Circling planes

Discodog

You expect noise if you choose to live next to an airport. You don't expect it, in a quiet suburban garden, miles from an airport.

antoobrien

Discodog wrote: »

You expect noise if you choose to live next to an airport. You don't expect it, in a quiet suburban garden, miles from an airport.

The end of the runway is 2.5km from Doughiska and just under 3km from Oranmore village, so yeah I'd expect it in a suburban garden.

Discodog

antoobrien wrote: »

The end of the runway is 2.5km from Doughiska and just under 3km from Oranmore village, so yeah I'd expect it in a suburban garden.

In Salthill? The takeoff & landing aren't the issue. It's the circling, under full power, to gain height that causes the nuisance.

There is nothing stopping them from flying away from the city, gaining height & retuning to the field for the drop.

Any nuisance is easily avoided.

johnsds

Discodog wrote: »

Circling over any built up area is wrong both from the aspect of noise & safety.

No its not. It is not restricted military airspace, provided there are no active NOTAMS ( Notice To All Airmen/Women ) it is civilian controlled airspace so it is fair game for any pilot to fly where he/she likes once and including all procedures are followed such as comms with Galway/Shannon ATC.

Discodog wrote: »

There is a lot of open land & sea available. Maybe the pilots choose to circle over the town as it's more appealing to the paying passengers?

Possibly but also consider from a safety point of view, if your landing spot as you make a parachute jump was Galway Airport, then would you prefer to exit the aircraft over the Galway Airport/Galway City general area as that's where you can safely drift down to the Airport with the prevailing winds which play a huge factor in any jump or would you like to exit the Aircraft from farther away.

Discodog

They could just as easily climb over open farmland to the East - after all they are circling to gain height rather than flying directly into the wind. Then make a final approach to the airport.

If noise restrictions were put in place then they would soon adapt.

I would rather lose an engine upwind of the airport & over open fields rather than downwind & over the city.

galwaycyclist

johnsds wrote: »

Possibly but also consider from a safety point of view, if your landing spot as you make a parachute jump was Galway Airport, then would you prefer to exit the aircraft over the Galway Airport/Galway City general area as that's where you can safely drift down to the Airport with the prevailing winds which play a huge factor in any jump or would you like to exit the Aircraft from farther away.

I would certainly prefer to exit the aircraft over terrain that provided alternative landing areas. Particularly if, as once happened to me, the winds were so strong that I could not make it back to the drop zone.

Open farmland would be infinitely preferable to city streets or the sea - provided there were no high-tension lines. Bad news high-tension lines.

johnsds

antoobrien wrote: »

Ever under them when they came in?

Yes under the ATR 72 and ATR 42 and the Avro RJ's when they operated there.

antoobrien

johnsds wrote: »

Yes under the ATR 72 and ATR 42 and the Avro RJ's when they operated there.

Not exactly quiet buggers when you're near the end of the runway.

airdogace

Discodog wrote: »

Circling over any built up area is wrong both from the aspect of noise & safety.

There is a lot of open land & sea available. Maybe the pilots choose to circle over the town as it's more appealing to the paying passengers?

That's nonsense. In fact much of the comment here is nonsense. Let's ruin it with a few facts.

Yes the planes are noisy something both the operator and the airport are conscious of. Actually each flight takes a different path so no one area has to be subjected to all the noise. So yes occasionally the aircraft crosses the city even as far as Salthill. But the same could be said of Athenry, Craughwell and all points of the compass. In fact generally from a noise point of view you disturb less people because cities are inherently noisy places and most people in town never hear it. In a quiet country area the noise is more obvious. But no one area is going have the planes overhead twenty times a day unless it's right at the airport.

There is no safety issue with overflying Galway city as it's usually at a high enough altitude and in the event of an emergency the plane can easily reach the airport or find a field nearby. I'm sorry to disillusion you people but Galway is not a sprawling metropolis. Even if the jumpers exited out over Eyre Square they could easily steer away from built up areas into open countryside or parks.

Plus in all seriousness do you think the pilots involved are stupid and don't know their job? They're professionals and are fully aware of the rules and safety issues. They will not risk their lives the lives of the passengers or risk losing their licences by doing stupid things.

Another issue is weather, when there's cloud or rain showers around these must avoided. This might have the effect of funnelling the aircraft onto certain routes. That's unavoidable.

On another point if the noisy plane is Dark Green and circling the city on a Monday, don't call the airport. It's nothing to do with them. It's the Air Corps on official business. Call the Minister for Defence to complain.

Also if you have a problem with the noise by all means contact the airport or the operator. It is taken seriously and both are conscious of the issue. It is not in their interests to antagonise local people.

