Heliport on private property?

BigBadLou

BigBadLou

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Lou
Disclaimer: I am not a heli pilot and I did NOT bother looking up anything in the FARs.
I'd rather sift through pages of replies. :lol:

But seriously. If I for example own a little helicopter and want to fly it off my property, what are the rules governing this area? Any distance rules? Does the FAA (or anybody) have to come out and survey? Does it have to be designated as a heliport? What if I own a ranch with thousands of acres, nobody cares or even knows that I have a chopper to keep an eye on my livestock? What if I am in city limits? What if I am in Nazi California where nothing is allowed anyway?

So again, what basic rules govern having a chopper on my own property and being able to land and take-off?

Of course I am aware of §91.119
Minimum safe altitudes: General.
"Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes ..."
 
This is a question to ask local authorities: County, city, township, state, whatever. Get that behind you and then worry about the FAA.

Bob Gardner
 
Generally the FAA does not care where you land...you will only have to go through them if you want it charted on a sectional and more hoops if you want to add an instrument approach.

The ability to have a private heliport/airport is dictated solely by the city and/or county zoning and land use laws.
 
Depends on your neighbors. If you have a big piece of land, you can usually just do it. But if you do it a lot, someone is going to object. Then you will have to go to the county zoning or whatever other zoning board has jurisdiction. They will take comments, if the objections aren't too big, you can get a private airport. There is a form to fill out with the FAA to get it on the charts. Being on the chart sort of establishes continuing rights to do it. Not always though.
 
Since a Heliport outranks all swimming pools your neighbors will not allow it. The FAA says you can, human nature and zoning BS says you can't. This is Murica you are only allowed to compete with your neighbors by buying bigger trucks and more lavish swimming pools.
 
Look in your zoning ordinance.

The FAA and state aeronautics will be the least of your problem. Your neighbors and zoning is where youhave to expect resistance.

Just to land there occasiinally you need your own permisson. To build any permanent structure you may need permits and it has to fit in your zoning.
 
If you want to call it an airport, you must file a "notice of construction" before establishing it. If you are just landing on your lawn without calling it a heliport, then no notice is required.

The FAA doesn't approve anything. They will review the form and make a determination which isn't binding. The worst they can do is mark it OBJECTIONABLE and refuse to chart it.

As pointed out, the local land use guys are almost always a bigger problem.
 
BigBadLou said:
Does the FAA (or anybody) have to come out and survey?
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I know some folks with farm strips. Some had the guy from state aeronautics come out to get GPS coordinates for the map. Some states have minimum obstacle requirements, but those apply to fields open to public use (in MD private airports open to the public need to get a variance from the state if they dont conform to the state obstacle planes, e.g. with hangars too close to the runway. Those obstacles get mentioned in the state airport directory).

Does it have to be designated as a heliport?
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Look at your state and local rules. Some state rules, e.g. in MN have definitions like 'more than 30 days continuously used to land aircraft' to define what needs a permit. My county in MD states in the zoning ordinance what requires permit.

What if I own a ranch with thousands of acres, nobody cares or even knows that I have a chopper to keep an eye on my livestock?
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'Thousands of acres' --> nobody cares
'hundred acres' --> your immediate neighbors care and may shut you down.
5 acres --> EVERYONE CARES

Agricultural uses such as spotting livestock, shooting coyotes, shooting feral hogs or doing your own spraying may also be covered under your states 'right to farm' law or your counties 'right to farm' ordinance. Lots of ag related things you can do on Ag property that you couldn't do on the same piece of land if it was not in farming use.

What if I am in city limits?
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Grand Forks, ND as aviation connected a city as any didn't have a city ordinance on helicopter landings. Here comes the local car dealer and starts to land his R44 on his car-lot repeatedly flying approaches over residential properties. You guessed it, they now have a helicopter ordinance.

What if I am in Nazi California where nothing is allowed anyway?
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Depends where in California. Somewhere in the central valley, nobody is going to give you a hard time about landing a helo in the middle of your farm fields. Land on the roof of a building in Berkeley and you get thrown in a dungeon for having too big of a carbon footprint.

So again, what basic rules govern having a chopper on my own property and being able to land and take-off?
Click to expand...

The most basic rule is that you need to have the landowners permission to do so. The rest is up to town, county, state law and no general answer is possible.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Depends on your neighbors. If you have a big piece of land, you can usually just do it. But if you do it a lot, someone is going to object. Then you will have to go to the county zoning or whatever other zoning board has jurisdiction. They will take comments, if the objections aren't too big, you can get a private airport. There is a form to fill out with the FAA to get it on the charts. Being on the chart sort of establishes continuing rights to do it. Not always though.
Click to expand...


That, if you're in the country and your neighbors are cool with it, you're probably fine.

Now if your a ask permission guy, vs plead ignorance

call up your local cop shop, get names.

If you're in park land ask them too.


Before I bought my house I ended up talking to the local cop shop, rangers station and of course checking out my landing run, asked the neighbors too, since a 185 on water can get a little loud, all worked out and I went forward with the house.

Had I had the house before I got into aviation, would I have asked the "officials" meh, probably not.
 
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Thank you for all the good replies, gentlemen.
This was more of a hypothetical question, as you might have already guessed.

But thank you again, I will be checking local ordinances and zoning laws. I am expecting to end up with a negative overall answer. Here in Nuevo Kalifornya, cool things are not allowed.
 
There are hundreds of helicopter pilots out here who have been sued by neighbors and it's caused some major problems. The neighbors don't even have to be right next door - some complainants have been miles away.

The key is to check local laws, then be pro-active with your neighbors. Offer free rides, pictures, etc. And then make a point of not flying over their houses or do it as little as possible.

I love helicopters more than anyone, but even I got annoyed when I had one fly over my house at <500 ft every morning at 4 a.m. for a few months.
 
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