Fly

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• Fly
• Neighborly

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PurposeTo improve the quality of our
environment and to dissuade the public from
enacting overly restrictive ordinances against
helicopters, it is imperative that every pilot
produce the lowest possible noise irritation to
the general public while flying.
FlyNeighborly
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FlyNeighborly

• Maximum distance and altitude separation from
  noise-sensitive areas are the most effective
  means of noise abatement.

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FlyNeighborly

• Avoid flying over outdoor concerts, ball games,
  or other assemblies of people. When this cannot
  be avoided, fly as high as practicable,
  preferably over 2000 AGL.

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FlyNeighborly

• Winds
• Fly downwind of noise sensitive areas pay
  attention to the winds and use them to your
  advantage

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FlyNeighborly

• Temperature
• Sound waves travel faster in warm air. Normal
  temperature gradient is negative causing the
  lower part of the sound wave to outrun the upper
  part and effectively curve upwards.
• There is advantage to flying during warmer parts
  of the day.

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FlyNeighborly

• Temperature
• Temperature inversions reverse the normal
  curvature of sound propagation, turning an
  abnormally high portion of sound energy back
  towards the ground.
• Most severe inversions occur at night or early
  morning. Time frame with most adverse affect.

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FlyNeighborly

• Humidity High frequency effect little
  importance
• As visible moisture it indicates on overcast
  days of fog, drizzle or light snow that temp and
  wind gradients are generally small resulting in
  increased sound propagation.
• Worst time to fly for reducing sound windless,
  cold, overcast morning.

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FlyNeighborly

• Weather
• Residential background noise is lowest between
  late evening and early morning.
• In warm weather people are outside relaxing in
  the evenings and on weekends. People are more
  conscious and resentful of noise intrusion at
  these times, therefore be reluctant to fly
  noisily at these times.

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FlyNeighborly

• Takeoff and Climb Accelerate to 60 knots as
  quickly as possible. Climb at a high rate of
  climb in order to reach altitude as soon as
  possible.

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FlyNeighborly

• Enroute and Cruise FlyoverWhen departing /
  approaching a landing site, avoid prolonged
  flight over residential areas, schools, hospitals
  and other noise sensitive areas. Always fly above
  500 feet AGL, preferably above 1000 AGL.

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FlyNeighborly

• Enroute and Cruise Flyover
• Repetitive noise is far more irritating than a
  single occurrence. If you must fly over the same
  area more than once, vary your flight path.

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FlyNeighborly

• Enroute and Cruise Flyover
• When over flying populated areas look ahead and
  select the least noise sensitive route. Avoid
  blade slap when flying over noise-sensitive areas.

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FlyNeighborly

• Enroute and Cruise Flyover
• Reduce your speed if you are flying above normal
  cruise speed.
• Avoid sharp maneuvers

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FlyNeighborly

• Enroute and Cruise Flyover
• Fly along high ambient noise areas such as
  highways or unpopulated areas such as waterways
• Select a route over the least populated areas

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FlyNeighborly

• Descent/Approach and Landing Avoid blade slap.
  Blade slap generally occurs at airspeeds below
  100 KIAS and can usually be avoided by
  maintaining 100 KIAS until the rate of descent is
  over 800 FPM.

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FlyNeighborly

• Descent/Approach and Landing
• Use a fairly steep approach until the airspeed is
  below 65 KIAS.

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FlyNeighborly

• Preventing Blade Slap
• With the right door vent open, the pilot can
  easily determine those flight conditions which
  produce blade slap and develop piloting
  techniques which will eliminate or reduce this
  noise.

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FlyNeighborly

• R44 Noise exposure is
• Lower on the right at high power settings
• Lower forward and on the left when hovering

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FlyNeighborly

• HAI CommentHAI recommends a minimum height of
  1000ft, when practical, for the R44 in the Fly
  High Chart.

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FlyNeighborly

• Handling Noise Complaints
• Contact the complaining party personally
• Avoid being defensive, argumentative or
  opinionated
• Try to understand their point of view
• Merely listening sometimes can improve the
  situation
• Evaluate your technique
• Was there a better way you could have managed
  your route
• Did you know of any areas of concern
• Respond sincerely to the complainant. Tell him
  what you have learned and what you will do to
  avoid the situation the next time.