WINOOSKI — The F-35 jets housed at the Vermont National Guard took off and landed Tuesday, in a first training run.
One jet took off around 9 a.m. and landed around 10:15 a.m. during an overcast day in the Burlington area, and a second flight took off around 1:45 p.m. and landed just before 3 p.m. Lt. Chelsea Clark, public affairs officer for the Vermont Air National Guard, said that the jets went on a training mission.
The F-35s arrived in Vermont Sept. 19 after a lengthy basing decision process and years of debate. The jets’ arrival was celebrated by the Vermont Air National Guard, the first Guard unit in the country to host the F-35s, and supporters.
Critics are primarily concerned about the increased noise the jets will bring to the region compared to their predecessor, the F-16. Many more households, primarily in Williston and Winooski, will have average noise levels higher than 65 decibels, according to a noise map released by the airport in May.
In Winooski, some residents said they are against the basing, while others said they are waiting to hear the new jets more times before determining where they stand.
Bradford Horton, who lives and works in Winooski, said he has been living in the city for a couple years and said while he had gotten used to the plane noise, the F-35s were noticeably louder.
“Since the new ones have come around, I’ve definitely heard a difference — they’ve been louder,” Horton said. “I work right here, and generally the feeling is not really anyone is happy about it. The people who support it don’t live in the flight path.”
Jack Houk lives on West Canal Street and has lived in Winooski for three years. He said he was concerned that the jets will hurt property values, potentially harm children in the area and could become capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
“I’m emphatically against them, generally speaking,” he said. “They’re hugely loud.”
Resident Morgan Ellizson-Boyea, who lives on East Spring Street, said she had not heard the jet this morning because she was in a meeting in a basement and was withholding judgement.
“If I’m outside and I can’t have a conversation, that’s a problem,” she said. “And that’s kind of what happens” with the F-16s.
Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott said the city was working with the Guard and the airport and having “progressing” conversations about noise mitigation efforts with Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, South Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle, FAA officials and members of the state’s congressional delegation.
“Our delegation, they are very much interested in advocating for our community and ensuring we can do the best we can and get residents noise mitigation in a timely manner,” the mayor said.
In Winooski, 43% of residents are living in areas which have average noise levels higher than 65 decibels, according to the noise map. Lott said there were a variety of opinions about the basing in the community.
“It’s definitely challenging for a lot of our residents,” Lott said. “There are also folks who feel this is a good economic driver for the community.”
Meredith Bay-Tyack, the executive director of Downtown Winooski, an organization which supports local businesses, said late last month that the organization had not yet received feedback on the F-35s from its members.
“My educated guess is that business owners and managers have different opinions, just as local residents do,” Bay-Tyack said.
Bay-Tyack said she has lived in Winooski for a few years and said her verdict on the jets was still out.
“I think the loud voices are for and against, and there’s a lot of people in between,” she said.
The Air Force has also responded to basing opponents who requested more information on the effects that higher usage of afterburners on takeoff would have on the local community.
Documents obtained by VTDigger showed that at other bases hosting the F-35, afterburners, which make takeoffs louder, might be used more than 10 times as often as originally reported. The Vermont Guard has maintained that they would only use afterburners on less than 5% of takeoffs.
Basing opponents requested a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and a pause on basing until that study was completed.
But the Air Force reiterated that the Guard intends to use afterburners infrequently.
“There is neither a change in the proposed action or significant new information which would require the Air Force to prepare a supplement to the FEIS, nor a reason to stay the F-35A operational basing at BIA,” John Henderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force, wrote in a letter to Jim Dumont, a lawyer who represents anti-basing activists.
Rosanne Greco, the leading anti-F-35 activist, said she wasn’t satisfied with the Air Force’s response.
“It really didn’t answer the question and the request for the supplemental EIS,” she said. “We were looking for information, not statements on what they plan on doing.”
