Fly near airport question....
 

Hello to all, :)

I have recently discovered a very nice place to fly my models, but the problem is that it is located approximately 1,5 miles (maybe less ) from an airport.

The airport runways are orientated NE (usualy take off) and SW (usualy landings). the place that i found is located NW of these runways and I can see the control tower...

My questions are the following: :confused:

1 Does any one know if the strong signal of the tower may create interference to my models (I use FF9 in 35 Mhz, no PCM receivers)
2 Do you think that if I fly there I will create problems to their Radars? (my models are usualy 46 to 60 size).

I have tried on the ground with the antenna colapsed and I stayed there for about 20 minutes an i noticed no interference..but i don't want to fly unless i get some advice from you guys
Thanks in advance for your help. :D

Fly near airport question....
 

i wouldnt fly there... too many things they can say about it. you will show up on their ground radar.. and freak them out. tower will see you and freak out. i would recommend that (tho its a pain) you find a field farther than 1.5 miles.. just for safety sake.. a runaway model could jeprodize too many lives.. but no one here can stop you.. but the authorities will.

Fly near airport question....
 

I would just go see the controllers and try to get a written authorization from them to fly there . I've done it here in Canada to fly on an unused runway on a military airport.

Fly near airport question....
 

Thanks,

what about interferences ?
Till what distance from the tower would it be safe to fly, not risking to crash the models by RF ? :stupid:

txs

Fly near airport question....
 

i don't thnk interference is an issue, the poximity is.. I would second the motion to talk directly to the controllers and get permission to fly as well as any altitude or other restrictions

Fly near airport question....
 

Hi,

We have flown for many many years on an Army base from fields that were as close as 1/2 mile to their airport.

As far as we know, we have never experienced any interference from the radios on the airport.

We have had a height restriction of 400 feet with the pattern altitude being 1000 feet. This gave us guaranteed seperation. We were NOT flying off either end of the runway, but were potentially in the pattern. We had a mandatory rule to put it on the ground if there were any full scales in the vicinity.

We were also required to notify the tower when we were flying so that they were aware of model operations in the vicinity and could put out a NOTAM. (notice to airmen)

Note that we are operating on 72 MHZ in this country. That said I think it is unlikely that you will experience any interference. I also think it is unlikely that your birds will show up on radar, there is basically nothing there to reflect radar energy except the engine. If your plane was covered with a metallic covering then that might be a different story.

The suggestion to contact the tower is a good one, I expect that they might be amenable to controlled tests where you are test flying while in contact with the tower to make sure there is no interference with operations.

Good luck

Jerry

Fly near airport question....
 

We fly on a military airfield on the weekend and also have written permission and procedures to make the flying as safe as possible. We also pick up a radio from the control tower at the start of the day and are in direct communication with the tower while operating to ensure we are not in the air when full scale planes are coming or going. No problem with radio interference.

Fly near airport question....
 

Our local field is that distance from an active runway and there are no radio problems either way and have flown on the primary runway for public airshows. However don,t even think about it without prior arrangements with the local control tower chief and a written authorization. There usually will be an altitude limitation. At one point some years ago our site was on an unused taxi way. The current site is still on airport property at 1.5 miles.

John

Fly near airport question....
 

A field north of here flys right next to a fairly large airport. I know lots of people who fly right on airports. It is not the radio thats a problem. If someone parks a G-IV on the ramp and you punch a hole in it, will you have enough money to cover it? AMA probably won't. There are a lot better places to fly. I don't know why you would want to endanger the lives of the full scale people or your financial future if you smack into a plane in the air you didn't hear coming or loose one and end up on the ramp doing damage to a plane there. Lots of money sitting around an airport. I think it is just a bad place to fly, unless it is a very low use airport and you have a radio so you know when planes are coming.

Fly near airport question....
 

Thanks you all for the advice.

BTW it's the Athens international Airport we are talking about.
so maybe i'll quit the idea or find something more than 3 miles away

Txs to all. :spinnyeye

NVRC
 

Our field, NVRC, is located near the Washington Dulles international airport.
BUT, it's an AMA field, so I guess that the tower knows that those little dots on the radar going up and down, are just model airplanes, and will not panic.
My 2 cents worth suggestion:
Stay a little farther from the airport.
Fly low. Which is very dangerous.
Well, stay waaaay far from the airport, fly high and have fun.
:D