Groningen Airport Eelde and KLM Flight Academy introduce local residents to quieter training aircraft Diamond DA4
Local residents of Groningen Airport Eelde were told on Saturday how little noise KLM Flight Academy's new teaching aircraft make. It fell on deaf ears, as few complainers made their appearance.
What beautiful toys!", exclaims Diede van Abs (43), as he follows the brand-new KLM Flight Academy teaching plane skimming along the sky with his hand over his eyes. He is from Zoetermeer, but he was nearby. It's safe to call him 'a spotter of sorts'. That aircraft cause noise pollution he understands, ''but I can enjoy it myself.''
Groningen Airport Eelde is totally deserted on this Saturday morning. Apart from one employee, there is no one else to be seen in the arrival and departure hall. But at the edge of the complex, there is life. About 25 interested parties are waiting outside the fence at the KLM Flight Academy for the training planes that are about to take off especially for them. They can take shelter from the rain under a party tent where two uniformed stewards serve coffee.
For years, aspiring pilots have been taught the intricacies of the trade at the airport in the Socata TB20. That aircraft dates from about the mid-1990s and has been in use at the KLM Flight Academy at Eelde for several years. Since then, local residents in the vicinity have been complaining about the noise these little hornets produce.
'The hum sounds much less pervasive'
How often the aircraft take to the skies depends heavily on weather conditions, according to Mark Gerritsen of the KLM flight school.
With good weather, we fly all day. The twin-engine planes take to the skies about 20 times a day on average and the single-engine ones 30-40 times. They not only fly here in the area, but also go to other airports in the Netherlands and abroad.
Noise levels will decrease next year. The KLM Flight Academy has ordered new teaching aircraft in Austria that are much quieter than the current generation. Visitors get to hear that for the first time today. First, one of those old Socata TB20s flies around the airport with a heavy roaring sound. Then the single-engine Diamond DA40 comes flying over. Indeed, the hum sounds much less penetrating.
Most local residents come out of curiosity. When I ask a group of retired men who experience noise pollution, they all shake their heads.
I grew up with it,'' replies Roelof Bos (74). ''I've lived here since forever. Before the current appliances, you had real noise killers. Even that didn't bother me.
Pilots need lots of practice taking off and landing
Among the visitors, we also discern Meiltje de Groot, director of Groningen Airport Eelde. She did not organise this day, the KLM Flight Academy did,
but we feel jointly responsible for noise pollution''. ,,We are very happy that the KLM flight school fleet will be renewed starting next year. We thought: it's good to let local residents know that in advance.
She acknowledges that the single-engine Socata TB20 produces a lot of noise.
The pilots have to do a lot of practice taking off and landing, so they fly around a lot. Then they often go over the same houses. That causes nuisance. We want to make it heard today: this will soon be the difference.
The new training plane is 10 decibels quieter than the current one. De Groot:
That doesn't seem like much, but 3 decibels is about half the noise. So 10 decibels is three times half as much. That's quite significant. Furthermore, they are also more fuel-efficient and sustainable.
'Lesson planes constantly passing over Glimmen'
Anton Reijntjes, resident of Glimmen is one of the few attendees who does experience noise pollution.
Lesson planes pass over Glimmen continuously. If the weather is nice, it can go on every 2-3 minutes in a row. We've had a lot of trouble with that for about three years now. Those new ones are quieter, so that's an advantage.
De Groot acknowledges that not that many people turned up today. ''Perhaps the low turnout is due to the chilly, squally weather.'' There will be a second day on 15 December when people can experience the sound of Diamond's new generation of single-engine training aircraft.
De Groot expects the first electric training aircraft to come to Eelde as early as three or four years from now.
I heard that Diamond will be conducting test flights with four-seaters as early as next year. That will be pretty quick. Then it will be even quieter.
Source DVHN: Mannus van der Laan, 25 November 2025
Photo: Daimond Aircraft: The new Diamond DA40 teaching aircraft of which KLM Flight Academy has ordered 12.