1983_09 Insight September 1983

              8 features.
Phantoms ready
Clovis, Fresno residents fear noise levels
September 28, 1983       Insight
Despite heavy opposition from concerned Fresno residents, 20 F-4 Phantom air defense Jets will roar into their
new home — Fresno's Air National
Guard Base—sometime in the next two
weeks.
In public hearings and over tbe
telephone the anticipated arrival of the
Phantoms has been under fire for
weeks by residents near the Fresno Air
Terminal, including students and faculty who live near CSUF. The campus is
near the normal flight path of aU aircraft using FAT.
. The Phantom's reputed noise levels
have spurred several residential concerns: Peace and quite at home and
during valuable school hours; property
value; and personal and environmental
health. In short, tranquility.
Tbe guard base will inevitably get
more complaint phone calls when the
Phantoms — which will replace the
older F-106 defense Jets now in use —
actually take to tbe skies in daUy practice maneuvers.
The calls will come from areas
throughout Fresno and Clovis and
sound something Uke this: "Why'd you
build that airport right in the middle of
town?"
Truth is, Fresno Air Terminal was
there first According to Lt. Col. James
Arthur, wbo tends an absorbant ear to
many complaining callers, when tbe
terminal was built on its present plot,
the location was considered "out in the
country."
And the calls do come.
'"Not an awful lot. One or two a
week," said Arthur, a tall, tanned
42-year-old graduate of CSUF and its
air force ROTC program in 1966. But
then again, the Phantoms have yet to be
in use.
"Normally, when someone makes
that comment (Why'd you build the airport right in the middle of town?),
they're always someone wbo has arrived here in Fresno in the last two or
three years," Arthur said. "It's a little
humorous for those of us who were raised here. This (FAT) was reaUy out in
the country back when it was originally
built We built the airport away from
town and the town moved out to the airport"
Minimum noise impact
"We try to fly our patterns in such a
way that the jets will have a minimum
noise impact on the community," said
Arthur. "We modify our arrivals and
departures and we don't take off after
10:30 p.m. or before6a.m. unless it's an
actual air defense scramble (emergency). And we don't fly Sunday
mornings."
Many Fresnans have come and
gone since tbe National Guard's inception in Fresno, but the base has been a
mainstay here for the same reason al)
along.
"Our reason for being here is to
provide air defense for the Western
United States," Arthur said. "We have
airplanes that are all armed and ready
to go, and should any unidentified aircraft be identified off the coastline, it's
these planes which will be scrambled in
five minutes' notice that will go and investigate them." The Air National
Guard also helps, to fuel the economy,
providing Jobs and spending money in
the community.
"What we do during our practice
sessions is go up and practice our alerts
and intercepts to make sure the
weapons system and the crews are performing up to speed. We do it on a daily
basis, said Arthur.
Of course, everyone is well aware
of the daily flights, but there's more to
the story.
"They're (the Jets) just coming and
going when you see them here (in
Fresno)," Arthur said. "They go to our
practice area which is out to sea off Big
Sur, where they run practice intercepts." Arrival time to Big Sur is 13
minutes. "We can get there in half that
time if we have to," Arthur said.
Now one starts to realize the dif-
Over the otean, me pilots use a
variety of simulated targets for interception and fighting practice — such
as B-52s, T33s, and even each other.
"The intercepts and actual engagement
is aU done electronically. Nothing is actually fired, but it is aU very realistic
and it's all recorded on 16mm film for
later analysis," Arthur said.
The F-106s and F-4 Phantoms are
capable of speeds twice as fast as tbe
speed of sound -Jabout 1,500 mph) and
can fly at those speeds above 50,000
feet. However, pUots are under orders
to fly at such speeds only over the
ocean, where sonic booms can least af-
feenhe environmental surroundings.
lSost of the noise Fresno residents
complain about actually originates on
the runways. "On takeoff, we use an extra thrust mechanism called an 'afterburner,' which burns raw gas right out
of the tailpipe - and on the F-106, that's
a large bang when it kicks in/ Arthur
explained. "You've undoubtedly heard
it in the past"
Arthur said the Phantom will not be
so loud on takeoff. "The F-4 has a phase
kick-in in the afterburner, so there is
just a gradual increase in noise — as opposed to that loud, explosive sound.
