Windfarms

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500e - Jim L has some info on LED s and their narrow bandwith compared to conventional lights. I don't know about nav lamps & beacons but the wind farm lights were certainly a surprise, it's not often you can see a light under gogles but not with the naked eye (unless they are IR lights of course).

[zorab64]

Crab, if you look at the current Notams, you'll find the following:

FROM: 10/06/03 14:33C) TO: 11/07/31 23:59
E) GREATER GABBARD OFFSHORE WINDFARM UNDER CONSTRUCTION WI 10NM RADIUS
515122N 0015801E, APRX 140 TURBINES (MAX BLADE TIP HGT 450FT).
AVIATION WARNING LGT ON SELECTED PERIPHERAL TURBINES

If you have an up to date 1/4 mil chart of the South East (Sheet 8), you'll see two windfarms marked on the chart, off the Clacton, Essex and Herne Bay, Kent coasts respectively.
I haven't had a look at a marine chart recently but, in most cases, and certainly in the Thames Estuary, ships will invariably be avoiding the shallow water the turbines are built in, before trying to avoid what's built there!
I find it almost impossible to fathom the thought that an Admiralty Chart would not include a windfarm built in the sea - they've been pretty good to date . . .

[NorthSouth]

crab:

I have encountered 2 wind farms at sea in the last 5 years that weren't marked on the aviation maps! I suspect that many of them aren't marked on a lot of marine charts either

I find that extremely disturbing. Can you recall which ones these were? Developers are duty-bound to report the details to MoD, and the extent of pre-consultation with MoD and civil aviation interests also ensures that they are aware of all developments.
NS

[enstrompilot]

wind turbines

an Aviation 'expert' has produced a report for my local planning authority which includes:-

This does not preclude flight over the turbines themselves but would subsequently require a relatively steep approach to the helipad (7.5°), assuming a 50 foot clearance from the turbine blades, and would not be considered to be good airmanship


besides it not clear quite what he is saying, I dont fancy being only 50' above the rotating blades of a turbine.

in addition to this he is proposing that once the turbines are installed there would remain a clear route between them and the nearby conurbation (which he acknowledges can not be flown over below 1000'). the route he suggests indicated flight within 180m of the turbines (450' tall with 360' rotor diameter)


can it be safe to fly that close to turbines, both day and night ? - what about turbulence ?

some guidlines suggest 2 rotor spans (1200' agl) above and 10 rotor spans away (1000m).

I would be very interested to receive 'considered comment' on the 'experts' views.

[Walking Ballast]

Prepositioning machine for a big weeks work, tooling along, enjoying the scenery, on desent into a remote pad in the valley and 'found' and 120ft high anemometer.........

I have been flying this same route and using this pad on and off for about 10 years.

Went working o/s for 7 months, came back. Checked with the property owner if any changes had been made, Nope, checked with boss and ops manager, any changes, Nope, checked NOTAMS for the areas every day........The presence of the anemometer was noted....but the lat/long was out by about 10 miles!!

Noisy buggers when you clip a supporting wire!.....

[22clipper]

Dawdling along at 500' near Mt. McArthur about 40nm SW of YSCN today I spied a new wind farm under construction & altered course a bit to get a better look at the big, newly poured circular concrete foundations. There were no turbines in yet so I was just following from the network of roads that radiated out along the hilltops when I came across a couple of long skinny poles (probably less than 4" in dia) at least as high as the turbines will be when installed. Each had an anemometer mounted on top. These bloody things are grey gal, virtually impossible to see till you're nearly on top of them & are there presumably to gauge wind strength prior to setup, since I haven't come across any in or near a completed farm. So be aware.

[RINKER]

We get them in Scotland too. Sometimes at operational farms but more
Worryingly randomly placed at proposed sites which means they can crop
Up anywhere where you might least expect them.

R

[Fareastdriver]

Interesting aside on LED did not realise the implications on Night Vision Gogles

Don't go stumbling around Shanghai at night with NVGs then. It's 10 p.m. here and I have just come back from a stroll down West Nanjing Road. It's about five miles long and a lot of it is a thousand foot high. It's like daylight at street level and everything, but everything, is lit up with LEDs.

You won't be able to stop at a red light either. They're also LEDs.

[chopcat]

Planning is very much a reactive process that tries to appease objections/comments from interested parties.

Thus if your concern would be night time visibility it would be quite appropriate for you to propose that the Local Authority, if they were minded to grant permission, to impose a condition that the masts were suitably illuminated.

CC