Aircraft noise in Northern Virginia? (Reston, Centreville: house, neighborhood, buying)

[Fritzlein]

How is the aircraft noise in Northern Virginia?

I am particularly wondering about the situation in: Centreville, Manassas, Reston, Merrifield, Tysons Corner and Leesburg.

[SteelCityRising]

I live in Reston, which is just a stone's throw away from Dulles International Airport, and the aircraft noise doesn't bother me. Very rarely do I ever hear the planes indoors, and judging from when I was gazing upwards at the sky the other night watching the planes a flight-path seems to go right over my neighbohood. I never even gave the airport a second thought when moving here.

[anonymous703]

Originally Posted by Fritzlein

How is the aircraft noise in Northern Virginia?

I am particularly wondering about the situation in: Centreville, Manassas, Reston, Merrifield, Tysons Corner and Leesburg.

Airplanes have gotten rather quiet in the last several years... I think airport noise is mostly a straw man argument these days. My office is *next* to Dulles airport, under an approach path to the east runway, and I hardly hear the planes. Most of the time I forget that I work next to an airport.

[DC Oldtimer]

I suspect you have to deal with this on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. The only way to really know is to go to a neighborhood you are considering at various times of the day and judge for yourself.

I am very "allergic" to airplane noise myself. However, if my experience is any guide, a lot of people get used to it. I've had people tell me there isnt airplane noise in the neighborhood only to hear it within the next five minutes.

[flyers29]

Are there really any major cities where you never hear even the slightest faint airplane noise?

[Teebyrd86]

I live in Herndon literally beside Dulles and I hear airplanes very seldom. Now I do hear traffic noise from time to time!

[stax]

Originally Posted by Teebyrd86

I live in Herndon literally beside Dulles and I hear airplanes very seldom. Now I do hear traffic noise from time to time!

Yeah, when we lived in Herndon, right by the airport (Dulles Greene), we didn't hear them as much as we do now in Ashburn. And surprisingly enough, I remember hearing planes when we lived in Fairfax. But honestly, if you keep the windows closed, you shouldn't hear a thing, which is surprising, considering how busy that airport is. Unlike say, LAX, where there are residences right outside of the gate, Dulles is mostly surrounded by light industrial and office parks, and the nearest residences are at least a quarter mile from the runways, if not more.

[Ashburnite]

Parts of Ashburn and Brambleton get a lot of loud airplane noise during takeoff and approach. It depends on where you are on the flight path. When the new runway opened it really increased air traffic noise in my area during landings because we're right in line with the runway and within 10 miles of the airport. The planes fly at a fairly low altitude directly over my neighborhood. Even with the windows closed some of the planes are loud enough that you can't hear the TV (I know that sounds like a stupid little thing but it gives an idea of the noise level).

On the other hand, other places close to the airport have less noise, probably due to different flight paths. If your house is aligned with a runway you'll probably get some noise.

Loudoun County's Assessment and Parcel Database (http://inter1.loudoun.gov/taxadmin/webpdbs2008/disclaimer.aspx - broken link) has options to view airplane noise data. It also includes a lot of other useful information that is helpful for people researching potential home buying locations.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by Fritzlein

How is the aircraft noise in Northern Virginia?

I am particularly wondering about the situation in: Centreville, Manassas, Reston, Merrifield, Tysons Corner and Leesburg.

I'm in Merrified and I have some airplane noise and a LOT of helicopter noise, usually between 4-10 pm, The helicopters travel regularly in twos so it can get very loud with the walls shaking a bit. My toddler loves it. It doesn't bother me. We had border patrol/police copters in San Diego quite frequently so I'm used to it.
I can't hear the Beltway unless I am up in the middle of the night and then its more like quiet white noise. There is a ton of construction at Lee Hwy/Gallows and they are running 24/7 so there are some nights when they are running Pilling Drivers at 3 am and it wakes me briefly.

[5280milehiguy]

Centreville is particularly bad, as it's right under the two parallel north/south runways approach to IAD. Used to sit out on the deck and be able to identify the size and livery of the airlines. The noise isn't that noticeablde inside, but outside you know they are coming in.