That explosive sound is what people
notice most about the airplane."
Studies show the F-4 Phantom is
four decbals louder than the F-106 on
takeoffs (115.3 db to 111.1) and nine
decibals louder than the F-106 on runway approaches (104.7 tc 95.7). An increase of 10 decibals is equivalent to being twice as loud, Arthur said.
The reason for the transition from
the F-106 to the Phantoms is simple
technology. Tbe Phantoms are 10 years
newer than their predecessors, which
have been causing complaint calls in
Fresno since 1974.
F-106 at end
"We know the F-106 is at the end of
its service life." said Arthur. "Tbe ones
we have here were built in the late
1950s, and being able to keep them
operational is becoming more and more
difficult." By March, the transition
from 20 F-106 Jets to 20 Phantoms
k  should be complete.
V The Phantom, whose primary purpose is to intercept surprise missiles
and spy planes, accelerates more
quickly and holds more missiles than
the F-106.
Technology was also the reason
Fresno's Air National Guard base was
transfered here from the Bay Area
some 40 vears ago. "This unit was up in
the bay area flying the P-51 Mustang
and getting ready to convert to jet aircraft, and we relocated here for that
reason," Arthur said.^^
"There-wose longer runways here
and of course this area was aU clear
back in those days. A lot of people don't
realize that back in the 50s. the nor
thern boundary of the city of Fresno
was somewhere around McKinley
Avenue. This was a very good location
for us to fly." During WWII, between
1942-1945, Fresno Air Terminal was
called Hammer Field.
Fresno's jet evolution
The Phantom is Just one aircraft in
a handful that have ripped through the
Fresno skies in the past three decades.
Fresno's fighter Jet evolution started
with tbe F-86A, changed to the F-86L;
later to the first supersonic Jet, the
F-102, and then to the F-106 in 1974. In
about three years, Fresno wiU switch to
the versatile F-15s and F-16s, possibly
the most maneuverable fighter '
the world.
Currently, the guard base, also
caUed tbe 144th Fighter Interceptor
Wing, launches three Jets three times
each day. The first set of Jets departs at
9 a.m. and returns from practice in 90
minutes. The process is repeated at
noon' and 6 p.m. The pattern will not
change when the Phantoms arrive.
Arthur insisted the noise issue
should not be the F-4 because, he said,
"When air traffic picks up again, we're:K
going to have commercial Jets flying
out of here (Fresno Air Terminal) that
are noiser than the F-4. The point is, are
we going to have an airport that meets
the requirements of a city this large
here at the terminal or not? And if so,
we must make some adjustments and
considerations on what is tbe acceptable level of noise if we are going to
aUow development around the area to
continue."
Arthur said people who move into
the airport's vicinity and complain-";
about the noise, "is like me
the desert and
heat.
«, "is like me mpving to
d complaining about the
Still, the calls will come.
►Amnesty
(Continued from page 4)
"$450 per year is donated by each
group and goes to research offices in
London," said Moore. "We pay for our
own postage and stationery."
The Fresno group holds
fundraisers to meet some of its expenses, fast activities inciuo.ee. selling
calendars, and most recently, a wine
tasting benefit on September 24 at the
home of Dorothy Renzi, which featured
pianist, Alan Rea
Amnesty International has organized a petition drive and is hoping to collect one miUion signatures from the
United States-2,000 of tbem from
Fresno—by December 10. The
signatures wiU be presented to the
president of the General Assembly of
the United Nations and to all heads of
state.
Moore said the response of
Fresnans has been generally positive.
"Sometimes people who've never heard
of it (Amnesty International) before
are highly suspicious," said Moore.
"Most people who've heard an explanation want to sign it. I've only heard one
person flatly say 'no.' "
Amnesty International is an independent organization and has no connection to any government, political
or religious group.
Moore said anyone wishing to start
an Amnesty International chapter on
tbe CSUF campus or anyone interested
in Joining the Fresno chapter can call
227-1888 or write her at 2969 E. Joaquin
Place, Fresno 93726.
Quake
(Continued from page 1)
Roddy said that should Fresno have
a major quake, depending on the time
of day it was, casualties could be expected. Should a major earthquake, or
any other disaster take place in Fresno,
the university i* prepared withf an
emergency plan that is primarily concerned with the safety of students and
employees.        ^
"If such a disaster should occur,"
Roddy said, "President Haak would set
up his command post in the campus
police department."
