Focus on Competition - 2010/06

Focus on Competition
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greatest cause is the proliferation of soccer,
but we’ll deal with that later.
Dealing with clubs’ sound problems is
easily 25% of my job. I’m either talking
with club officers directly or discussing
with their neighbors ways to control,
eliminate, or soften the impact of the noise.
I’ve often been chastised for not having
a set of rules or regulations pertaining to
sound, as has the AMA. The fact is, sound
is regulated throughout the US by all local
municipalities, cities, and towns by zoning
ordinances.
Towns and cities are able to set the
sound limits to their own levels, which
leads to a huge inconsistency in the number
they put on the limit and the way it is
enforced. If we (AMA) were to put a
number out there as a guideline or rule, you
can imagine the problems that would arise.
The clubs would think that our guideline
were the legal limit and act accordingly
only to find that the local limit were different,
and so on.
The other problem with setting
guidelines is the absolutely impossible task
of putting a number on a perception. What
a model sounds like in the air is completely
different than what it sounds like on the
ground. There are also so many factors that
actually create the sound you hear in a
model, like the propeller, the engine, the
carburetor on the engine, the muffler, the
airframe, and I can go on and on.
To do as much as I can to help, I always
steer the clubs to the local authorities to
first find out the decibel level that is
allowed to cross your property line. That
level can be found in the zoning ordinances
for your area. Then locate the boundaries
of the property you fly from and, as a
reference, set up a simple RadioShack
decibel meter at the property line and take
some readings.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to do this
several times, with several models, and
with different atmospheres, meaning that
sound is different depending on humidity,
clouds, sun, etc.
Knowing whether or not you’re “legal”
can give you a leg up on a dispute. But do
realize that when it comes to politics,
residents will almost always win out over
modelers, so schmoozing can come in
handy when the going gets tough.
If you do the testing and find you have a
problem don’t wait until the authorities
contact you; take it upon yourselves to
address the issues and get them under
control now. Often by the time the law
shows up, it’s too late.
I’ll follow this up next month with
another piece on the ways to control the
noise your model puts out. MA