Pilots Blame Hollywood for Bad Rap : Helicopter Jocks Try Air-to-Ground PR

Not that anyone who has ever been jarred awake by the pounding roar of a police helicopter needs any reminding.

But Saturday was “Helicopter Awareness Day” in the San Fernando Valley as professional helicopter pilots rallied to persuade homeowners that their machines are nice and noisy.

Two dozen helicopters of every size were flown into the Van Nuys Airport for Valley residents to inspect. Members of the Professional Helicopter Pilots Assn. of California answered questions about their work and offered three-minute rides over Van Nuys for $10

‘There to Do a Job’

“We want to show people that we really do good things,” said Kevin La Rosa, a commercial helicopter pilot who is vice president of the 200-member group and was in charge of the event. “We want people to know we’re up there to do a job.”

There are more of them up there, too. Association officials said that about 130 helicopters are operated by private companies and police and fire departments in the Los Angeles area. The military flies uncounted dozens of others.

The crowded skies have left helicopter crews jockeying for places to land legally--and looking for ways to use 125 approved private heliports without angering neighbors.

Kim Reed, pilot of a privately owned Life Flight helicopter ambulance based at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, said his firm has begun keeping index cards of noise trouble spots around hospitals frequented by his $1 million, French-built craft.

Gary Lineberry, a senior pilot for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said his five-helicopter fleet carries maps that show special “quiet” approach routes to hospitals.

Jorge Jarrin, traffic reporter for radio station KABC, said that his helicopter tries to stay at least 1,200 feet above freeways during the four hours it flies each weekday.

“The freeway system absorbs most of our noise, we hope,” he said. “And we cruise at 110 m.p.h. That way, we don’t stay over one area that long.”

Some helicopters are not always able to fly that high or that fast, their pilots acknowledged Saturday.

Lands on Public Streets

Bruce Thompson, a pilot for the Los Angeles City Fire Department, said he often has to land on public streets for rescues or fly low over fires to drop water on flames.

“I’ve been fighting fires and people around the block have complained about the noise. They have to have seen the smoke and the flames down the block from their house,” Thompson said.

Los Angeles Police Officer Larry Pope, a pilot assigned to aerial patrols over the Valley, said, “We take a lot of abuse over noise.” He circles 500 feet above neighborhoods when police are searching for crime suspects.

“But we get blamed for all of the noise,” Pope said. “People look up and see a helicopter and think it’s the police. But usually it’s the bank check carriers and the traffic-watch people they see. There are 25 bank check-carrier helicopters in L.A. They land on the bank roofs. There are 25 of them and three of us up at any one time. That’s where the noise comes from.”

Chuck Street, a helicopter traffic reporter for radio station KIIS, disagreed with Pope’s assessment. He is president of the professional helicopter pilots group.

Tries to Fly Quietly

Although Street calls his tiny yellow Hughes 300 helicopter “Yellow Thunder,” he said it has a quiet engine that he muffles further by flying above 1,000 feet. He said the financial couriers also fly quietly.

“The bank guys know their very survival depends on being good neighbors. It’s not them. It’s the police that fly low,” Street said.

Chris Eberhard, a director of the pilots association, said many residents have misconceptions about helicopters because of recent movies, such as “Blue Thunder,” and the “Airwolf” television series. He said the shows have falsely depicted modern helicopters as being capable of flying silently in special “whisper modes.”

“It’s bad PR because people think there should be a switch we can flip. People want to know why we don’t just quiet them down,” Eberhard said.

Rides Attract a Crowd

Ironically, the “Airwolf” helicopter was one of those on display Saturday. But a pair of conventional charter helicopters used for the $10 rides attracted more attention from the crowd of 12,000 that attended the exhibition.

Alan Bluemann of North Hollywood lined up with daughter Michelle, 8, and son Kristopher, 7, for a ride. Bluemann said the flight was to be the second for him and Michelle.

“The first ride was in a county fire department helicopter last year when Michelle was bitten by a rattlesnake up near Pearblossom. They flew her to Holy Cross Hospital and then to County-USC Hospital,” he said. “I’ll tell you, those county helicopter guys were really with it.”

The Bluemanns hurried cautiously to the helicopter when their turn came. When their craft took off over a Van Nuys neighborhood, it flew cautiously, too.

A few blocks away, Bruce Egerman was doing yard work at his Gault Street home as the helicopters flew in a relay high over his house.

“I didn’t even notice them until you pointed them out,” Egerman told a reporter.