Draft EIS issued for lower Air National Guard training flights

For 20 years the U.S. Air Force has been trying unsuccessfully to lower the "floor" at which military aircraft can operate in the Condor Military Operating Areas 1 and 2 (MOAs, which overlie much of western Maine, including the Bethel area.

In the early 1990s the Air Force sought to have the Federal Aviation Administration approve lowering the current floor of 7,000 feet to 300 feet, in order to accommodate the training needs of F-10 "Warthogs."

Three years ago it attempted to have the floor lowered to 500 feet, for use by F-15 "Eagles. "

The F-10s and F-15s would have been flown by pilots of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, flying out of the MANG's base in Westfield.

But in both cases the Air Force's bureaucratic sortees were stalled by a combination of protests from Maine residents, including pilots, living under Condor, and unanimous opposition from Maine's Congressional delegation.

Their reasons stemmed largely from concerns about noise and the danger posed to other aircraft using the airspace.

Now the Air Force is back.

Last week it released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS for nationwide "Operational Bedding" of its new fighter, the F-35 "Lightning II Joint Force Fighter."

The F-35, which will also be used by several United States allies, is a multi-role fighter, capable of performing ground attack, reconnaissance and air defense missions.

It will replace the F-15, which (along with the F-10 is now classified by the Air Force as a "legacy aircraft."

The F-35 is a "stealth fighter,» but critics contend that while it may be invisible to radar, it is hardly stealthy to the human ear.

They claim it is twice as loud, based on decibel level, as the F-15 it replaces.

'Especially intrusive'

The EIS looks at six possible locations for bedding down F-35s.

Of those six, two are classified as "Preferred Alternatives": Hill Air Force Base in Utah and the Air Guard Station in Burlington, Vt.

The EIS proposes that if the F-35s are based at Burlington, Condor 1 and 2 be combined into a single MOA, with an operating floor of 500 feet.

The floor would also be lowered in the nearby Yankee Laser MOA, which overlies nearly all of the White Mountain National Forest.

As far as noised-levels are concerned, the EIS Executive Summary claims the F-35 (despite its ground-attack capabilities "would fly mostly at altitudes above 23,000 MSL," where its noise would be disbursed..

But, the EIS notes, under Yankee Laser, "persons on the ground could perceive an increase in noise.

"Such increases would likely add to the percentage of the population annoyed by aircraft noise. Persons recreating in special land use areas, such as White Mountain National Park, may consider additional noise especially intrusive. «

"However," it claims, "per-flying-day overflights, especially low-altitude overflights, would either decrease or remain about the same. The potential for repeated low-altitude overflights of any specific location would be minimal."

Scoping sessions

Three public scoping sessions on the Burlington option are scheduled.

None are in Maine. The nearest will be in Littleton, N.H., on Tuesday, May 15.

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