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> then the only real issue is the noise pollution I live on Moffett Field next to the 101 -- the vehicles from the 101 are far more annoying than the airplanes

> then the only real issue is the noise pollution I live on Moffett Field next to the 101 -- the vehicles from the 101 are far more annoying than the airplanes. Just listen to traffic noise pretty much in any urban or suburban environment. The Caltrain sounds like -- well, a freight train. My point is that if we cared about noise pollution, we'd be paying more attention to the everyday noise all around us and developing technology such as a hypothetical road surface that absorbs sound or finding ways to make the loud train horns unnecessary. The noise from trains and roads is far more obnoxious than any airplane sounds.

dymk 8y ago
Airplanes are a few orders of magnitude farther away than what these vehicles are suggested to fly at.
npunt 8y ago
True cars and trains are loud. However, we're on the verge of both Caltrain and car electrification, which will significantly reduce ambient noise. I can't believe we haven't cut & covered the Caltrain line yet. I imagine that's a project even the plentiful peninsula NIMBYs could get behind. As sibling points out, airplanes at moffett are rather far away, whereas these flying bikes are meant to be point-to-point in dense environments. Also note that there's lots of regs & techs that help reduce noise for larger planes, and I'm not sure the same is going to be true for these smaller vehicles, similar to how all those two-stroke lawnmower and leaf blower engines are horrible both environmentally and noise-wise because they're optimized for size.
- nradov 8y ago
  At normal highway speeds most car noise comes from air movement and tires. Electrification will only deliver a slight noise reduction.
nmca 8y ago
The Caltrain horns are so loud I have decided I believe in a conspiracy theory - the volume was mandated in the name of "safety" by a lobbying group secretly working for the auto industry. Nowhere else I've been are trains so obnoxiously loud.

dymk 8y ago

Airplanes are a few orders of magnitude farther away than what these vehicles are suggested to fly at.

npunt 8y ago

True cars and trains are loud. However, we're on the verge of both Caltrain and car electrification, which will significantly reduce ambient noise. I can't believe we haven't cut & covered the Caltrain line yet. I imagine that's a project even the plentiful peninsula NIMBYs could get behind. As sibling points out, airplanes at moffett are rather far away, whereas these flying bikes are meant to be point-to-point in dense environments. Also note that there's lots of regs & techs that help reduce noise for larger planes, and I'm not sure the same is going to be true for these smaller vehicles, similar to how all those two-stroke lawnmower and leaf blower engines are horrible both environmentally and noise-wise because they're optimized for size.

nradov 8y ago
At normal highway speeds most car noise comes from air movement and tires. Electrification will only deliver a slight noise reduction.

nmca 8y ago

The Caltrain horns are so loud I have decided I believe in a conspiracy theory - the volume was mandated in the name of "safety" by a lobbying group secretly working for the auto industry. Nowhere else I've been are trains so obnoxiously loud.