New Wind turbine farm,near Olney,low-flying risk

[T-21]

I have already complained that this will be of great risk to military low flying aircraft . I only hope the people at MoD in London are aware ! npower renewables: Nun Wood Wind Farm (http://www.npower-renewables.com/nunwood/index.asp) This proposal is right in the middle of a busy low flying choke point. Also note the height of these masts up to 400 feet.
If you wish to protest visit this site Home (http://www.abwd.co.uk/bwf/)

[tonker]

I flew out of Cranfield for a year or so and lived in Olney for 3, and never remembered once a low flying military aircaft in this very busy with GA airspace.

I now live in the north which has many coal fired stations that blight the landscape, and power your kettle!

ps not only do i have power lines 1/2 a mile outside my living room window, as of last year there are at 3 wind turbines at 1 mile which i now don't even notice. Just like the power lines, mobile phone masts etc

[Talk Reaction]

T21, I'm fairly sure these will only present a major flight safety risk to mil aircraft at low level with no windows! They'll be the chart at that height, and are amongst the easiest obstruction to see - being white and moving! However, given recent incidents perhaps you should alert UFOs!!

I guess they interfere with your view though - nuclear power makes the world a brighter place ;)

[newt]

T-21 do I detect a NIMBY looking for any excuse to get planning permission overturned??

If thats the case then may I suggest you are in the wrong forum!

[Pontius Navigator]

Yeah, we had that, two locations where we had low flying complaints realised we would have issues with wind turbines as we couldn't fly there any more. They therefore tried to enlist our support for stopping the turbines.

They were mighty cheesed off when I said 'no problem'. Plenty of room between the pylons!

[T-21]

Guys I thought you were on my side !! I am not a nimby ,these are some way from where I live. I am only making the point that the wind turbine firm,planners,et al seem to have overlooked the low flying. Thanks for all the support !! from supposedly like minded aviators !! I regularly get lowflying Tornados,C-130's,Tutors and helicopters over my house 2 miles south of Santa Pod and I love to see them,and I was concerned over their future flight safety on a night navex in dirty weather !!

Tonker,suggest you look down ! and out of the cockpit more . Talk Reaction suggest you visit the area first,careful you might be abducted by aliens.

[spheroid]

To be honest I do a lot of LF (OK its only RW but just as fun) and I quite like things like this. It will be clearly marked on the map and will be visible from miles around - It will have vertical extent - Perfect for a TP or a tracking / Timing feature.

[T-21]

There will be 12 of them in a small area ,I give up !!

[green granite]

I agree with you T-21 these things are a blot on the landscape and shouldn't be allowed. :(

[tacr2man]

Green granite
If its OK to have a fan turning on top of or on the front of your chosen mode of transport why bleat about one on a stick in a field ?:cool:

[NutLoose]

Amazes me that East Midlands Airport have plans to build 3 of 4 of them on the Airport itself....... I know be seen to be green and all that, but you could just as easy offset your energy costs and carbon footprint by placing them offshore than on an Airport... I know I know, don't bother me I think they look beautiful and relaxing to watch, just seems a mad place to stick them.

[green granite]

Green granite
If its OK to have a fan turning on top of or on the front of your chosen mode of transport why bleat about one on a stick in a field ?

Because they are:

1) Static

2) An unnecessary eyesore that have no place in the countryside if there must be such things then put them off shore where they don't ruin our fragile eco-structure.

[airborne_artist]

and 3) a total con - unpredictable output, which means they need conventional generators on standby 24/7 for when the wind stops blowing. Running on standby consumes fuel for no output at all. :ugh:

And think on - in winter when it's really cold, that often results from high pressure, so no wind. In summer when it's really hot, that often results from high pressure ...

So when people are running heating or air-con at max, there's nothing from the windmills :ugh:

[T-21]

Please Fellas, Can we get to the crux these are a real danger to low flying aircraft in poor vis whether you are against them or not,and 12 of them ,not one. Is there anybody from the low flying military who can show some weight and support ?

