MUFFLE JET NOISE AT VAN NUYS, AND EVERYBODY WINS.

Byline: Ellen Bagelman Local View

THE Los Angeles Airport Commission is presently considering whether to adopt a ``nonaddition'' rule, which in essence places a cap or ceiling on Stage II aircraft based at Van Nuys Airport, and eventually will require replacement aircraft to be quieter. In order to make its determination, the commission required an economic impact study. Airport Corp. of America was selected to conduct the study, and the results, I admit, caused me to lunge for a box of Kleenex.

Let's back up for a moment. Stage II jets are noisy - really noisy - they produce noise that caused Burbank and Santa Monica airports to ban them. Los Angeles International doesn't want them either, but their rationale is that additional corporate jets would overburden an already ``at capacity'' airport.

Van Nuys Airport, quietly and without fanfare, extended its arms to these jets and said, ``Welcome, we'll take you; you'll be safe and protected here.'' And so they arrived and arrived, and departed and arrived again.

The results of the biased economic impact study indicate economic disaster: ``Chicken Little, Chicken Little, the sky WILL fall (no pun intended) if Stage II jets are not allowed to continue operating at VNY.'' Jobs will be lost, people will lose their businesses, children will starve, and the economic vitality of Van Nuys will nose dive.

Let me give you an example and then you'll see why the economic study didn't paint a complete picture, and reported what the airport industry wanted emphasized.

Let's say you owned a hot rod, and you were constantly being pulled over by the police, cited and told to ``muffle the noise, or else. . .'' You'd have two choices - continue being pulled over and cited, risking loss of your wallet and possibly your vehicle, or muffling your car. Yes, if you elected to muffle your car it would cost money. And yes, it might remove your car from the road for a period of time. But in the long run, (a) you'd be able to drive your beloved car and (b) you'd stop meeting police officers, getting cited and running the risk of having to rely on a bus.

What the economic study did not tell the public was that there is a simple way around the Van Nuys situation - muffle Stage II jets. ``Hush kits,'' as technology labels jet mufflers, are available and ready for installation now; all that's required is a phone call. Yes, it will cost money. And yes, it will ground the jets for a short period of time (I believe one to two weeks). But, muffled Stage II jets (a) will be allowed to continue operating out of Van Nuys and (b) businesses won't close, people won't lose jobs, children won't starve, and financial ruin won't occur.

And guess what - another payoff to muffling will be landing rights at Santa Monica and Burbank airports. And no one will complain.

If this sounds too simple or too good to be true, it really isn't. We have to smog our cars when the state tells us to do so. We have to have homes insured, as mortgage companies demand. That's the price of driving a car and owning a mortgaged home. We don't like it, but what choice do we have? I comply because I choose to drive a car and own a home.

Well, guess what? Stage II jet operators really don't have a choice either. In 1997 the FAA authorized instituting restrictions on Stage II jets.

The Los Angeles City Council last year considered passing such a nonaddition rule. But aviation interests screamed, cried, threw wet Kleenex at the council, and the council backed down. A ``study'' was required before finalizing the proposal. Residents questioned whether there were any other rules the council had considered but refused to finalized due to economic pressure? The road is paved for such Stage II restrictions - the FAA has given its permission and the Board of Airport Commissioners actually passed the rule. However, they then turned around and rescinded it.

Finally, not to be forgotten, Stage III jets have no restrictions at Van Nuys Airport. And what is a Stage III jet? A Stage II jet with a hush kit is a Stage III jet. No restrictions, no loss of business, no starving children.