The airlines finally committed to retrofitting their fleets with these vortex generators to kill that piercing whine forever. I can barely believe that my quiet neighborhood will actually stay quiet from here on out. Thank you for pushing this forward until they had no choice but to listen.
February 1, 2016
Airlines: Silence Your “Airbus Whine” with the Simple Fix that Will Reduce Noise Distress for Millions of People!
Final supporters
Airlines: Silence Your “Airbus Whine” with the Simple $5000 Fix that Will Reduce Noise Distress for Millions of People!
The shrill whine of the Airbus A320 series aircraft (A318 - A321) is disturbing millions of U.S. citizens every day. These Airbus jets emit a loud, high-pitched tone during landing approach, before flaps and landing gear are deployed, some 10-25 miles from the destination airport. The offending noise is produced as air passes over two small circular vent openings on the underside of each wing—creating a “whistle” tone that is perceived by the human ear as highly disturbing. Large populations living far from airports are repeatedly exposed to this irritating Airbus whine. The noise diminishes their productivity and quality of life. Luckily, there is an inexpensive solution to the problem.
All it takes to eliminate the “Airbus Whine” is a two-inch triangular piece of aluminum called a vortex generator. Mounted just upstream of each circular vent, the vortex generator reduces the aircraft’s ground noise dramatically (up to 8 decibels), and completely eliminates the whining tone. The retrofit requires only a few hours of labor, can be done during routine maintenance, and costs less than $5000 per jet. The huge benefits of this small part are proven; vortex generators have been factory-installed on new Airbus 320 series jets since May 2014.
If the Airbus noise problem is to be solved, airline companies must choose to retrofit their older fleets of whining jets. European airlines--Lufthansa, Air France, EasyJet, and British Airways--have committed to aggressive retrofit schedules for their fleets and have already installed vortex generators on hundreds of their older model jets.
Airlines operating older Airbus 320 series planes in the U.S. have an opportunity to show leadership in environmental noise reduction. Their efforts will be recognized and appreciated by the millions living in communities under landing approach routes. By electing to make a small investment in vortex generators for the notoriously noisy Airbus jets, airlines can earn the gratitude of current and future customers.
We ask airlines currently flying the whining Airbus 318-321 jets in the United States (Virgin America, United, US Airways, American, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier, Delta, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Volaris, Avianca, and LACSA) to:
- equip their Airbus A320 series fleets with vortex generators by January 1, 2017.
- publish their progress on vortex generator retrofitting so the flying public can assess the commitment of each airline to this effort.
Updates
December 28, 2015
Five hundred people have signed on to demand this fix. My own living room remains loud every afternoon but seeing this support makes me feel less alone in the fight to silence these engines.
Reached 500 supporters
December 26, 2015
October 23, 2015
The momentum behind this fix is undeniable and it fuels me to keep fighting for the peace and quiet we deserve in our own homes. Reading your stories about the constant high-pitched noise has only strengthened my resolve to force these airlines to act.
Reached 100 supporters
October 20, 2015
308 Comments
The $ 5000 price tag is exaggerated. The retrofit can be done by screwing the parts* into existing holes, in less than an hour. The procedure has been homologated by EASA in 2007. I have got one sample for free just by mailing the manufacturer: this part cannot be that expensive.
United Airlines, please do this now. I have flown with United since 1951. It appears that this costs way less than $5000 per plane. Please do it during normal periodic maintenance downtime. Please show that you care about us, your passengers.
I am sick of hearing the constant whine, day and night, almost nonstop. It seems to be getting worse in recent weeks. I live 30 miles from San Francisco International Airport. This is unacceptable, and ridiculous since there is a simple fix. Do the right thing, and do it NOW.
Please catch up to the European airlines with this inexpensive fix. I am sure my friends, family and neighbors will be willing to boycott the offending airlines. Aside from the bad publicity, how many customers are you willing to lose over this issue?
We hear this keening noise over our heads 20-40 times per day, driving our town insane and driving down property values. PLEASE TAKE THIS MEASURE IMMEDIATELY!!!!! We are your victims and your customers, and will be voting with our wallets.
The time is long overdue to correct this noise distress pollution.
The noise is very dis
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The airlines finally committed to retrofitting their fleets with these vortex generators to kill that piercing whine forever. I can barely believe that my quiet neighborhood will actually stay quiet from here on out. Thank you for pushing this forward until they had no choice but to listen.