Roddy said, "The president would
make the needed decisions on safety
procedures, working closely with the
county offices of emergency services."
For Dr. Robert Merrill, a geology
professor, says questions about earthquakes may be academic. He doubts
that there will ever be a major earthquake in Fresno.
"I don't think we're ever going to
have one big enough to cause structural
damage in Fresno," MerriU said.
"We're not situated on any fault
systems that need to be worried about."
Though Fresno is not likely to have
a major earthquake, Merrill says that
students need to know some common
sense rules for their own protection.
The health center makes health care affordable for students.
Health Center in
good shape despite
system-wide cuts
Murielle Pederson. Administrative
Assistant.
With the cost of tuition continuing to rise and cutbacks being
made everywhere a student turns,
the Health Center will most likely
continue to be a welcome sight to
aU students.
"I really appreciated the fact
that I was waited on so quickly,"
said Stephanie Dry, who went in
for a sore throat.
"The doctors were very friendly and professional, but I especially like the fact that the drugs are so
much cheaper," said Dry.
Ann Windsor, who went in with
a roommate, had a different story.
"I though the wait was entirely
too long. In fact it was hideous,"
said Windsor, "but the prices are
Despite major cutbacks
throughout the California school
system: tbe CSUF Health Center
has not been-effected.
"We ve been very fortunate
this year," said Dr. John Van-
' drick. Director of Student Health
Services, "and I feel we're in good
shape."
Vandrick went on to say that
there had even been a few additions made to the staff, including
two new clerical positions, two new
nurse practitioners, and one new
physician, a specialist in internal
medicine by the name of Dr.
Dermet Fong
The Health Center is mainly
supported by the Student Services
Fee paid upon registration" and
designated for the Center, and by
the eight-dollar voluntary fee paid
by the students, Vandrick said.
All students are offered basic
services by "thtTCenter, which include primary care of acute and
subacute illnesses, laboratory services, x-ray service, immuniza- / .
tion, pharmacy services. -8r«F be too friendly,
emergency first aid. Special or additional services are extra.
Women's medicine has only
been a part of the basic services
for two years, yet it is already one
of the busiest sections in the Center
said Vandrick.
Dr. L.H. Schilling, an
obstetrics-gynaecologist, is on
staff full-time to accommodate
this section.
The. Health Center also
handles various emotional problems faced by the students.
One such area involves
counseling. This includes family
counseling, pregnancy and con
traceptive counseling, and abortion counseling.
There is also counseling for
psychosomatic illnesses, with
depression and anxiety being two
of the highest.
Suicide and drug problems are
included in this.
"There seems to be fewer instances of suicide on this campus
than on most," said Vandrick,
"and drug problems are very infrequent."
A major concern among
students who frequent the Health
Center involves the matter of confidentiality,
"All medical records are
strictly  confidential,"   said
"I felt it served my rxir^oseat   s
the time." said Julie (^inWwhcy .
purchased antibiotics,  "and it's    N
reasonably inexpensive."
Dena Kirkham, a liberal
studies major, went in for a TEV
test for her major and felt that the ■
/Center was well organized. She
didn't, however, find the nurse to
"She hardly said two words."
Kirkham said of the nurse she
dealt with, "but the people at the
desk were very pleasant."
"I thought the doctors were
very friendly, but that they were
limited in their help," said Beth
Herburger, who entered for the
stomach flu. "They just can't do
as much as a doctor in a private
practice." She added, however,
that the prices were great, "you
can't beat them."
"We get a lot of positive feedback from the students." said Dr.
Vandrick.
The Health Center is located
on the northeast c orner of Barstow
and Shaw Avenues.
It wasijuilt in 1974 and headed
for 16 years by Dr. Marvin
Schwartz.
"Dr. Schwartz had a lot of input into building this building,"
said Pedersen, "he was greatly appreciated."
Schwartz retired this past
summer, after taking advantage of
the two years state employees
were offered.
The Center's working hours
are Monday through Fridays, 8
a.m. to 5 pm, and its clinic hours
are Monday through Thursday, 8
a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.
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