09-29-2015, 03:30 PM
quote:
Originally posted by AKpilot
Amen! I can almost assure you the pilots of those heelos were not at 100-300 feet. I fly fixed wing (Jets and turboprop aircraft, not helos) but the feeling is the same amongst most commercial pilots. Your ticket is your bread and butter.
I fly in Alaska, home of the most rule falutten' pilots in the nation. Even here I can tell you, no sane pilot, flying for a reputable company like Blue Hawaiian, Paradise, etc.....is going to risk their jobs and their tickets for a buzz job over a Puna subdivision. Even if it's on the way to the Volcano.
May they do it over the coast? Yes, perhaps. Over water or "sparsely populated ares" the FAA allows a pilot to operate 500 linear feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
It's also a bit of a slap in the face to assume pilots don't know the difference between AGL and MSL...... I promise, we do. I am not trying to point fingers, shame anyone, or be a smart ass. I am just a pilot who makes her full time, honest to goodness, living in the sky, and I hate seeing my brethren dragged through the mud. We aren't all money grabbing, buzz-job happy A-holes who hate Puna. You'd be surprised how "low" 1500 agl really is.
Don't forget, Pilots need Aloha too.......
AKpilot
We're all here, because we're not all there!
When someone has worked a swing shift followed by covering a night shift for a sick coworker they aren't feeling any "aloha" from the helicopter tour companies who prevent them from sleeping for 6 hours before they go back to work. Or a person who works from home who cannot conduct a business call because the helicopters are so loud, where is the "aloha" for them? When the tour companies and pilots show some aloha for the people of "sparsely populated" Puna by not making it difficult to enjoy their homes on the many days the cruise ships are in port, maybe we can feel some aloha for them.
The only one dragging your "brethren" through the mud here is the poster who keeps claiming people said things they didn't say. This thread started with a civil post announcing a "talk story" about a problem many of us experience, then someone started accusing people of saying all kinds of things like "dragging skids through treetops" and "flying in between trees" and "strafing their homes" and refused to own their dishonesty. All of those statements were made by a fan of the helicopters, not those who want the tour companies held accountable.
The helicopter tour companies and their pilots make a lot of money off destroying the peace and quiet of thousands of people who see exactly zero benefit from those companies existence, those people are over it and want some changes made. I am glad Onishi is asking for public input about the problem and wonder why it is him instead of either Puna councilor moving on this.