N292PD

-----Original Message-----

From: Ron Haines

Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2007 4 PM

To: 'Casandra Davis'; 'Bruce V. Pelly'; 'Pete Labbe'

Cc: Robert Kanjian; 'salesatboatpix.com'; 'Robert Weisman'

Subject: Comment about BoatPix.com N292PD

December 29, 2007

To:

Casandra Davis, Department of Airports, Palm Beach County, Florida

Bruce Pelly, Department of Airports

Pete Labbe, Department of Airports

Robert Kanjian, Palm Beach County Commissioner

CC:

Citizen’s Commission on Airport Noise

County Administrator

salesatboatpix.com

Hello Everyone:

Hope everyone’s Holiday Season is going OK. Mine continues to be marred by unneighborly helicopter behavior from Lantana Airport. Today’s included the BoatPix.com helicopter, N292PD, with its repetitive patterns over my house and Designated Noise Sensitive neighborhood ALL DAY LONG. Attached are three photos, one where the tail number is visible and another as it turned right to head for my house and another when it was directly over my front yard on one of its many rotations. This aircraft aimed directly at my house, circled my house and buzzed my house ALL DAY LONG. I basically felt like a target for this helicopter today and I AM REALLY ANGRY ABOUT IT. In no way was the pilot of this helicopter even attempting to adhere to the Voluntary Guidelines for Helicopters operating out of Lantana Airport. Indeed, he or she appeared to by thumbing his or her nose at them.

This not the first time I have written to the Department of Airports about a boatpix.com helicopter. Department of Airports records will show that my emailed complaints about boatpix.com aircraft date back to 2005. The most recent correspondence was in February of 2007 and at that time I had a telephone conversation with the pilot of the aircraft and I thought we had an understanding that this needn’t ever happen again. My summary of that conversation was sent to sales@boatpix.com at the time and I did not hear back from the ownership of the company. That summary is below in italics.

I would like a complete written explanation from the Palm Beach County Department of Airports about what actions it is taking in response to my specific complaint about today’s actions of the boatpix.com helicopter. I am becoming concerned that things are slipping. My comment on Christmas Day about N8320A and this comment today are the first I have needed to make since last September. That sets off an alarm for me that there might be a new crop of helicopter pilots at the airport who don’t know they should be good neighbors. It’s the responsibility of the Department of Airports to inform them. It’s been years since I was subjected to the abuse I suffered today from the BoatPix.com helicopter and I want to make sure the Department of Airports is aggressive in stopping this trend.

Here’s the ownership of this helicopter:

N-number : N292PD

Aircraft Serial Number : 2498M

Aircraft Manufacturer : ROBINSON HELICOPTER COMPANY

Model : R22 MARINER

Engine Manufacturer : LYCOMING

Model : 0-320 SERIES

Aircraft Year : 1995

Owner Name : BARGEPHOTO HELICOPTER LLC

Owner Address : 5 STARBOARD CT

BETHANY BEACH, DE, 19930-9679

Type of Owner : Corporation

Registration Date : 19-Apr-2005

Airworthiness Certificate Type : Standard

Approved Operations : Normal

Regards,

Ron Haines

-----Original Message-----

From: Ron Haines

Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 8 PM

To: 'salesatboatpix.com'

Cc: 'Lisa De La Rionda'; 'Bruce Pelly'; 'Pete Labbe'; 'Warren Newell'; 'rweismanatco.palm-beach.fl.us'; 'dneimanatco.palm-beach.fl.us'; 'Debbie Sparks'

Subject: RE: Boatpix.com helicopter

April 5, 2007

To: Boatpix.com

Dear Sir:

As you know, the Boatpix.com helicopter was the subject of an email I sent to the Department of Airports yesterday regarding helicopter rotations from Lantana Airport over my house and my neighborhood. You received a copy.

Your pilot, Roger Stace, called me this evening and we had a pretty good conversation. He explained to me the wind and safety and training factors and I explained to him that I see lots of helicopter training going on from the airport from the same runway that the wind dictated be used yesterday that does not put helicopters over my house and designated ‘noise sensitive’ neighborhood every five minutes because they go a bit further east to Lake Osbourne, south along the lake, west along Hypoluxo Road (or the shorter route along the canal between Lantana Road and Hypoluxo Road), south along Congress Avenue and back into the airport over the commercial cluster at Lantana Road and Congress Avenue (this is the pattern Palm Beach Helicopters has claimed to the Department of Airports and the Citizen’s Committee on Airport Noise that it follows, by the way) and couldn’t understand why he chose to come over my house yesterday. I explained that I know helicopter pilots can choose where they want to go, I just want to know why they choose to go over my house every five minutes. He told me he didn’t think the Boatpix.com helicopter would be repeating the pattern of yesterday in the future.

If you asked him to call me, thank you for doing so. If he did it on his own he should be commended for his approach. I listened to him and he listened to me and we closed the conversation on friendly terms.

Attached is a copy of the voluntary helicopter noise abatement guidelines from the Department of Airports for helicopters. Roger said he hadn’t seen them, so perhaps you can forward them to him. And, because you are apparently the owner of the helicopter, please make sure all your pilots in the future have these guidelines. One attachment is a PDF that includes fixed wing noise abatement procedures also and the other is a Word document with just the helicopter noise abatement guidelines language.

I am heartened by Roger’s phone call but I have to be skeptical. Yesterday wasn’t the first time I have commented about the Boatpix.com helicopter nor the first time I have shared my comments with sales@boatpix.com

. If you want copies of all my previous missives, let me know and I will send them to you.

Meanwhile, thanks for listening. I really hope the Boatpix.com helicopter will not be the subject of one of my comments to the Department of Airports in the future.

Regards,

Ron Haines

Cc:

Department of Airports folks

County Administrator

County Attorney

County Commissioner

Citizen’s Committee on Airport Noise

Palm Beach Helicopters