B. It lands within the grounds of some big house's 'curtilage' SP? in planning speak.
C. Apparently he doesn't need planning for it?
D. It seriously pisses off many around it who are either disturbed by noise on takeoffs & landings (usually 1 each perday), have their houses and or land w sheep cows etc overflown at treetop height on ascents/descents.
Are they stuck with it? Seems harsh that one posh kid can annoy so many without a word?
Whether it is a planning issue depends upon whether there has been a change of use in the land. Building a concrete pad or a hangar probably would count as a change of use, but use as a helicopter pad incidental to the use of the land will not necessarily do so.
If the helicopter passes over houses, people, vessels or vehicles (animals don't count), is less than 500 feet from them (in any direction) and doing so is not strictly necessary as part of a normal taking off or landing, the pilot may be in breach of Rule 5 of the Rules of the Air. A complaint to the CAA will result in an investigation and, if upheld, a quite serious fine for the pilot.
I simply thought that built-up area was easier for most people to understand; apparently not. Congested area is not really defined, as it can depend upon what you are flying and whether it can land clear of the area if an engine fails.
Did you not the read document I provided the link to ?
...
Enforcement If an aircraft breaches the rules, the CAA will investigate if a member of the public gathers evidence, including the type of aircraft involved. The section of the CAA which can
'investigate is:
The Head of Aviation Regulation Enforcement and Investigation Branch
CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway
London
WC2B 6TE
A written answer from 1998 provided details of the action taken by the CAA,
[...] if there appears to be a breach of aviation legislation, steps are taken to identify the machine and the pilot responsible and to ascertain if there are any exemptions or permissions in issue which would account
for the observed activity. If it then appears that the flight was in breach of the rules and also that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining sufficient evidence suitable for presentation to a court, a full criminal
investigation is carried out and evidence is taken by a CAA Investigation Officer in accordance with the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act, 1984.
Accumulating the necessary evidence shouldn't be too difficult. If matey is creating such a racket that he's disturbing a number of neighbours then they can all keep diaries or logs of the disturbance.
Plus video footage of the helicoptor, both parked and in the air would help.
Presumably were matey found guilty then he might then render himself liable for damages for any noise nuisance resulting from his illegal activity.
While in principle this is what should happen, its possible that the CAA might drag their feet, owing to a lack of percieved public concern for those unfortunate enough to live next door to people rich enough to fly helicopters from their back gardens.
I once saw the Greater Manchester Police helicopter hovering above my street in the middle of the night with no lights or strobes whatsoever showing. I considered reporting it to the CAA, but from what you are saying I would have wasted my breath.
Pretty much. A Police Operator's Licence gives a great deal of freedom to fly where and how other people cannot. OTOH that also means there is very little chance of meeting anybody else in some of the places they fly.
Become a radio ham, and get all the other people in the area to do the same, then all erect 200 foot tall towers with nice long guy wires and an aerial and little red light at the top.
When I complained about a bloke looping the loop just above my house every Sunday afternoon they f***ed me off totally. Luckily he crashed and killed himself shortly afterwards.
If they are 200 feet high, they won't normally need the red light. The Air Navigation Order only requires lights on en-route obstacles of 150 metres of more in height, unless near a licensed aerodrome.
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