English 111 Fall 2001

Jerreemar W.  Tidewater Community College

The F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets are aircrafts that are essential to our military especially in combat.  The F-14 Tomcat is known to be one of the supersonic jet fighters that carry out missions for close air-to-air combat and supplementary to them the  F/A-18 Hornet is one of the first aircraft that can proficiently carry out missions whether in air-to-air or air-to ground combat. Through our military both aircrafts are known for their supersonic capabilities.  The vocabulary word “supersonic” found in a Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus is defined as “characterized by a speed greater than that of sound or not loud enough to be heard”.  However, in Virginia Beach the jet noise still remains an issue to the residents neighboring Oceana Naval Air Station and we ask ourselves the question:  Was bringing the F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets to Oceana Naval Air Station a good idea for the residents living in the city of Virginia Beach? For the Hampton Roads area it was a good idea to bring the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets especially for our economic growth.  The Virginia Beach community and other neighboring cities have the opportunity to grow economically and financially.

In the middle of 1997, the decision for having the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets to be relocated from Jacksonville, Florida to Virginia Beach, Virginia was still lingering in the atmosphere. The military knew that there would be conflict with the Virginia Beach community complaining of the jet noise, especially from the neighboring residents, schools, and businesses and having to be placed in an area considered a high-noise zone.  After relocating these jets to Oceana Naval Air Station and to meet the needs of these jets, the Virginia Beach city services would have to increase employment, which would help the city advantageously.  The military has prepared to make any changes to their procedures in maneuvering practices with the F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets, for example the way the jets prepared to take off from base and land. The military has tried to accommodate the Virginia Beach residents from the jet engine noise.  As noted in the Virginian-Pilot  “many changes have been attempted since the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets arrived at Oceana Naval Air Station an example to this is “when the planes hit 4,000 feet the pilots are to power back so that their aircraft sounds quieter”.  Another example is “trying to head planes towards the water so the engines would avoid ground contact”.

Having the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets come to Virginia Beach is an economical plus providing that many jobs and businesses are able to grow physically and financially.  But to some residents the noise is a factor that cannot be ignored.  The issue of jet noise has increased since the F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets have relocated to Virginia Beach and will continue to do so if more jets are to relocate to this area.  And possibly the F/A-18 Super Hornets would be relocated to Oceana Naval Air Station, but as mentioned in the Virginian-Pilot, if the jets were to be relocated to another site that the Virginia Beach area would lose in growth approximately $1 billion in a year in a report to lawmakers from Mayor Oberndorf.

In Virginia Beach approximately 425,000 residents live in a high-noise zone that the Federal Aviation Administration considers too high for the jet noise.  The Federal Aviation Administration considers the Virginia Beach area on the average of 65 decibels and the neighborhoods around the Naval Air Station is at 75 decibels which is too high.  If the residents who occupy the home they now live in had researched the neighborhood they were moving into, jet noise should have been a factor. The city of Virginia Beach is growing rapidly and soon will run out of room for new homes then much older homes will be torn down and newer ones in place of them.  Regardless of where these homes whether near or far from Oceana Naval Air Station people will continue to move into these homes knowing the disadvantage particularly jet noise being one of them.  In retrospect with the jet noise, having the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets transferred to Oceana Naval Air Station is an advantage to the city with employment for many people and benefits for many businesses. 
 
 
 
 
 

Works Cited

Dorsey, Jack. “Oceana boss quickly made his mark in noise debate.” Pilotonline (2001): World Wide Web. 27 Sept. 2001 <http://www.pilotonline.com/military/ml0927zob.html> 

Eisman, Dale. “Beach leaders make their case to land new F/A-18s at Oceana.” Pilotonline (2001): World Wide Web. 11 Oct. 2001 <http://www.pilotonline.com/military/ml1011noi.html>