Thu, Jan 17, 2013
Residents Say It Will 'Ruin Their Quiet Neighborhood'
Residents of Auckland, New Zealand living near an area called Stanley Point are fighting hard to prevent a helicopter landing pad from being built nearby.
The nearly four acre private estate on which the proposed helipad would be built is owned by the director of Man O'War Vineyard on Waikehe Island, according to a report appearing on Auckland Now online. More than 120 residents who live near the $20 million property have submitted comments saying that allowing helicopters to fly from the property will "ruin their quiet neighborhood."
The applicant is Tokeoka Properties. Berridge Spencer, director of the vineyard, is also listed as a director of the applicant company. Tokeoka Properties said in its application that the number of flights would be very low, and that they would fly over Ngatiranga Bay to help mitigate the noise. They also said established trees around the helipad site would shield the neighbors from having to look at the aircraft.
Residents of the Greenhithe neighborhood lost a similar fight last year. That application drew only 18 comments in opposition, but many said they did not know about the proposal until it was too late. Now, they say, the noise is "horrific" and that Philip Thornton, who owns the property and uses his helicopter to fly to his business interests, completely disregards the agreed-to flight paths, times, and frequency.
Those opposing the Stanley Point helipad say the aircraft operations would not only be noisy, but they fear a loss of privacy, and say it would adversely affect bird life in the area. Of 129 comments on the proposal received, only six were in favor of allowing the helipad to be built.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]