Flight path research

Six departure procedures, one community, one question: which routing causes least harm?

This page presents a theoretical noise model comparing six proposed altitude-based departure restrictions for westbound flights from BWI Runway 15R — the procedure that concentrates aircraft over Severn, Maryland residential communities. The model draws on calibrated TrueNoise field measurements, 94 AirNoise complaint records, and three ADS-B approach tracks to ground the geometry in empirical data.

The Maryland Aviation Authority has submitted a proposal to the FAA to remove the WARYN waypoint and replace it with an altitude-based turn restriction. The FAA is conducting a feasibility study. This analysis models the MAA's proposed range (800–1,200 ft) alongside a community-proposed alternative: a new waypoint designated BRGHT at the Brightview Drive/Route 97 overpass, with a turn altitude of 3,000–5,000 ft.

800–1,200 ft turns

MAA proposed altitude range. All five turn within 1.26 nm of the runway — near-identical geometry to the current WARYN waypoint. Toggle each on/off to compare.

3,000 ft BRGHT

Community-proposed alternative. A new geographic waypoint at Brightview Dr/Route 97, 3.74 nm from the runway. All aircraft converge on this point — no performance-based dispersion.

Solid vs dashed lines

Each altitude shows 4 tracks — solid lines are light/fast-climbing aircraft, dashed are heavy/slow. The spread between them is the geographic dispersion band without a waypoint.

Markers

Yellow = Ashbrook observer (TrueNoise measurement location). Green = BRGHT proposed waypoint. Red = WARYN current waypoint. Click any marker for details.

How to use this map

Toggle altitude tracks on and off using the checkboxes in the map panel
Click any flight track for altitude, estimated noise level, and community impact
Click any marker (WARYN, BRGHT, Ashbrook, etc.) for detailed information
Zoom and pan freely — the map uses OpenStreetMap for accurate geography
Solid lines show light/fast aircraft; dashed lines show heavy/slow aircraft at the same altitude

Important: This is a theoretical model for research and public education. Noise estimates use inverse square law propagation calibrated to a single TrueNoise field measurement (A320, 69.3 dBA, 9 May 2026, post-calibration-correction). Fuel estimates use published aircraft performance data. This is not a certified FAA AEDT noise analysis and should not be cited as one. Its purpose is to demonstrate that the BRGHT alternative warrants formal independent modeling by the FAA as part of its feasibility study. See full methodology for calibration details.

Turn altitude — toggle tracks

800 ft 53 dBA

900 ft 54 dBA

1,000 ft (≈ WARYN) 54 dBA

1,100 ft 55 dBA

1,200 ft 56 dBA

3,000 ft (BRGHT) 65 dBA

            dBA = estimated peak SPL at Ashbrook
          

Dispersion (per altitude)

Light/fast climber (solid)

Heavy/slow climber (dashed)

4 tracks per altitude show the spread between lightest and heaviest aircraft. Without a geographic waypoint, this band determines which communities are overflown. BRGHT eliminates dispersion — all aircraft converge on the same point.

Key findings

800–1,200 ft: All turn within 1.26 nm — same geography as current WARYN. No meaningful relief for Severn.

BRGHT 3,000 ft: Turn at 3.74 nm — arc sweeps over Severn Run Nature Area. Estimated 10 dB improvement at Ashbrook.

Fuel delta: ~4 gallons per flight at 3,000 ft — 0.1% of total fuel load. Commercially immaterial.

Six departure procedures, one community, one question: which routing causes least harm?

Explore the BRGHT altitude tradeoff interactively