Do not for one minute imagine they are buzzing around in a careless cavalier fashion not caring who they annoy. That's far from the truth.

Discodog

I stand by my comment regarding safety. You would only circle over a city if it was unavoidable. Every aspect of aviation is designed to minimise risk.

I am an aviation enthusiast. When I was gliding in the UK we were taught to avoid towns. If and I agree that it's an unlikely if, the plane suffered a major failure it could be incapable of a controlled decent.

I support the use of the airport. If the pilots are using noise abatement measures & varying the route then there should be minimum disturbance.

airdogace

In fact while it may appear to be circling the city. They may well be over the bay and even if it was right over the town, short of the aircraft being shot out of the sky by an irate resident. The likelihood of it falling into Shop street is nil.

Yes definitely noise abatement procedures are in place. But it's unavoidable that someone will get irritated.

galwaycyclist

Out of interest for the aircraft enthusiasts (like me) what kind of plane is it?

airdogace

They're GA8 Airvans, Australian made 8 seaters.

Storm 10

Long may it last, great boost for the Airport and especially all the charities that the people jump for.

galwaycyclist

airdogace wrote: »

They're GA8 Airvans, Australian made 8 seaters.

Ta very much for the info - have you actually left the seats in them or are they modified for the jump school?

Looking at them it doesn't look like you could have steps or put people out onto the wing struts for the jump ala cessnas etc.

johnsds

Discodog wrote: »

I stand by my comment regarding safety.

You should visit Dublin or London Heathrow or any other airport for that matter and see the way they stack aircraft.

Discodog wrote: »

I am an aviation enthusiast. When I was gliding in the UK we were taught to avoid towns. If and I agree that it's an unlikely if, the plane suffered a major failure it could be incapable of a controlled decent.

Why were you taught to avoid towns in a glider?

Only in the most extreme of cases can an aircraft be incapable of a controlled descent. You can fly for quite a bit with one engine off/feathered.

Cessnas can do that very well.

airdogace

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Ta very much for the info - have you actually left the seats in them or are they modified for the jump school?

Looking at them it doesn't look like you could have steps or put people out onto the wing struts for the jump ala cessnas etc.

Straight out the door. :eek: Check out youtube or the website. There are hundreds of videos of jumps there. Some great scenic views of Galway too.

Storm 10

johnsds wrote: »

You should visit Dublin or London Heathrow or any other airport for that matter and see the way they stack aircraft.

I was sctually in a stack over London City waiting our turn to land in Heathrow, we were on top, pilot told us there were five aircraft below us seperated by 1,000 feet gaps as one departed we dropped down to become no 4. now let me see five aircraft circling a hugely populated City of 9 milluon with a couple of hundred passengers and we have people here giving out about a tiny plane over Galway, Unreal what people complain about can you imagine the noise from these jets as they circled above.

NordicDiver

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

I arrived in Oranmore about 2:30, there have been planes circling since then(7 pm now), the noise is driving me mad it's like listening to a demented bluebottle. Is there any noise nuisance regulations for planes ?

Seems like I am not alone, I live in Roscam and most good days recently its like having a lawn mower hanging over the house for hours with a few breaks in between.
:mad:

pleasant Co.

Storm 10 wrote: »

I was sctually in a stack over London City waiting our turn to land in Heathrow, we were on top, pilot told us there were five aircraft below us seperated by 1,000 feet gaps as one departed we dropped down to become no 4. now let me see five aircraft circling a hugely populated City of 9 milluon with a couple of hundred passengers and we have people here giving out about a tiny plane over Galway, Unreal what people complain about can you imagine the noise from these jets as they circled above.

The noise of London city itself is just a bit different to that of Galway city, it's quite understandable why some people would give out about the noise of "a tiny plane" over a small quiet city.

Personally plane noise doesn't bother me in the slightest, I actually quite like it :pac:

airdogace

NordicDiver wrote: »

Seems like I am not alone, I live in Roscam and most good days recently its like having a lawn mower hanging over the house for hours with a few breaks in between.
:mad:

Hours? Most flights last just over twenty minutes. More like five minutes if that.

Chicken1

airdogace wrote: »

Hours? Most flights last just over twenty minutes. More like five minutes if that.

airdogace you are wasteing your time responding to some of the posters here, they would find a fault with anything, they have very little in their lives to be giving out about if all that bothers them is a small plane in the Sky, I live in the City have seen the plane lots of times over Galway Bay and othere areas, it never bothers me. Bunch of whingers to be honest.

NordicDiver

Chicken1 wrote: »

they have very little in their lives to be giving out about if all that bothers them is a small plane in the Sky

When your trying to enjoy the garden on a nice day,, the noise bothers me alright.