Residents living in Kin Beach say noise from the CF-18 jet practising at nearby 19 Wing Comox is “way beyond normal.”Floyd Trotter explained he, along with his wife and neighbours are concerned with noise produced by the plane, which is training with the Snowbirds for the next week. “I measured the noise outside and it registered at 115 decibels,” Trotter explained. “(At that level), you’re risking hearing loss.”He added the plane flies near their home close to the base twice a day,  and he nor his wife can have a conversation, talk on the phone or watch TV inside their home. Trotter noted the Snowbirds pass by his home and register only 88 decibels. He said the base in the past has been good working with their neighborhood, but wishes they could do something about the jet training overhead.”They’ve worked with us well for the last 10 years, but you would think with all of the technology, they could make their machines a lot quieter,” he noted.Lieut. Trevor Reid, public affairs officer at 19 Wing Comox, explained that due to the low cloud cover over the airfield Monday, the sound may have increased near ground level due to a blanket effect.”We do take steps to minimize the limits of activities of the demonstration teams within normal daytime and working hours. We try and limit the Snowbirds practice to 45 minutes and the CF-18 from 20 minutes to half an hour,” he said, and added the base does employ tactics to minimize noise disturbances to area residents.The Snowbirds and F-18 will practise over the Comox Valley until May 5, and will hold a demonstration show May 4.photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record