10-02-2007, 09:28 AM
Well having looked into it a bit more.
This is going to be a tough nut to crack. I've been involved in a number of protest actions against similar problems--mostly whale watching boats in the Puget Sound area. In that case violations were clear, the law was broken daily, and law enforcement simply refused to do anything about the issue. Ultimately, the issue was/is solved, as the the whales are dying like flies and 5 years from now it won't be a problem anymore.
This is different. So far as I can tell, there's really no law that the 'copter guys are breaking. There isn't any minimum legal altitude for helicopter operation--even the US Supreme Ct has weighed in on this. Noise ordinance can apply, but only if it's on the books and is very difficult to enforce. So, I don't really see where the argument is going to go--and any protest in my mind without a leg to stand on(or an OR ELSE) is pretty much only a whine, and isn't going to go anywhere.
So maybe mashed potatoes are a great idea after all...or something similar.
Get into model rocketry. It's wholly legal, but if you shoot off rockets above a certain size you need to file hazard reports 24 hours before the launch, and the FAA clears space for you. It's legal, doesn't cost anything, and uses the same ill-fitting rules the helicopters fly by. It actually makes it a violation for them to fly over your house if you're planning a launch, and one that a pilot will loose a license over, as they're supposed to check for such events before they fly. I suppose that's my next step.
This is going to be a tough nut to crack. I've been involved in a number of protest actions against similar problems--mostly whale watching boats in the Puget Sound area. In that case violations were clear, the law was broken daily, and law enforcement simply refused to do anything about the issue. Ultimately, the issue was/is solved, as the the whales are dying like flies and 5 years from now it won't be a problem anymore.
This is different. So far as I can tell, there's really no law that the 'copter guys are breaking. There isn't any minimum legal altitude for helicopter operation--even the US Supreme Ct has weighed in on this. Noise ordinance can apply, but only if it's on the books and is very difficult to enforce. So, I don't really see where the argument is going to go--and any protest in my mind without a leg to stand on(or an OR ELSE) is pretty much only a whine, and isn't going to go anywhere.
So maybe mashed potatoes are a great idea after all...or something similar.
Get into model rocketry. It's wholly legal, but if you shoot off rockets above a certain size you need to file hazard reports 24 hours before the launch, and the FAA clears space for you. It's legal, doesn't cost anything, and uses the same ill-fitting rules the helicopters fly by. It actually makes it a violation for them to fly over your house if you're planning a launch, and one that a pilot will loose a license over, as they're supposed to check for such events before they fly. I suppose that's my next step.