[letpmar]

I guess this is a bit of a rant but here goes. We have cancelled our our fly in and for now stopped visitors to Firs Farm. This is not because of Covid as you would expect. The airfield next to us has been closed by the local council and we don’t want to go the same way. We are having to keep our heads down and hope.
It’s noise complaints that have done this and I can see why. We are getting regular aerobatics over our field and repeated PFL,s into us. The last one I witnessed was well below 500 feet, I read the reg with the naked eye. The last aerobatic flight we watched on flight radar 24, pretty much did a tour of all our noise sensitive areas.
Please have a little thought about what you do, I love to see visitors coming in and am really **** off that we feel we have to stop it

Pete

[Sir Morley Steven]

At Blackbushe we are held to ransom by a one person in a nearby town who just happens to be a councillor. I don’t think the actions of pilots nothing to do with you will get you closed down. Don’t be bullied vicariously.

[johnm]

That Councillor would be in breach of most Council codes of conduct I happen to know.

[ChrisGazzard]

He’s not a councillor although he did stand once and lost rather spectacularly!

PS to the OP sorry about the one from our Gaff doing the PFLs over Firs Farm the other night - he said he got in touch to apologise.

[CloudHound]

When you say the airfield next to us do you mean Priors Farm?

[letpmar]

Yes it’s Priors farm. And yes someone did phone to apologise. Unfortunately he is far from the only one and it all builds up.
The locals in Peasmore did for Priors Farm, and as is normal, once they start complaining they get the bit between their teeth.

[Sooty25]

With regards to the aerobatics.

I suppose you could print the FR24 data along with the G-INFO data and a copy of your movements log. Then just hand to the locals with the comment "nothing to do with us mate, contact him directly".

Actually, you could do that with the PFL's as well.

[VFRBimbler]

Sorry to hear about Priors Farm and the knock on effect this is having at Firs Farm. I’m puzzled though about the grounds on which the Council was able to close the former. Maybe not the best analogy, but seems akin to closing Knettishall (other strips / circumstances are available) because of the intrusion of the Apaches from Wattisham. Forcing a strip to close in such circumstances isn’t necessarily going to solve the problem. Arguably, it might make things worse if transiting aircraft / those performing aerobatics no longer need to take account of the strip at Priors Farm when planning sorties.

[chevvron]

At Blackbushe we are held to ransom by a one person in a nearby town who just happens to be a councillor. I don’t think the actions of pilots nothing to do with you will get you closed down. Don’t be bullied vicariously.

Not a local councillor but a person living in that same nearby town used to complain about every Farnborough movement which he saw above the horizon.
He was a controller at London Air Traffic Control Centre at the time!!

[Human Factor]

I fully sympathise with your situation. My only caveat being that there is a limited amount of “free” sky in the south east which means limited areas where people are able to go.

So for example, someone doing a PFL into Firs Farm (remembering it’s 500’ MSD not height of course) will now do it elsewhere, great for Firs Farm of course but which could easily result in the owner of elsewhere having the same issue and making the same request. Sooner or later, there will be nowhere to practice. What then?

Further, anyone doing aerobatics training is likely to want 3000’ AGL below them. West of London, Waltham, Fairoaks and the Bushe have to head a long way West to achieve that and have enough space below BOCAS to manoeuvre. We’re all familiar enough with the charts to know where (unfortunately) the base is high enough.

While I’m sure we all want to be as considerate as possible, sadly there are also practical limitations to that consideration.

[Robin500]

These kind of noise complaints really do raise my blood pressure. Admittedly I don't live close to an airfield, but aircraft noise is frequent, especially from the RAF's Grobs.
Most aircraft noise is transient, whereas neighbours mowing lawns on a Sunday afternoon can drone on for over an hour. Would the complainants make such a fuss over that.

Is Priors farm likely to reopen ?

[letpmar]

It’s planning permission that the council can use, I understand the limited airspace and that it’s there for everyone. I don’t think it’s worth trying to engage with the complainers and I’m not handing over details of any flight to them.
Unluckily Priors Farm as a new start up is more vulnerable with no planning and no lawful use,
The complainers seem to be from a village close to Priors so we are hoping it will settle down now.

[Marvin]

We often get phone calls enquiring about noisy aerobatics in our local area, one from a furloughed Airline Captain.

While the activity is perfectly legal it’s difficult for us when your Airfield operation is been judged by the local population on activities of others from other airfields.

Not grinding axes just saying and adding to the debate.

[chevvron]

We often get phone calls enquiring about noisy aerobatics in our local area, one from a furloughed Airline Captain.

While the activity is perfectly legal it’s difficult for us when your Airfield operation is been judged by the local population on activities of others from other airfields.

Not grinding axes just saying and adding to the debate.

Mortimer, just south of Reading, used to be like a magnet for aerobatters out of WW and we were always getting complaints; all we could do is suggest the complainer phone White Waltham.

[rikur_]

bored people stuck at home + social media = lots of heat
I think we need to be less tolerant of intolerance!
We used to have a vaguely civil village facebook group, which dealt with helpful matters such as recommending a plumber, or borrowing a lawn scarifier..... now it just a breading ground for hate and intolerance: "noisy motorbike just came through the village again!"; "does anyone know who was making all that noise [hedgetrimmer] on Sunday afternoon"; "little red plane doing aerobatics again!"; "constant stream of white vans making deliveries turn round at end of cul-de-sac"; "why are horses allowed to [dump] on the bridleway and my dog isn't?"; "smoke from bonfire could kill asthmatics" ....... each one triggers a 'here here, lynch the lot of them' from those that enjoy a good afternoon moaning.
Unfortunately sometimes they win .... we have a resident who bought a house opposite the milking sheds (of 40 years tenure), and then complained about the cows waking him up early every morning ..... escalated to lawyers, and 'right to a peaceful life' and all that.... the milking sheds are no more.