Parabellum
I did not say the 747 400 was not stage III compliant, as said it was too noisy.
Let's look at some figures, for they tell their own story.
(EPNdB)
Manufacturer Model MTOW* TO APP Stage
Airbus A380-842 1245 95.1 98.0 4
Airbus A340-541 871 96.9 99.5 3
Boeing 747-400 875 97.4 102.1 3
Boeing 777-300 675 94.2 100.4 3
I took four large aircraft (the A340-600 was not in the table I accessed) and compared them for noise levels.
In doing this, I took the highest figures I could find for the Airbusses and the 777 and the lowest for the 747-400.
Stage 3 compliant, yes, but relatively far noisier than the others, not a good neighbour. Remember than dB is a logarithmic scale.
It will be interesting to see the figures for the 747-8, when released, maybe she will be stage 4 and a better neighbour.
As much as we pax may like the 747 (and I do find them very comfortable), taking a broader view, few tears will be shed by people under the flightpath, when they are turned into Bud cans.
Apologies for the crunched up numbers, I don't know how to tabulate them.
* x 1,000 lbs
Source:
Aircraft Noise Levels