February 1, 2016
Airlines: Silence Your “Airbus Whine” with the Simple Fix that Will Reduce Noise Distress for Millions of People!
Final supporters
Airlines: Silence Your “Airbus Whine” with the Simple $5000 Fix that Will Reduce Noise Distress for Millions of People!
The shrill whine of the Airbus A320 series aircraft (A318 - A321) is disturbing millions of U.S. citizens every day. These Airbus jets emit a loud, high-pitched tone during landing approach, before flaps and landing gear are deployed, some 10-25 miles from the destination airport. The offending noise is produced as air passes over two small circular vent openings on the underside of each wing—creating a “whistle” tone that is perceived by the human ear as highly disturbing. Large populations living far from airports are repeatedly exposed to this irritating Airbus whine. The noise diminishes their productivity and quality of life. Luckily, there is an inexpensive solution to the problem.
All it takes to eliminate the “Airbus Whine” is a two-inch triangular piece of aluminum called a vortex generator. Mounted just upstream of each circular vent, the vortex generator reduces the aircraft’s ground noise dramatically (up to 8 decibels), and completely eliminates the whining tone. The retrofit requires only a few hours of labor, can be done during routine maintenance, and costs less than $5000 per jet. The huge benefits of this small part are proven; vortex generators have been factory-installed on new Airbus 320 series jets since May 2014.
If the Airbus noise problem is to be solved, airline companies must choose to retrofit their older fleets of whining jets. European airlines--Lufthansa, Air France, EasyJet, and British Airways--have committed to aggressive retrofit schedules for their fleets and have already installed vortex generators on hundreds of their older model jets.
Airlines operating older Airbus 320 series planes in the U.S. have an opportunity to show leadership in environmental noise reduction. Their efforts will be recognized and appreciated by the millions living in communities under landing approach routes. By electing to make a small investment in vortex generators for the notoriously noisy Airbus jets, airlines can earn the gratitude of current and future customers.
We ask airlines currently flying the whining Airbus 318-321 jets in the United States (Virgin America, United, US Airways, American, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier, Delta, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Volaris, Avianca, and LACSA) to:
- equip their Airbus A320 series fleets with vortex generators by January 1, 2017.
- publish their progress on vortex generator retrofitting so the flying public can assess the commitment of each airline to this effort.
Updates
December 28, 2015
Five hundred people have signed on to demand this fix. My own living room remains loud every afternoon but seeing this support makes me feel less alone in the fight to silence these engines.
Reached 500 supporters
December 26, 2015
October 23, 2015
The momentum behind this fix is undeniable and it fuels me to keep fighting for the peace and quiet we deserve in our own homes. Reading your stories about the constant high-pitched noise has only strengthened my resolve to force these airlines to act.
Reached 100 supporters
October 20, 2015
308 Comments
I work in an equipment company and we have customers in Europe. They all have noise spec. So I would think you appreciate the value of min. Machine noise. please make this noise reducing feature one of your standard. Thanks
The $ 5000 price tag is exaggerated. The retrofit can be done by screwing the parts* into existing holes, in less than an hour. The procedure has been homologated by EASA in 2007. I have got one sample for free just by mailing the manufacturer: this part cannot be that expensive.
United Airlines, please do this now. I have flown with United since 1951. It appears that this costs way less than $5000 per plane. Please do it during normal periodic maintenance downtime. Please show that you care about us, your passengers.
I am sick of hearing the constant whine, day and night, almost nonstop. It seems to be getting worse in recent weeks. I live 30 miles from San Francisco International Airport. This is unacceptable, and ridiculous since there is a simple fix. Do the right thing, and do it NOW.
Please catch up to the European airlines with this inexpensive fix. I am sure my friends, family and neighbors will be willing to boycott the offending airlines. Aside from the bad publicity, how many customers are you willing to lose over this issue?
We hear this keening noise over our heads 20-40 times per day, driving our town insane and driving down property values. PLEASE TAKE THIS MEASURE IMMEDIATELY!!!!! We are your victims and your customers, and will be voting with our wallets.
The time is long overdue to correct this noise distress pollution.
The noise is very dis
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I work in an equipment company and we have customers in Europe. They all have noise spec. So I would think you appreciate the value of min. Machine noise. please make this noise reducing feature one of your standard. Thanks