I am new to the Seacoast, having arrived in 1980, eleven years before Pease AFB closed. I’ve been a longtime reader and subscriber to the Portsmouth Herald, but have never written a letter to the editor until today. This letter follows three previously published letters regarding the proposed cargo facility at Pease. My background combines 34 years of flying experience as a naval aviator and commercial pilot.

Reading Mr. Lalos’ letter of February 1, I found myself scratching my head at some of the things he said. He states that he lives three miles from the approach end of the runway, implying that he hears the sound of Pease all the time, but he is almost two miles east of the runway. runway axis extended. It is rare for a plane to fly over his house. Like one of the other letter writers, I once lived a few steps from M. Lalos’s house. Pease noise is almost non-existent in this area. I find it odd that someone living in a residential community that doesn’t anticipate any real impact would write such a forceful letter of support.

Following:Comment: Freight facility at Pease will not harm the quality of life, it offers many benefits

I agree with Mr. Lalos that noise from the airport during the day is, for the most part, acceptable, but that changes late at night. A fully loaded cargo plane will wake many residents when the captain applies full power for a 4 a.m. departure or uses reverse to slow the plane just after landing at 1 a.m. Passenger planes leaving Pease today are often small and almost always take off at reduced power, due to the long runway, further reducing their already low noise level. Unlike many cargo planes, none of the passenger planes depart or arrive when most Seacoast residents are asleep.

Following:Comment: The Pease air cargo facility will generate unhealthy noise and other pollutants

Following:Comment: A massive air cargo facility at Pease will hurt Seacoast’s quality of life

The proposed cargo planes will need to be serviced at the new facility. Required maintenance will often take place at night. This will include testing the engines at full power, the same power used for takeoff. My current home is 2.5 miles southeast of the Air National Guard hangar. I hear the noise of the Guard’s engine tests at night, and it wakes me up, but it’s not a common occurrence. This will happen much more often if the cargo facility is built.

Following:‘Significant interest’: Pease Airport cargo facility plan moves forward

Residents currently living below the Pease takeoff and arrival paths are already familiar with airborne noise from large aircraft, but are unaccustomed to the noise occurring several times a night between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Residents not below flight paths but within 2.5 miles of the runway or cargo facility will hear significantly more nighttime noise from aircraft movements on taxiways prior to takeoff and after landing, and maintenance work. This 2.5 mile radius includes the homes of many Portsmouth residents (many already experience nighttime noise from I-95 traffic and idling diesel locomotives) as well as a significant number of residents of Eliot, Dover Point, Greenland and all residents of Newington.

I hope local residents fully understand what can happen if the cargo facility is approved and becomes operational.

Ed Caylor, of Portsmouth, grew up in North Georgia, graduated from Annapolis, then moved to the Seacoast area where he began his 25-year career with Delta Airlines. He now enjoys volunteering with several local non-profit organizations.