[EdSett100]

T-21, you are asking professional aircrew to support a notion that they might fly into a wind turbine while at low level and, for that reason alone, it should not be there. As someone has already stated, they will be registered and approved structures that will feature on all sorts of AIPs. We are professional enough to avoid obstructions in VMC and if its low viz, we shouldn't be there, anyway.

[footpad6]

I am only making the point that the wind turbine firm,planners,et al seem to have overlooked the low flying.

Can we get to the crux these are a real danger to low flying aircraft in poor vis

Hi T21,

You can rest assured that before a Wind Farm gets anywhere near the planning stage that quite a bit of consultation has gone on beforehand. All sorts of agencies will have had input and this includes CAA and MoD. So it looks like the professional bodies responsible for military Low Flying and aviation safety don't agree with you on that one!!

So it looks like you can scratch that "low Flying" part of your objection letter - sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Actually I'm with AA on this - they are not worth the investment and are just a sop to the green agenda. Nuclear now, for one more generation, until wind/wave/solar can actually advance to the stage of being useful generators.



PS: T21.... You may feel that you are not a Nimby - but you are. Why else would you try and garner support to an objection point that in no way effects you?
What is you objection BTW? It isn't Low Flying that's for sure. If your objection point is good enough it will stop/amend the development - what do you think is going to happen?

[Fortyodd2]

.............of course they stand out quite well in the day and shouldn't be a hazard. But, at night, these things can be up to 425 ft AGL without requiring to be lit. Almost worse are the tall, thin masts with guy wires that don't appear on any map which spring up to support data gathering equipment to see if a wind turbine is worth building on the same site - and they don't get lit either. PM me if you are about to low fly in Derbyshire and I'll give you the grid refs of the 4 that I've found.

[BEagle]

Obstacles up to 300ft a.g.l do not need to be notified and may not be on charts. Some are, some aren't....

One would expect the authority responsible for siting these bits of envirofundamentalist folly would inform the CAA and MoD before sticking up any sounding masts.

The weeny-greenies should turn their attention to bigger projects with more reliable energy sources - such as the Severn tidal barrage.

[Bob Viking]

Is there anybody from the low flying military who can show some weight and support ?
To be honest mate, we'd just go around/over them!
So in answer to your question above. No.
BV:=

[Fortyodd2]

Extract from the latest CAP 764 Policy and Guidelines on Wind Turbines

"In addition, the CAA will provide advice and recommendations regarding any extra lighting requirements for aviation obstruction purposes where, owing to the nature or location of the structure, it presents a significant hazard to air navigation. However, in general terms, structures less than 150m high, which are outside the immediate vicinity of an aerodrome, are not routinely lit; unless the “by virtue of its nature or location” argument holds fast. UK AIP ENR 1.1.5.4 refers."
I thought at first that the 150m was a typing error that should have read 150ft but I was wrong.

Beags - the small mast that proceeded the most recent turbine in our patch was 325ft high. They appear to be put at the height at which the hub of the proposed turbine will be at.

[Arm out the window]

I've seen the 'could be a hazard to low flying aircraft' objection used here in Aus too; a fairly transparent NIMBY-inspired argument to my mind - no offence, T21, if you weren't coming from that particular place - but they are big, will be marked on charts / maps, and ain't that hard to spot, so bring 'em on, I say.

[green granite]

I've seen the 'could be a hazard to low flying aircraft' objection used here in Aus too; a fairly transparent NIMBY-inspired argument to my mind - no offence, T21, if you weren't coming from that particular place - but they are big, will be marked on charts / maps, and ain't that hard to spot, so bring 'em on, I say.

So lets cover the whole of Oz with them and you can export the power to the rest of the world. Just keep the ******* things out of the UK.

[T-21]

Right , after the verbal slagging off on here,enough ,wait till the first aerial collision with a wind mast ,I told you so ,bye .

[Bob Viking]

I think that is quite possibly the most commas I have ever seen in a single sentence.
Well done.
BV:E