Concept for a study on community responses to low sonic boom in Europe

In 2018, NASA was the first to assess noise annoyance by low-sonic booms among a population not used to hearing any of the acoustical phenomena associated with an aircraft flying at supersonic speeds (QSF18 study). Meanwhile, within the EU-project RUMBLE, data are collected, and literature reviewed used for research on community responses to low sonic boom demonstrator overflights. We present recommendations for such a field study, comprising NASA and RUMBLE studies' findings and other European efforts emphasizing items discussed by NASA and European researchers in the aftermaths of the first QSF18 results. We propose a study design for the CRLSB study in different European climate zones. A low-fidelity simulation model has been developed to pre-select test sites, supplemented by a more detailed impact model (NENA) for final site selection and preparation of the survey. We identified an approach of mixed survey modes, including experience-sampling procedures, as the most desirable modus operandi for community response assessment. Further, we propose a method for calculating desired sample sizes when applying linear mixed-effects modeling to data collected from a continental field study. [This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 769896.]