01.02.2024
Flight Tracking Technology enforces prevention of aircraft noise in the south of France
The topic reached us a few months ago from the French Mediterranean coast: Flight Tracking of helicopters during restricted periods.. Low-level flights over towns and villages are not permitted. Is jetvision able to prove this with their outdoor Sensor Stations? In a very rugged coastal area? Without infrastructure? Without even a power supply?
Indeed, we were: quick, pragmatic solutions combined with precise, reliable hardware is our special field. We quickly realised that we needed our entire portfolio here, because the helicopters were not flying with ADS-B or FLARM, which would enable direct positioning, but required our high-precision multilateration (MLAT) technology to locate them right up to the landing point. Since May 2022, self-supplied, weatherproof jetvision outdoor sensor stations with ADSB, FLARM and MLAT support have been set up, which are equipped with OPA5 GPS antennas . They are there to serve the noise-plagued population. But what exactly does the maintenance-free and solar-powered technology from Bavaria achieve?
How do you prove violations of aircraft noise protection?
For the first time, it brings light into the darkness without any doubt. Facts where previously only conjecture and accusations that were difficult to prove had been produced: Air cabs had become rampant in a coastal region in the south of France. A local association had therefore complained to local politicians that helicopters were flying more frequently than permitted by law and that minimum altitudes above the settlement were not being adhered to. Thousands of flights to more than one hundred heliports every year, primarily into the gardens of private estates. In and out of a residential area – often during midday or at night.
It’s not for lack of rules: heliports have to be approved and there are limits on the number of flights per week for commercial and non-commercial purposes. But at first it was a case of no plaintiff, no judge. Later, there were (verbal) plaintiffs, but no evidence for the authorities. Because: to which landing site do the aircrafts fly exactly? And which one flies where and how often? That had to be proven.
Helicopter flight patterns in the south of France. Tracked with jetvision® Flight Tracking technology. ©Google Earth
Flugmuster von Hubschraubern in Südfrankreich. Aufgezeichnet mit jetvision® Flight Tracking Technologie. ©Google Earth
Entered the flight tracking network
Entered the flight tracking network
And we have proven it. Our flight tracking solutions are designed precisely for this type of application – a combination of software and hardware that is probably unique in the world. The result was excellent, usable data that, collected over months, provided an irrefutable burden of proof: An accurate list of every single flight with registration, flight event (take-off/landing), altitude etc. was sent to the noise protection association and from there to local politicians. his enabled them to prove flights to landing sites without authorization beyond doubt. We were also able to register night flights via our system, which are prohibited either because of the time of flight or because they fall below the minimum flight altitude in residential areas.
jetvision watches over the night peace
List of flights for a single heliport in a coastal area. Extracted from jetvision® Flight Tracking software.
Liste der Flüge für einen einzelnen Hubschrauberlandeplatz in einem Küstengebiet. Extrahiert aus der jetvision® Flight Tracking Software.
The end of the story? A weekly report to the local legislature put them in a position to judge and act on the basis of notarized facts. A heliport in the middle of the settlement was then completely closed: More than 200 aircraft movements in a couple of months, where 200 per year were permitted, meant the end due to noise pollution. The heliports to neighbouring properties were also banned from flying. Overall, the local noise protection association is relieved that jetvision’s hardware and software does ensure considerably fewer take-offs and landings in the area. And that something is watching over their peace day and night.
