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About the data

This app collects data about aviation noise. Users measure the noise levels of airplanes that fly over. The data is stored in a central database.

The database will be used to publish reports about aviation noise. We aim to inform all stakeholders: politicians, press, residents, airports and airlines.

We need the following data:

  • Date and time of the registration
  • Identification number of the airplane
  • Geographical location of the registration
  • The peak noise level measured
  • Make and model of the smartphone used for the registration
  • Serial number of the smartphone

The data about the device used is necessary to be able to interprete results and to be able to calibrate the sound level afterwards, depending on the device used.

It is possible that from the collected data is learned that a certain device measures noise levels with a standard deviation. We are then able to correct these levels within a seperate column on our published data. Read more >

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About SchipholWatch

This app implements an idea of SchipholWatch, a group of residents around Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

We feel that our complaints about the growing problem of aviation noise are not heard by the authorities and by our neighbour Schiphol.

SchipholWatch is an initiative of five entrepreneurs with different backgrounds (media, civil engineering, professional noise measurement, information technology and law).

Via social media and our website we aim to publish relevant information to fight the ever growing problem of aviation noise. Our ultimate goal is a relocation of Schiphol to a to be created island in the North Sea. Read more >

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‘Too much aviation noise in one third of Dutch houses’

Too much residents of The Netherlands experience noise nuisance, part of them from aviation. The reason is simple: one thirth of all houses is built on a noisy location, says research from Dutch news tv RTL Nieuws. Too much noise makes people ill.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published new guidelines for environmental noise. Road traffic can produce a maximum of 53 decibels, trains 54 dB, but aviation noise may not exceed 45 decibels.

RTL Nieuws has compared the new guildelines with data from the Dutch health institute RIVM and from the governmental basic registration database for addresses and buildings. From this analyses they learned that 37 percent of houses experience a noise level of more than 55 dB. This counts up to 3 million houses. Read more >

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About us

SchipholWatch – a group of residents that is fighting aviation noise around Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – wanted to have an app to register airplanes with the decibels that you have to cope with.

foto: Tookapic on Pexels.com

On Twitter they asked if someone wanted to build this app as a volunteer. Roelof Mejier responded positively to this question. Now after 4 months of work in spare hours in evenings and weekends , here it is!

We appreciate that we can use the OpenSky-database to identify the planes that are flying above your head.

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Tips & tricks

  • Please use our app outdoors. Measuring inside your home will ‘pollute’ our database with values that are at least 15 dB lower than the actual aviation noise level.
  • Beware of the wind. The microphone of your smartphone can be sensitive for strong winds. Please measure aviation noise preferably out of the wind.
  • Point your device’s microphone at the airplane during the sound measurement. If you do so you will register the most reliable noise level.
  • If you want to share our news articles that are shown in the app: please visit our weblog at https://cms.explane.org.
  • All the data gathered with the app is available via https://reports.explane.org.
    • Read more >

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    About reports.explane.org

    At https://reports.explane.org you will find all registrations made with the app. You can zoom in on the data that is important for your community.

    We hope you will use the information to show your local, regional or national governments what impact aviation noise has on your communities. Take screenshots and publish them in your local news paper, on your social media or share them via Whatsapp or e-mail.

    Also you can use the Explane data to provide journalists and other opinion leaders with information about aviation noise. Please share the website address as much as possible!

    Users of Explane work together to show how much impact aviation has on our lifes. Please keep on making registrations so we can have a real impact! Read more >