ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 12, 1997 TAG: 9704140019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TOM ANGLEBERGER THE ROANOKE TIMES
STAFF WRITER MARY LOU BRUTON CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY.
There's been a big increase in military jet traffic over Floyd County in recent weeks, but the Navy says it's only temporary.
Normally, Floyd's a pretty quiet place, even if it is where two well-used military training flight routes intersect.
But when the number of flights on those training routes skyrocketed recently residents thought it was getting a little too noisy. One resident even complained of animals being spooked by all the low-flying jets and stampeding.
Federal Aviation Administration maps show that Floyd has two training routes going through it. One of the routes also runs near Christiansburg and into Giles County. The other route runs near Ferrum and Rocky Mount.
The good news is the heavy air traffic won't last long; it's just a temporary annoyance. However, on average, flight traffic will be increasing in coming years.
Most of the military aircraft flying training routes over Floyd are F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Base in North Carolina. But the routes also may be used by aircraft from Langley, Shaw, Charleston and Cherry Point air bases.
These planes fly established routes, two of which, VR-1752 and VR-1758, cut through this area and are used frequently. These are officially known as low-level, radar navigation, photo reconnaissance training routes.
During these training missions, pilots may fly as low as 200 feet above the ground. To practice radar-avoidance techniques, the planes swoop through valleys and hollows.
These flight routes were established almost 30 years ago and are not likely to change, according to a Navy spokesman from Oceana Naval Air Station near Virginia Beach. Nor are the flights likely to stop, the spokesman said, because they are vital to achieving combat readiness.
However, he said the heavy traffic will end soon. A number of temporary factors have caused the recent increase in training flights, the Navy commander said.
A major factor has been an Operational Readiness Inspection at Seymour Johnson. The Air Force base has been performing this inspection in conjunction with the Navy and Marines. This has led to increased traffic on the routes.
Another factor is seasonal. At this time each year, he said, training flights shift inland because of the heavy migratory bird traffic along the coast. Running into a flock of birds can damage a plane and kill the crew, he said.
A third factor has been the presence of the USS Kennedy aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia. Training missions flown from the carrier may have also increased local traffic.
Because each of these factors lasts only a short time, the heavy traffic on the Floyd routes is only expected to last another week or two.
In the future, the routes will see increased usage because more and more squadrons are being headquartered at nearby bases. As bases are shut down around the country, the bases that stay open will have to accommodate the planes once stationed at those bases.
Seymour Johnson recently gained two F-15E squadrons and Oceana is gradually accepting 10 F-18 squadrons. There are generally eight to 12 planes per squadron.
If a severe problem develops because of the routes, such as disruption of a school, it is possible for part of the route to be shifted, said the spokesman. He said the military does try to accommodate everyone, but the high cost of creating new routes makes a large change unlikely.
In February, the Air Force withdrew a proposal to dramatically increase the number of training flights along the Virginia-West Virginia border after opposition from residents of Highland County.
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