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Minimum Altitudes


Wb48855

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Greetings, I reside in Orlando near two helicopter tour sites. I experience a steady flow of tours and I would estimate most are only 100' off the ground. I think this is dangerous and not to mention very distracting. I can not have my windows open in my own house. Is there anything I can do about this? I have called them and they basically ignored my request to avoid residential living units.

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Hello,

Sounds like you chose to live in a location too close for your comfort. The photo looks like they are higher than 100'. Regardless of the photo, if the helicopters are taking off or landing there is no height above the ground requirement which is why they are blowing you off. If they fly somewhere else then those people complain too.

I would go visit the operators personally (not call them). Ask to speak to the owner or chief pilot. Be polite, ask to review their flight paths and altitudes they use. You may not resolve anything for yourself but it is worth the effort if you feel passionate about it.

Helicopter traffic is only going to increase in the future in urban areas. Before you choose to live somewhere, do some research about what is going on around that area. (flight patterns, construction, mining, freeways, etc.)

Many people ask why I don't just fly 1/4 mile this way or that way to avoid their house when they think another direction would be better. If you haven't been in the air around your place you may be suprised at how different it is and there may be existing restrictions that you are unaware of that dictate their flight path.

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Ah, the old Chatham Square Apartment complex, eh? Yeahhhh, that's kind of right in the middle of all that Disney craziness, isn't it? It's hard to fathom the logic of someone who'd move to such a place and then complain about noise. I mean, it's not exactly out in the country, is it? But there ya go! People move to New York City and then complain about noise too...go figure!

 

Oh, and Mr. Wb, apparently your estimation of altitudes is off. The helicopter in your picture is well above 100'. He looks to be up around 300-500 feet. Very legal. This is why we don't always take the word of non-aviators with regard to how high/low someone is flying: They usually get it wrong. Sorry.

 

And what do you want to open your windows for?? It's Florida! It's humid here! We don't open our windows in Florida - what are you, a damn Yankee? (A "Yankee" is someone who lives north of I-10. A "damn Yankee" is someone who's moved down here permanently and then complains about this being...well, the south.)

 

See, I live in Florida too, just not where you live - I'd never live down in that mess. You know what we call that place? Whorelando. Yuck, you can have it. I live in a nicer, quieter part of Florida. But even *my* neighborhood is too noisy for opening windows, and I don't live in a resort town. I do live in a subdivision that is used as a "shortcut" between two major streets that don't have an easy connector. Traffic *FLIES* down my street like it's some kind of dad-gum dragrace to the finish. "Finish" being 9th Avenue and Walmart.

 

By the by...did you spend any *time* at Chatham Square before scribbling your signature on the lease? For instance, did you hang around a bit to see what kind of people lived there, and what the noise was like, and what the traffic was like out on...I mean, you're sandwiched right between I-Drive and I-4, no? Because if you had actually spent any time there you MIGHT have noticed a helicopter or two flying over. And you MIGHT have gone, "Hmm, they seem awfully obnoxious! I might not be able to open my windows. Maybe I should find a better place to live!" In any event, helicopter tours of the Disney complex have been going on, ohhhhh, forever (well, since the park opened in the early 1970's anyway).

 

So if it were me, I'd probably find a better apartment complex to move into...preferably one that's in an area that's not so close to some of the biggest, most popular attractions in the country.

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*snip*

 

This is beautiful. Could you do another version about people who decide to purchase houses abutting military bases with helicopter units? (The fact that the jets got moved several years ago seems to make people think everything did. If they go so far as even find out that much information.)

Edited by CharyouTree
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If the guy hadn't posted the picture of the alleged offending aircraft I would have concluded he was a troll. Even still I am not convinced otherwise.

Another 1 post wonder.

Likes for everyone on the thread !

*Except of course OP*

 

 

edit: add

Edited by aeroscout
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Well, it *is* kind of troll-y (troll-ish?) to register on a website, make exactly *one* post and then never visit that website again. Ol' Mr. Wb hasn't logged-on here since his first day.

 

And complainers wonder why we don't take them seriously?

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Nearly Retired

One of the problems with this forum is that you don't need to log in to read replies. All replies are emailed in full to subscribed users, the OP would be receiving all posts and probably doesn't want to bother commenting further due to the nature of the replies.

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That's probably true, Tom. People hate it when they find out and have to admit they're wrong.

 

"100 feet." Yeah, right.

