than the AF statistics: 3.68 / 100,000)

Way Forward  Please fact-check – – – 35_petition.aspxhttp:// 35_petition.aspx – – – – Vermont/ http:// Vermont/ – –  Available to answer questions  Public Affairs (802)

Questions? Lt Col Luke “Torch” Ahmann F-35 PIO