To say it has been an exciting spring for the DLAA Hawaii team would be an understatement. DLAA traveled to Kalaeloa Airport on the southwest tip of Oahu to measure noise levels of an operational H-60 Blackhawk helicopter. With the help of a couple National Guardsmen, acousticians Lucas Johnson and Zane Wright weathered gale-force winds generated by the helicopter rotors as it performed several landing and takeoff maneuvers near their sound level meters.

The unconventional testing continued a few weeks later at Fire Station 08 Mokulele in Honolulu. While teams of HFD firefighters-in-training ran through emergency scenarios such as vehicle extraction, tower rescue, and burning propane tank neutralization, Lucas and Zane stood by to capture the noise levels. During the propane tank burn tests, roaring plumes of flame shot 50-60 ft. into the air and DLAA was forced to keep a safe distance to avoid exposing their equipment (and themselves) to dangerously high ambient temperatures. The measurement results from these activities will be used to predict environmental noise levels generated by similar operations at the First Responder’s Tech Campus (FRTC) development project in Mililani, HI.

At D.L. Adams Associates, sound is our business.  Contact us to learn how we can help you with environmental noise assessments.