The ground run-up enclosure (GRE) at Oakland County International Airport, will reduce noise from engine run-ups by 15 dB, or 75 percent. The $3.5 million structure also is the first of its kind at a general aviation (GA) facility in the United States.

The three-sided, open air structure, faces west across one mile of airport property. This orientation allows for positive air flow during engine run-ups while reducing noise on the other three sides.

The designer, Blast Deflectors, Inc. of Reno, Nevada, employed absorbent barrier technology. Whatever sound energy is not absorbed and dissipated by the six-inch, fiberglass-filled acoustic panels is deflected upward. The panels are designed specifically to absorb low-frequency sounds.