Student Science Project Could Help Residents Deal with F-35 Noise

Two high school students from Valparaiso, Fla., have conducted research that provides insights that could help local residents dampen the noise that enters their homes from F-35 strike fighters operating from nearby Eglin Air Force Base, reported the Northwest Florida Daily News. Eglin is home to F-35 training. As part of a school science project, junior Stefan Makarov and senior Jessica Sandlin of Rocky Bayou Christian School obtained a sound clip of an F-35, played it through speakers set up outside of a number of homes, and used a “sound isolation box” to record the decibels penetrating inside the homes, according to the newspaper’s March 25 report. “Our hypothesis was the sound was most likely to come through the windows,” said Makarov. “But we found out it came through the walls.” In fact, they discovered that a hurricane-proof glass door absorbed sound better than vinyl siding, and that having several layers between living space and brick walls blocked out sound best. (See also USAF Limits Eglin to 59 F-35s.)