Sunshine Coast Council

Aircraft Noise Information Tool

WELCOME TO THE AIRCRAFT NOISE INFORMATION TOOL FOR THE SUNSHINE COAST AIRPORT EXPANSION PROJECT.

With this tool you can review predicted aircraft noise over specific Sunshine Coast addresses for the existing airport, and the forecasts for 2020 and 2040.

HOW TO USE THIS AIRCRAFT NOISE TOOL

Please note:
- Ordinary Google Maps navigation is enabled in the map.
- For more information about each menu item, click the corresponding information icon.

NOISE MEASUREMENT MENUS
1. Click the ANEF/ANEC, N70 or B737-700 LAmax buttons to select the type of noise measurement you want to view. The selected type will be highlighted green.

NOISE CONTOURS FOR DIFFERENT SCENARIOS
2. Click on the scenario you want to view (Existing, 2020 or 2040). The scenario will be highlighted green and a contour will be shown on the map.
3. To 'lock' a scenario on, click and hold the scenario name, until the scenario is highlighted yellow.

ADDRESS SEARCH
4. Search for an address by typing in the address box at the top of the map.
5. Either select the address in the drop-down list or press enter when you have finished typing.
6. To clear the address and search another, retype into the address box.

FLIGHT PATHS
7. Click on the "Show/hide flight paths" button to display indicative flight paths.
(Note that this functionality may cause the noise tool to run slowly on some devices)

PRINTING
8. To print the current map select print from your browser's menu ("Right-click" outside the map area and select "print" in most browsers). For best results on some browsers you may need to enable printing background colours (Google "print background" and your internet browser - e.g. "print background firefox").

RESET
9. To reset the map hit the 'reset map' button.

ANEF/ANEC

For land use planning in Australia, the accepted measure of aircraft noise exposure is the ANEF. Australian Standard 2021 (the Standard) provides guidance on the acceptability of various areas for certain types of development, in terms of the ANEF level in the area. For example, residential development is considered "acceptable" in areas with ANEF lower then 20, "conditionally acceptable" in areas with ANEF between 20 and 25, and "unacceptable" in areas with ANEF greater than 25.

The ANEF unit was developed on the basis of social survey data, and is relatively well correlated with the proportion of people who would describe themselves as "seriously affected" by the noise.

The ANEF considers the noise level, occurrence, duration and character of aircraft noise events

N70

N70 presents the number of aircraft noise events per day exceeding 70 dB(A). (A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear.). Eg. N70 equals 5 indicates that an average of five aircraft noise events exceeding 70 dB(A) are predicted

A noise level of 70 dB(A) outside a building would generally result in an internal noise level of approximately 60 dB(A), if windows are open to a normal extent. This noise level is sufficient to disturb conversation, in that a speaker would generally be forced to raise their voice to be understood. An internal aircraft noise level of 60dB(A) is likely to also cause some words to be missed in speech from a television or radio.

N70 considers only the noise level and occurrence of aircraft noise events, but is easily understood and thus is vital in the efficient communication of aircraft noise.

LAmax

LAmax describes the maximum noise level for a given aircraft noise event (or group of events).

Existing

The "Existing" scenario represents the noise modelling results based on historical data. Existing operations would continue until commencement of sand pumping works, which would require the closure of existing runway 12/30.

Do Minimum

The "Do Minimum" scenario assumes the existing runways and operating procedures, and a forecast of future aircraft movements at the airport. This case assumes that necessary actions will be taken to permit the continued use of runway 18/36 for classes of aircraft that currently operate on this runway.

Proposed New Runway

The "Proposed New Runway" scenario forecasts the noise impacts with the proposed 13/31 runway in operation.

Welcome to the aircraft noise information tool for the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion project. With this tool you can review indicative aircraft noise over existing addresses for the airport and forecast for 2020 and 2040.