Mar. 20, 2005 12:00 AM
Dan Ables said he and five dozen neighbors in the Patterson Ranch area near the Scottsdale airport are sick of the incessant whipping of helicopter rotors above their homes.
Ables had hoped that a new helicopter guide intended to keep pilots over major roadways would help ameliorate the situation.
On Wednesday, he appeared before the Scottsdale Airport Advisory Commission to let everyone know the guide wasn't working.
"The guide is fine," Ables said. "If pilots followed it, there wouldn't be a problem."
Ables focused on a reporting point listed in the guide as Point Pima. This is an area above Loop 101 and Raintree Drive where helicopter pilots arriving or departing to the east or south are supposed to report to Scottsdale's air-traffic controllers.
"I think the problem is pilots can find the 101, but they can't find Raintree Drive," said Ables who believes that's why they take a shortcut over his neighborhood.
Scott Gray, director of Scottsdale Municipal Airport, said the new guide is only voluntary and is intended for transient pilots, not the 18 helicopters based at the airport and adjacent Scottsdale Airpark businesses. Operators based at the airport sign a letter of agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to basically follow the same guidelines. If they don't, they can face disciplinary action.
Gray said the airport tried to make the letter of agreement mandatory for transient pilots as well, but the FAA rejected the idea.
All Ables knows is that 28 years ago, when he purchased his home, aircraft noise wasn't an issue, and Scottsdale staff assured him it wouldn't be in the future.
Status: The Scottsdale airport recently concluded a 15-month federally funded noise study. One of the recommendations from consultants Coffman Associates was for the airport to implement a flight track monitoring system, which could be used to determine if pilots are flying too low. However, the airport advisory commission rejected the recommendation Wednesday on the grounds it was far too costly and unnecessary.
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