From: Vicki Powys <>
>
> In Australia there are no clear cut regulations for control of joy flight
> operators who fly over our national parks. There have even been joy flig=
hts
> using superseded military jet aircraft, where paying customers are zoomed
> along at supersonic speed to within 150 metres of the ground, with mock
> attacks on 'targets' such as unsuspecting park visitors who are camped on
> lonely mountain tops of the Blue Mountains National Park, west of Sydney,
> NSW.=20
>
> And there is the all-pervading sound of helicopters on joy flights, with
> only a voluntary 'Fly Neighbourly Agreement' to keep the choppers above 3=
00
> metres. Capertee Valley where I live, adjoins the Blue Mountains Nationa=
l
> Park, and we are now looking at ways to stop a new helicopter joy flight
> operator from starting up in our own scenic area. Currently there is NIL
> background ambience in this valley for a large percentage of the time,
> which makes it heaven for the wildlife sound recordist of course.
>
> So I am wondering if any readers from countries that might have a more
> enlightened legislation as regards aircraft noise, could let me know just
> what their country's policy is? I would like to start lobbying our
> politicions on noise issues such as these joy flights, and I'm looking fo=
r
> good angles.
Good luck on that, in the US you have a meshwork of commercial airline
routes such that it's getting to where there's no place that won't have
the periodic jet flying over. With my mics it does not matter that they
are 30,000 feet up or whatever. Very hard to do long recordings as a
result. You still have large areas where this does not occur.
There has been some stir about flights over Grand Canyon and other
western parks, but I kind of got the impression that was more about the
visual effect. There are some regulations there, but they don't
eliminate flights. Last time I was out there I certainly saw plenty.
Low flying aircraft doing mock attacks here could probably be stopped by
complaints to the FAA. Who would take the pilot's license. Particularly
if they were doing it supersonic, where there would be a damage path.
Other than that maybe it's time for a standard backpacker's kit to
include stinger missiles. Make their flights more realistic.
Walt
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