[Scan-DC] Helicopter vs. kite

[Steve Rigby]

Charles Lawson wrote:

 > Well, I hope not.  I will say, though, that in the last few
 > years, the helicopter traffic has been getting lower and lower
 > and lower.  I work at the Kennedy Center a lot and have recently
 > seen the military choppers zipping down the Potomac at altitudes
 > below the roof of the building! Their flight paths have always
 > been required to be underneath the approach to Runway 19 at
 > National, but they are now well below the altitudes that they
 > used to use. When you're flying that low, collisions with kites
 > will become common during these fair weather months.

   It is my understanding that helicopter traffic has very few
requirements of operation in terms of minimum altitude.  There are
'guidelines' that suggest minimum altitudes for craft in transit
from one point to another, but these limits are essentially
unenforceable because they do not represent requirements.  I believe
the minimum altitude guidelines are 500' in urban areas and 1000' or
1500' over rural areas.  There are no noise restrictions whatsoever.

   There are some basic flight paths that should be followed by craft
in transit, but the following of these paths is apparently more up
to the discretion of the agency or entity involved as opposed to
being mandated as required by the FAA.  I know a fellow who piloted
for the Park Police, and he groused about being told by his agency
to follow the flight paths and altitude guidelines.  His position
was that total discretion should be in his hands alone, as a police
officer.

   These guidelines, for whatever they are worth, apply to privately
operated craft as well as governmental operations.  So, yes, that
News Chopper 4 can hover right over your neighborhood at 150' if it
wants to, and in the middle of the night, just like the police
choppers do.  There are hours of operation guidelines for commercial
helos, but again, they are only suggestions, not regulations, as far
as I know.

   Anarchy Rules!

   Steve