over Pinal County / ASLD lands and a 20,300‐foot loop over Pinal County / ASLD lands
respectively. These can be found on Figure 3‐23 in Chapter 3 of this Background Report.
While helicopter flight operations can be noisy to receptors on the ground, the noise
levels and frequency of operations are not high enough to model Noise Zone II or III
contours that go beyond the facility boundaries. Specific helicopter flights can cause
noise levels that are a nuisance to ground level receptors. Much of the area that is
overflown, including the TFTA is remote and uninhabited where the operations often
occur as low as 300 feet AGL or lower, with most of the training flights between 500 to
1,200 AGL. As part of its Fly Neighbor Friendly policies, AZARNG pilots are instructed to
avoid overflight of populated areas when possible, and to fly a minimum of 1,000 feet
AGL over them if overflight is necessary. In some cases, the AZARNG has established No
Fly Areas on its flight maps, indicating that pilots should avoid overflight of these areas at
all as long as it does not impact the safety of the aircraft.
As land development continues in the JLUS Project Area, such as possible expansion of
Red Rock Village further west or south towards helicopter flight paths between SBAH and
Picacho Peak Stagefield, the potential for encroachment related to helicopter noise is
likely to increase. Complaints from the helicopter training operations are typically
infrequent, but when received are documented by the responsible flight activity and
forwarded to the AZARNG Public Affairs Office for follow‐up.
Similarly, if flight activities at existing AZARNG facilities increase, there is a potential for a
greater degree of impacts to neighboring residents or the public from noise caused by
helicopter overflight. This can occur during times of increased training activities such as
when Soldiers are preparing for deployment or conducting larger‐scale training exercised.
This may also occur if there are future projects at AZARNG facilities to accommodate
larger training and operation activity, such as the proposed expansion of facilities at
Picacho Peak Stagefield (see Figure 3‐17 for a generalized illustration of an expansion
concept).
Background Report
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