12-05-2007, 03:52 AM
quote:
Of course nobody thinks Darl will be the salvation for this problem, but it's a start. There are people who could care less about petitions or concerts or selling jam to support a cause, they are interested in solving this problem as best it can be solved. If anyone thinks there will be a complete ban on helicopters so that they will never fly low over a residential piece of property, give me a call because your might also want to consider investing in my Puna company that converts lava to gold or gasoline depending on which price is higher.
As for the statistics on accidents, give me a break. In 2005 alone there were 38,588 fatal car accidents. Are you saying we should ban automobiles? In the last 10 years, over 12,767 children were killed in bicycle or skating related accidents. Are you saying ban all children from bikes or skates?
If you want statistics, use the number of innocent people on the ground who were killed by a falling aircraft and had nothing to do with that flight. Or the amount of damage when an aircraft makes an emergency landing on private property. Now that's hard factual evidence that goes to this issue.
What about instead of asking about the Nelson, Wanda, Billy-Bob or Uncle Frank corridors, how about a map showing recommended flight corridors that would mitigate this issue that everyone agrees upon? That shouldn’t be too hard.
Or, if you don’t want helicopters flying over or disturbing the peace of residents, parks, sacred sites, horses, or wildlife, maybe someone should provide a map showing where all these things are located. I’m sure the majority of people who wants this restriction themselves have no idea where they are. So let’s provide assistance to the pilots by showing them where they are.
While we’re at it, can someone provide Darl with the minimum altitude that would be acceptable for an overflight? Is it 1,000’, 2,000', 5,000’, or whatever is considered safe? I’m sure that would be a great aid to him instead of trying to mind read what people want.
Darl, what do you need from the residents and property owners to help you with this issue?
Thanks for your participation.
Maps would be a great help. It has been suggested that we could have an informal meeting in the near future. This would be a good time to share what we have in terms of problem areas. I have made several maps over the years for our staff. If we could everyone to create a map indicating their concerns and possible solutions, consolidate the information into a single document, we would have a good common reference to work with.