Landing a helicopter in a residential neighborhood?

bqmassey said:
For the most part, when you're in the air you are the FAA's problem and have to follow FAA rules (which don't include restrictions on off-airport landings). When the skids touch down, you're local government's problem and are subject to zoning and trespassing laws.
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So if you wanted to be a dick, you can simply hover 15 feet off the guy's backyard for 30 minutes and fly off?
 
timwinters said:
Well...then...I'm in a desolate area! :yes:
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LOL! My driveway is longer than 1/4 acre. Measured it the other day for new gravel in fact, 450' * 12'. Doesn't include the p-shaped turnaround for trailers. That's probably another. 150' * 12'. A helipad would fit nicely in the center of the "P".
 
Helicopters land next to my house all the time. Sometimes they're ANG Blackhawks, sometimes it's the shared Kasey Kahne/Greg Biffel one.
 
If anyone is training, here's open permission to land in the front yard. ;) No power lines, safe egress multiple directions. :)
 
denverpilot said:
LOL! My driveway is longer than 1/4 acre. Measured it the other day for new gravel in fact, 450' * 12'. Doesn't include the p-shaped turnaround for trailers. That's probably another. 150' * 12'.
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:rofl::rofl:

So is mine actually! A little over a 1/2 to the barn...just under a 1/2 mile to the house. I put down 3" to 4" of "class D stone" (1" minus) on it about 3 years ago...it wasn't cheap even with me doing the hauling and spreading and grading...it took almost 600 tons of stone.
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
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Oh that's an oldie but a goodie! I wonder if he ever found that Mr. Helicopter Pilot.

That's what happens when you try to fly while engaged in a sex act. You fly at 25 ft between the Magnolia and the property line and almost crash in someone's backyard. :)
 
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A few years back I was traveling on business from Corpus Christi to Kingsville Texas and we stopped at this restaurant that was well known to the locals. As I pulled into the parking lot I see this helo coming in and landing in a grass field right next to the restaurant. The guys came in, had lunch, and took off about one hour later. I thought it was pretty cool and my partner asked me if it was legal. I told him I didn't know, but this is Texas after all.
 
Perezhr said:
A few years back I was traveling on business from Corpus Christi to Kingsville Texas and we stopped at this restaurant that was well known to the locals. As I pulled into the parking lot I see this helo coming in and landing in a grass field right next to the restaurant. The guys came in, had lunch, and took off about one hour later. I thought it was pretty cool and my partner asked me if it was legal. I told him I didn't know, but this is Texas after all.
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The FAA's perspective on this sort of thing is probably best enunciated in Administrator v. Egger. The pilot involved got a 60-day suspension for landing a helo in an unsecured public parking lot outside a convenience store. The FAA's principal objection was that there was no control of access to the landing zone to prevent pedestrians or vehicles from entering while the landing or takeoff occurred, thus creating a potential hazard to the public. Would the FAA feel the same about that grass field as they would about the adjacent parking lot? :dunno: I suppose it would depend on whether or not people were able to enter or transit the field during the landing/departure, but that's only a guess.
 
Bottom line is if you want to land on property, get permission from the owner and check to make sure there are no local ordinances against it.
 
2 days before hurricane Gustav hit I was sitting in my driveway talking with my father-n-law and we noticed a family of 4 walking down the sidewalk, all with carry on bags. We had decided not to evacuate and had been watching everybody pack and leave throughout the day. As we are sitting there a helicopter lands in the park next to my house and the family of 4 hops on and leaves. I was speechless. My father n law looked at me and said I should get to know my neighbors. I agreed.
 
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