DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709120614

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEWIS KRAUSKOPF AND NIA NGINA MEEKS, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   70 lines

PLANE-NOISE BUZZ GREETS PROPOSAL

A pair of jets zipped under thick gray clouds, rupturing the silence Thursday afternoon.

Matthew Ogden barely looked up from the history book he was studying. He, like many people who live near Oceana Naval Air Station, has grown accustomed to the F-14 Tomcats and other aircraft that take off, soar and land near him.

That doesn't mean the Norfolk State University freshman isn't irked when the planes zoom over his home at Maple Bay Townhomes.

``I hate those jets,'' Ogden said, sitting outside on his steps. ``I've been here two years and I'm about to move further inland, to get away from Oceana.''

For Beach residents, such as Ogden, the news that 180 more planes might be moved to Oceana isn't encouraging.

A Navy report released Wednesday says 39,000 more people in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake could be affected by noise, and that the new jets - F/A-18 Hornets - are louder.

The number of aircraft at Oceana would nearly double - from about 230 to 410 - and the roar of the jets likely would be more frequent and widespread.

The good news, however, is that even if the number of aircraft at Oceana were to nearly double, that wouldn't necessarily mean that the noise level would be twice as loud around the base, according to the report.

About 10,000 residents would experience lower noise levels, the result of changes in flight patterns, the report said.

Currently, the base receives 250 to 350 noise complaints a year, said Fred Pierson, Oceana's community planning liaison officer.

That compares with the almost 65,000 people now directly affected by noise from Oceana.

Most complaints come when the base is forced to conduct more night operations, he said.

Lyle Middleton, for one, can cope with the noise. He runs the Garage Europa at 1740 Virginia Beach Blvd. For him and others, those jets are the sound of freedom - and money.

Besides, the noise of the sleek F-14s and incoming F/A-18s don't compare with the A-6s of old, Middleton said.

``Now they were very, very loud,'' he said. ``The noise is aggravating, but you get used to it after a while.''

Of course, F-14s aren't F/A-18s. From 1,000 feet away, an F/A-18 has a decibel level of 108 on takeoff and 104 on arrival - both in the ``threshold of pain'' noise category, according to the report.

An F-14 departure rates at 97 decibels, its arrival at 83 decibels, both in the ``very loud'' category.

Human conversation rates at 60 decibels.

Pierson says people usually complain during unusual situations for the Navy.

For example, Chesapeake's Fentress Airfield - where the bulk of practice carrier-landings occur - is closed this month, forcing Oceana to conduct flights later into the night.

Thus, noise complaints go up, Pierson said.

Take the Green family.

Karen and Ron Green knew what they were getting into when they moved to London Bridge 13 years ago.

But lately, with Fentress under repair, the situation seems worse for this family of four.

``To some degree I can tolerate it,'' Karen Green said. ``But it makes it hard to really fall asleep, and we get up with the sun. My biggest request for the Navy would be after 10 p.m., they should quit. Kids have to get up for school the next day.''

There may soon be a solution to these problems, however. The Navy has requested an $11.3 million ``hush house'' - an acoustical enclosure where planes can be stored while they undergo engine maintenance, muting the noise, [Pierson said.] KEYWORDS: OCEANA EXPANSION: WHAT IT WOULD MEAN

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