Moaning about Mona
 

After some research (ok, I looked it up on Wikipedia) I discover that RAF Mona was originally an RNAS station which opened in 1915.

Take a look at the good councillor's house, behind him in the picture. If that's more than 15 years old I'm a monkey's uncle.

Always the same story - someone builds a house on an airfield approach, then immediately starts moaning about the noise. We had the same down here at Culdrose a few years back, and they got short shrift.

As a Holding Officer at Coningsby we had plenty of calls complaining about low flying activity - usually from people in/close to the MATZ or on a couple of occasions close to the circuit pattern. I always found it amusing to ask when they moved in and whether or not they noticed the airfield at the bottom of the garden when they exchanged contracts.

Seems there will always be people out to make a quick buck.

I've cracked it - I've got the perfect solution!!!!

This post is currently parked next to one about Hullavington being sold.

Let's change it round and flog off Mona and keep Hullavington.

Well we're about it, get rid of Valley and reopen Colerne, then we'll have a Colerne/Hullavington focus with Lyneham back on stream as well. We could even make a London Third Airport at Hullavington with a branch railway from Chippenham for high speed links to London.

PS Why is there a chap in a white coat waiting outside my house?

Old Duffer

I would detach our noisiest aircraft to Valley and use his house as a turning point for all low level recoveries to Valley! Oh and declare Anglesey a 100ft low flying area!:E:E:E

Same attitude as the couple who moved into a house in our village not 10m from the church, and promptly tried to get the church bells silenced. As they say, there's nowt so strange as folk...

When my parents retired to an obscure corner of Devon, I spent some time researching all the traffic patterns and low flying routes near their future house to ensure their rural idyll was undisturbed.

Sadly, I failed to discover the LL Helo route that ran up the river from the Saltash Bridge. Still, at least they weren't FJs.

Whilst doing a stint as Duty Officer at Kai Tak circa 1968, I was phoned by a lady who insisted that we move the gunnery range at Clearwater Bay, as it was very noisey and upsetting her children.

I referred her to the Governor's office!

Old Duffer

Valley Tower, night flying early '66. I was Duty Stude. Phone goes - DI tells me to answer it. Tell DI it is irate Welsh voice from Holyhead Hospital complaining about jet going over the hospital on a frequent basis. DI - "Tell him that if the guy does not get his wheels down shortly he could be their next patient!". Irate Welsh voice hangs up

MPN11,

We live a mile away from the helo approach to James Cook Hospital (no they didn't have a helipad when we bought the house). Of course they come in and out at all hours of the day and night, the rotor-blade 'thump' is very effective in waking you up from dreamland !

I sympathise with your parents.

Danny.

There's much, much more to this than a routine "move in and complain".

Yer man, to summarise:

* is an ex county councillor, so can't claim he didn't know about flights

* is an ex "housing director", so really can't claim didn't know about flights

* is a chartered surveyor, so presumably knows the effect of aircraft noise on land prices

* was director of a (recently-dissolved) company for "Buying and selling of own real estate"

* apparently lives smack in the middle of a bit of land that is offering holiday lets

* apparently lives smack in the middle of a bit of land that is offering homes for sale

* apparently lives smack in the middle of a bit of land that is offering light commercial facilities



And, of course, there's the inevitable smell of graft and corruption :rolleyes:

WeeJeem, thanks for the reminder of what an absolute shower some people are.

Similar situation to that at a civil airfield called Fairoaks which is near Woking. There used to be an airport manager there who would simply write to the complainer suggesting they claim compensation from the estate agent who brokered their house purchase.
I'd love to be able to ask complainers how long they've lived there when they phone in and complain but I'm not allowed to.

Although some no doubt had a valid reason for complaining, I heard about an excellent way of getting shot of persistent noise complainers:

"I wish to complain about the noise of your aircraft"
"Good evening, sir. Before you continue, may I ask whether you wish to make an official complaint. Because if you do so and then wish to sell your house in future years, you will then be obliged to advise any prospective purchaser that you have had occasion to make an official complaint about aircraft noise, which might well have a detrimental effect on the potential value of your property. Failure to make such a disclosure could well lead you to be liable for a claim for misrepresentation being made against you. So, sir, do you now wish to make an official complaint?"
"Errm...."
"Or will you accept my assurance that every effort will continue to be made to minimise the noise of our aircraft, but on some occasions there may be compelling operational reasons which may have to take priority"
"Errrm, oh OK. Good night"
"Good night, sir....CLICK"

Whilst hosting some P3s of VP5 I believe at Machrihanish, circa 1982, a phone call was received by the duty officer that nigh from one P McCartney, or a flunkey if his. The SDO that evening was my boss, who was a WO Armourer and enjoyed his early arrival in his kipper. The pop star (or flunkey) stated their annoyance at the P3s approach path over their farm, which was directly on the approach, to the westerly runway. Sir, said my boss, these aircraft have been doing this since well before yor farm was built, and back in the day they were a lot noisier. The phone call was terminated.

Surprise then that he received a repeat of the call the next night, complaining about the intensity of the approach lights on the aircraft. The P3 guys had heard about the big red barn at the farm, the complaint and noted where it all was. I'm pretty sure the searchlight on the P3 was quite effective. I know that my boss used all the usual noises and asked the USN to desist. We had no more complaints.

Smudge :ok:

À propos of nothing at all, "Mona" was the old name of Anglesey.

D.

Guy to be fair was quite pleasant to me at Cottesmore as he made a Low Flying Complaint about Harriers doing there hovering tricks close to his home, and other Harriers flying straight over it. To be fair they should not of been because the house was already marked as an avoid prior to his moving in, but they "cut the corner" occasionally. He admitted he knew the airfield was there before he purchased the house but didn't think the noise would be so bad.
Nice bloke actually, we arranged a visit for him and he ended up with a dayglow garage roof to try and keep the Harrier mates at bay, he then wrote a letter to the local rag thanking the RAF. Not everyone is a free loader.

P. McCartney complaining about noise?

Has anyone heard his singing of late? :eek:

It's not just aviation that has problems with these sorts of people, a policeman I was talking to said that he was posted at Balaugh Bridge for the first practice of the annual Isle of Man TT races when a house owner came walking along the ( closed ) road and demanded that the he stop all these noisy motorcycles !

The house owner was one of the new financial types who have moved onto the island seemingly unaware of the fact that the TT races had been going on for over a hundred years.

The cream of the joke was that the guy was unable to get back into his house until the roads opened to the public and I doubt that being forced to watch the motorcycle practice for another two hours did his temper much good.

To return to the aircraft noise a farmer friend of mine reports that one of local farmers complains on a regular basis about the helicopters from Benson, he once asked the guy " do you not think that these helicopter crews need to be properly trained before going to Iraq or Afganistan ?" The guys reply was " these helicopters are just playing, they have not got the range to go to Iraq or Afganistan".................

Having delt with noise complainers at a civil airfield using the BEagle tactic is the very effective, the usual motivation of these people is to get the flying stopped and increase the property value, the very prospect of an official complaint doing just the opposite has a very sobering effect !

One Sunday afternoon some years back I was circuit bashing at Lands End with my instructor when I was doing my PPL. On returning to the clubhouse we were met with much hilarity. A local lady had rung in to complain that while she and her (female) friend had been sunbathing in their underwear in the garden, the same aircraft, G-OCPC, had flown directly over them three times. We were naturally a bit miffed that we hadn't spotted the ladies, but at least I was able to point out to my instructor that I had obviously been flying accurate circuits.