FutureFlight
FAA Funds Advanced Air Mobility Noise Pollution Research
The FAA has awarded $19 million in research grants to 14 universities in an effort to reduce noise pollution associated with aviation and advanced air mobility.
An engineer looks at a holographic diagram of an airplane
ASCENT grant awardees will study ways to reduce noise pollution and mitigate the associated environmental impacts. (Image: FAA)

The advanced air mobility (AAM) industry aims to begin operating thousands of air taxis, delivery drones, and other types of novel aircraft in the U.S. within the next decade. Along with the rise in the number of aircraft flying in our skies, the amount of noise overall pollution created by the aviation industry seems likely to increase. Developers of new electric airplanes and eVTOL aircraft have touted the low noise profiles of their designs, but the impact that this new source of noise will have on communities and the environment is not well understood. 

One year after the U.S. Government Accountability Office asked the FAA to better address aviation noise concerns, the FAA just awarded $19 million in research grants to 14 universities across the nation in a massive effort to understand and reduce noise pollution associated with aviation. In the April 6 announcement, the agency revealed the recipients of those grants and the projects they will be working on, which include developing noise abatement procedures, assessing the impact of noise on the environment and communities, and acoustic modeling of new aircraft emerging from the AAM sector.