 

But still... Moving into an apartment complex in the MIDDLE of one of the biggest theme park areas in the entire country and then complaining about helicopter noise is...what...silly? It's not like helicopters were just invented. This is not the 1950s. Surely by now everyone in the country is aware that helicopters are used for sightseeing rides in places of interest. Can it possibly be such a surprise that they're used over the Disney complex too? Come on.

 

If ol' Wb doesn't want to "bother" commenting any further, then why did he make his original post in the first place? Did he fantasize that he'd find a sympathetic ear among helicopter pilots?? Come on. No, I suspect that Wb was just wanting to vent and let us know that "we" were pissing him off.

 

I thought the responses in this thread were pretty even-handed and not as abusive as can happen in cases like this as we often see on the internet. No name-calling or other insults other than to tell the guy that if he wanted peace and quiet he chose the wrong apartment complex in the wrong city in the wrong part of the country.

 

The U.S. Constitution is a wonderful thing. It guarantees certain rights and privileges. One thing it does *not* grant you is freedom from being annoyed or pissed-off just because someone is doing something of which you don't particularly approve. Sometimes we have to put our big-boy pants on and suck it up. To wit: If *I* don't like all the traffic transiting through my neighborhood, I have the right to find someplace else to live that's not being used as a shortcut.

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Here was a perfect opportunity to talk reasonably with someone who had an honest question about traffic, and Nearly Retired once again took it as the perfect opportunity to convince the non-flying world that pilots are assholes.

 

Nice Job. You were quite convincing.

 

Go on and make it fully retired. It's about time.

 

When I've had local residents who complained about traffic or noise, I've invited them to the airport, and have shown the traffic flow and explained why we do what we do. I've often offered a flight at no cost, so that they can see for themselves how and why the traffic moves. It gives them an opportunity to understand in a way that an a**hole on a web board really can't get across, and it's a lot more friendly. They even get to take pictures of their home, and I guarantee they go away a lot more satisfied, with a far better understanding, with considerably improved relations, than what Nearly Retired just did.

 

Thanks for setting community relations back a hundred years, brightspark. You're truly a gem.

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Aw Jeez. Avbug is so full of himself...in other words, full of sh*t that it's not even funny.

 

The OP clearly wasn't in the mood for dialog. He called a tour operator and requested that the helicopters not fly over residential areas!? Is that reasonable?

 

Was he kidding? Or delusional? Has he actually looked at a map of the Orlando area?? In his brain, does he actually think that helicopters can simply *not* fly over houses? In an area like Disney/Orlando?? Or that even if they do, he won't hear them? Oh yeah, that's sane. Look, that guy was already pissed at all the helicopters and that he couldn't open his windows - two things that even he knows aren't likely to change. No amount of kissing his ass is going to make him change his tune.

 

No, Wb wasn't asking an "honest question about traffic." Wigga, puh-LEEZE! If Avbug actually interpreted it this way then he's more clueless than even I give him credit for! And I for one think he's pretty dang clueless.

 

Here's how clueless Avbuggy is: He wants me to go ahead and retire fully (which I think I just may have done, actually). Maybe in his mind he thinks that would mean that I'd write less on the internet. Less! A sane, rational person would know that if I "retire" then I have MORE time to spend on stupid forums like this, trolling guys like Avnut. Or maybe he thinks that if I retire fully then I'll just...you know, stop being interested in aviation.

 

Either way, pretty dang clueless. Puh-leeze.

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The OP clearly wasn't in the mood for dialog. He called a tour operator and requested that the helicopters not fly over residential areas!? Is that reasonable?

 

 

Very reasonable. A common question, frequently asked, very easy to address in an adult manner. Clearly beyond your capability.

 

No, Wb wasn't asking an "honest question about traffic." Wigga, puh-LEEZE!

 

What does "wigga" mean? English is a second language for you? Of course he was asking an honest question, and such a simple one to answer, too. You couldn't do that, though. No surprise, at all.

Here's how clueless Avbuggy is: He wants me to go ahead and retire fully (which I think I just may have done, actually).

 

You should have retired a long time ago; anyone that's afraid of the aircraft as you are really shouldn't be in the aircraft, you see. Perhaps you don't see. Comprehension has never been your long suit. You "think" you may have retired? If one's career is so nebulous that one can't tell if one is retired, that's a rather sad statement, isn't it? We digress. You've been nearly retired for far too long. Get it over with. Perhaps you can stay home and shoo kids off your lawn. Take your aggression out that way. Get that pacemaker you've always wanted.

