These FAQ's are specifically for the Ventura County Airports. If
anyone thinks my answers are incorrect or misleading, please
contact me. I'm willing to be swayed by the force of your
argument. Q: Doesn't the airport's Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT)
control the altitude of the airplanes? A: No. Literally and figuratively the pilot controls the
altitude of the airplane. The FAA's Flight Standard District Office
in Van Nuys is responsible for enforcing FAA regulations. The ATCT
may assign an altitude to an airplane, but the ATCT has no
enforcement authority. Q: Can the ATCT report pilots
as being in violation of the FAA low flying
regulations? A: Yes. But there is a problem with the ATCT reporting a low
flying airplane. The ATCT doesn't have a way of determining
the airplane's altitude. Q: How come the airplanes fly straight-in over my house late at
night when it is "prohibited" by the Department of
Ventura County Airports' noise abatement procedures? A: Unfortunately, the Department of Ventura County Airport
does not have authority over how the pilots fly their
airplanes. Q:
Why don't the noise abatement procedures have a single mention of
any noise level restrictions? A: There are no noise level restrictions on the airplanes that fly into the county airports. Some of the Gulfstream III's which fly into the airport are nosier than some Boeing 727's and DC-9's. Outside the airport's boundary I measured a Gulfstream's noise level to be 95 dB. This noise level is 30 times higher than what the FAA says is the noise limit for people being able to hold conversations. However, the noise abatement procedures do mention altitude as a method of noise abatement. Q: What about the promises that were made to the citizens in the mid 1970's that no jets would be
flying into the Camarillo Airport? A: What
the FAA or the federal government decides to do supercedes what the
state, county or cities would like to do at the Ventura County
Airports. Q: Why are
homeowners complaining about planes flying over their homes when
they knew the airport was there when they bought their homes? A: Because
the homeowners didn't know that many pilots would ignore the FAA
regulations and the County's noise abatement procedures. (And there
are lot of us, including me, who bought their homes before there
was a Camarillo Airport.) |