AF keeps limits on F-35 flights

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Air Force will continue to limit F-35 flights over Valparaiso to limit the impact of jet noise. The decision announced today overruled a previous recommendation to lift restrictions. Takeoffs and landings on a runway that sends traffic over Valparaiso will only be allowed in emergencies, unplanned contingencies and when forced by weather. Lifting restrictions would have allowed up to an average of 33 operations over Valparaiso per day, but Friday's decision limits operations to an average of one per day. In practice, it means many days with no operations at all and other days with more than one, said Kathleen Ferguson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics. (Sources: Northwest Florida Daily News, WEAR-TV, 06/27/14)