Or maybe he thinks that if I retire fully then I'll just...you know, stop being interested in aviation.

 

Based on your less than stellar effort here, your interest in aviation couldn't be less apparent. Perhaps you're simply interested in giving aviation a bad name. If so, you're doing very well.
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When I've had local residents who complained about traffic or noise, I've invited them to the airport, and have shown the traffic flow and explained why we do what we do. I've often offered a flight at no cost, so that they can see for themselves how and why the traffic moves.

 

Free rides for complainers ? I don't like noise either. Now where's my free ride over Disney World ?

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avnut:

You "think" you may have retired? If one's career is so nebulous that one can't tell if one is retired, that's a rather sad statement, isn't it?

 

 

Ohhhhhhh, so sorry I don't live my life by your standards, Avbuggy! I guess that in Avnut's world everyone has to feel about flying exactly the way you do, eh? I guess you are the first and last word in how pilots should manage their careers. Yeah, I can see that. The Great and Mighty Avbug! Hey Avi, are you married? I cannot imagine any woman (or any man for that matter if you swing that way) could put up with your pompous ass for longer than a day or two before they go screaming out of the house and burning rubber away from there like Shirley "Cha-Cha" Muldowney coming out of the tree.

 

But *I* digress! Okay, let me clarify. I may have just flown my last season as a commercial pilot. I don't know. I have had a lot of fun up in Washington every year, but this past summer was...I dunno...maybe not worth it? So yeah, my career has been winding down. I'm getting old, and I'm starting to feel it. I started flying commercially in 1982, and left my last full-time flying job in 2011. I guess I don't want to do this for money anymore. And yeah, I know that's a mortal sin in Avbug's religion (him being a preacher and all as he's stated). So, sin I must!

 

That doesn't mean I don't want to fly for fun, which is what the Washington gig is, really. I sure don't go up there for the money! (Actually, I go up there for the beer. Oh my God, do we drink a lot of beer! You would not believe. I turn into a damn alky up there.) But even this year wasn't all that much fun. However I did get to fly with some great, young pilots (my friends Bran, Chris, Lauren, Matt, Jason, and of course not to leave out Mikey...), which always makes things worthwhile. I think at this point I enjoy letting other people fly and watching them do it more than I enjoy doing it myself. Curiously, I feel the same way about sex - but that's another story.

 

Oh, and I'm not surprised you didn't get the wigga, please! thing. You'd have to be younger than dirt to get that "joke." Which you are clearly not. But everyone else got it, and probably winced at my tortured use of a term from the 1990s. So here's what you do: Just go to the public library where all the other old coots hang out who are too cheap to actually buy the daily newspaper. They have these things there called com-pu-ters. Get one of the college or high school kids (who are pretending to not look at porn) to help you open up a website called "Google." Then, using your two index fingers, type the letters W-I-G-G-A into the little thing called a "search box." Hit "Enter" (the equivalent of the "Return" key on your electric typewriter. Immediately on the screen you'll suddenly see - as if by magic! - a bunch of definitions. Most will be for the word, "wigger," but further down the page you'll see the even more slangy term, "wigga." It should tell you all you need to know. Aint the English language a beautiful thing?

 

Now go away and start giving free helicopter rides to everyone who complains about the noises you make while you're awake. We don't even talk about the noises you make while you're sleeping. We'll leave that for Cha-Cha Muldowney to deal with.

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Here's why we should take Wb oh-so-seriously. (Not.)

 

This is from today...

 

Wb_zps79450be4.jpg

 

You come onto a web forum and register, but you tell NOTHING about yourself...not one damn thing. And then you ask an incendidary question and *never once* come back to the forum.

 

That's what a troll does.

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<<<<<<gets some popcorn an bets 2 bits on sea biskit

 

 

oh oh oh ! michael jackson did his moooooNwalk in the post about reatreating blade stall :P

Edited by pokey
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I should get paid for this. Seriously, Lyn should pay me. Where else can you get this type of quality entertainment on the web?

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there's a quick link for the lazy ones amongst us:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wigga

 

Ah, teenage-speak. Language used by 14 year olds and people too immature to use proper English. Got it.

 

In the advancing years, retirement often marks that point when one leaves responsible society and begins the slow painful return to childhood. Senility and all that. Explains the language. Thanks for clearing that up.

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