H Dir, it is some years since I last operated into LHR, but I seem to recall that radar arrivals are/were directed to intercept the slope at 3-4000ft (the seldom-used procedural alt being lower). Is this still so?
My sister used to live in St Reatham (which is just south of Clapham, and infamous for a profession in which sis was not involved, before anyone starts!). When visiting her in the summer, from the garden (sic) I could see the endless stream of aircraft heading into LHR. Compared to the noise of local ground traffic, the aircraft were virtually silent. I can't believe that one mile north makes much difference. Indoors (during the other 11 months of the year!) the only sound was the constant stream of vehicles, and trains passing through Streatham Common station.
I am not entirely sure what a land-based transport adviser does, but the biblical quote about removing the plank from your own eye comes easily to mind. Ground-vehicle noise pollution in towns and cities is quite horrendous. Examples are mentioned above, but trucks, buses, and bikes that sound like Spitfires, come to mind.
I am always sceptical about these publicity-seeking types like Stewart. Thanks to Low-Pass & Trinity, we can see that anyone flying that low over Clapham would be in serious trouble - either technically, or with his chief pilot. Normally, one would need a fairly powerful zoom lense to get a decent pic of an aeroplane over Clapham. The photo is disingenuous in the extreme.
Apart from the usual question of, "when did you decide to move next to a major airport?", we now seem to have a Clear Skies group which includes people who live 13 miles from one. A schoolboy souvenir of mine, from 1963, proudly claims that LHR sees a takeoff or landing every 90 seconds. treadigraph, above, mentions most of the noisy old types - omitting the dear-old Comet!
Modern aircraft are substantially quieter than their predecessors, yet the anti lobbies are ever noisier. We frequently receive notices promulgating changes to our procedures to further reduce the signature on Deps/Arrs. God knows we try.
My home base, LGW, has a specifically agreed number of night slots. LHR, as far as I was aware, is virtually embargoed at night (H Dir - how many night flights?) so I find this campaign hard to swallow. But still they come.
Gin Slinger makes an important point, especially about our economy. We have, over the past few decades, watched many of our productive industries decay, partially through comfortable indifference but also by political ineptitude. The majority of politicians have never had a "real" job and therefore do not fully comprehend the concept. The trend continues. Candidate selection is increasingly based upon demographic considerations rather than on merit.
Napoleon allegedly observed, "L'Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers." If indeed said, it was not an insult but an observation of the importance of trade to our island nation, which he then attempted to strangle. Having beaten off our mortal enemies, usually by the skin of our teeth due to defence planning inadequcies, we have subsequently done a fabulous job of wrecking our productive industries all on our own. Oh, how we like to moan about it down at the local!
That historic trade (increasingly service industry on our part!) remains a vital surviving asset and whether one likes it or not, it depends ever more heavily on airports. These anti-airport groups are unwittingly striving to achieve what our historical enemies failed to do. We already have democratic procedures in place to satisfy local residents. They already compromise our operations from a safety aspect (think before you reply) and restrict our industrial capacity in the face of "local" continental competitors. What more do they want?
ShotOne is spot-on. It is time to stand up against unreasonable self-interest groups. Offence is the best form of defence. PPRuNE has fostered some impressive projects already. How about one for the preservation of Aviation?