Copters Aren’t Music to Their Ears : ‘Beat-Beat’ in Sky Wearies Residents Who Want It Hushed

Orange resident Fred Nelson compares the whir of helicopter blades to a loud rock ‘n’ roll beat. And Nelson isn’t a fan of rock ‘n’ roll--or of helicopter noise.

Nelson has plenty of company across Orange County, where helicopter noise--from military bases, private heliports and a few police departments--has become an issue in several cities.

“It sounds like rock ‘n’ roll music. It’s a totally different sound--an irritating sound,” Nelson said. “I have never spoken before on an issue, but this is one that has disturbed me enough.”

Helicopters in residential neighborhoods have become an irritant, especially in Anaheim, Cypress, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Orange, Tustin and Villa Park, which are on the Katella Avenue flight path of the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) has asked the seven cities to support a resolution he plans to present to the military calling for alternate routes that do not include highly urbanized areas, said Dave Ellis, a spokesman for the congressman.

Tonight, the Cypress City Council will consider joining the City of Orange in its recent support of Dannemeyer’s resolution. Tuesday, council members in Stanton, which also is affected by the helicopter flights, will do the same, City Manager Kevin O’Rourke said.

Studied Problem

During tonight’s meeting in Cypress, officials also will hear the results of work by a citizens committee that has studied the problem of helicopter noise since November, 1984.

Orange also conducted its own study, which was released earlier this summer. After taking residents’ reports for 2 1/2 months, city officials concluded that the main source of the noise emanated from a fleet of 100 California National Guard helicopters at the Los Alamitos base, Orange administrative analyst Sabine Wromar said.

Asked by Orange Mayor James Beam to report the date, time and description of helicopters over their homes, about two dozen residents called in repeatedly, Wromar said.

“People call in because it wakes up their children. It makes their showers rattle. It makes their pool water ripple,” Wromar said.

Addison Taylor Reid, one of the residents who called a special Orange phone line for helicopter noise complaints, said: “There’s no reason why they should be flying directly over our homes.

“You’re sitting out there on a nice California afternoon, on a weekend, and here come five or six helicopters banging away with their propellers. And about an hour later, here they come back again,” Reid said. “I am the last one to say don’t train. National defense comes first. But I think they could find a better place.”

Near Flight Path

Brea, which isn’t affected by the Katella Avenue corridor, nevertheless has homes near a flight path along the 57 Freeway from the Fullerton Municipal Airport, said Bill Kelly, citydevelopment services director. Brea city officials last week prevented a bank operations center from using a helipad atop its building after 200 to 300 residents vehemently protested. Residents in the city are subjected to an average of 380 aircrafts flights per day, according to a draft environmental impact report released earlier this year.

“They rattle the windows and make all the dogs bark,” said Brea resident James Stafford, who opposed the bank heliport.

Barbara Haluska, another Brea resident who fought the proposed heliport for years, said: “I have no objection to military and police flights. They are a complete necessity. I would never fight that. But for a commercial purpose that is not going to do anything for me personally. . . .”

Complaints about noisy flights are not new to the county. In 1981, the Federal Aviation Administration told helicopter pilots operating around John Wayne Airport to raise their maximum altitude from 500 to 700 feet to reduce noise in Costa Mesa.

Police Helicopters

While police helicopter patrols exist in only four Orange County cities, they also occasionally are the target of complaints.

“Whenever the helicopter for any reason has to fly low, we do get complaints from people,” said Newport Beach City Manager Bob Wynn.

Newport Beach has received complaints about its police helicopter service since 1972, when a group of citizens formed the group Helicopters Limited and petitioned to do away with routine air patrols. Since a quieter muffler and tail rotor were installed, Wynn said, “we have had less complaints from the residents--but we still get complaints.”

In Huntington Beach, the Police Department spent $500,000 earlier this year to buy a Quiet Knight helicopter, the first of its kind to be used in law enforcement in the county.

While officials across the county also get calls about other kinds of noisy aircraft from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, John Wayne Airport, Fullerton Airport and the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, the Orange report and Dannemeyer have targeted the military helicopters.

“I’m one who does not appreciate noise,” Nelson said. “And I realize that in our society everything is getting noisier. A plane going overhead makes noise, but that chopper, it’s just a constant beat-beat-beat. It’s something that just really gets to me.”

Complaints During Olympics

In Cypress, officials last year decided to form the citizens committee following an increase in complaints during the Olympics, when the number of flights increased, said Dave Barrett, assistant city manager.

Craig Bourne, a pilot and chairman of the Cypress committee, said the recommendations that will be presented tonight include a program to make pilots aware of the problem and a request to maintain the minimum speed necessary to minimize the noise.

Col. Robert Brandt of the Los Alamitos base said he’s “very optimistic” about the committee’s proposal but declined to comment further until the meeting. Brandt pointed out, however, that helicopters make 12 to 14 round trips a day from the base. “With the number of aircraft we have flying over the area, we do not by any means have the majority.”

Other cities affected by helicopter noise “just seem to live with it,” said Stanton City Manager O’Rourke, whose office rarely receives complaints. Tustin senior planner Ed Knight said calls to his city also are few.

Still, Orange administrative analyst Wromar said, “It’s really a countywide problem. A lot of people are noise-sensitive and this type of noise is very intrusive.”