Helicopter Noise Tests to Begin Today

Starting today, helicopters from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin will begin flying over the base and into nearby residential areas to measure how much noise the aircraft make.

The tests, which will involve about 12 hours of flying time, will end Aug. 20. The flights represent the second phase of tests the Marine Corps is conducting to gauge the effect of helicopter flights over residential areas. The first phase, conducted in June, tested how vibrations from flying helicopters affect buildings near the base.

In recent years, residents from several cities near the Tustin Marine base and the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center have complained that noise from helicopter flights over their neighborhoods is excessive.

Marine Corps officials said information from the tests will be used to decide how neighborhoods around the Tustin base and other Marine Corps air stations should be zoned.

The flights, which will traverse Peters Canyon Wash between Alton Avenue and the Santa Ana Freeway, will be conducted during daylight hours on weekdays, according to officials. When flying over residential areas, the helicopters will travel at an altitude of about 500 feet.