Helicopter Information

Tenants:

• Sun West had 2 hangars, one each in lot A1 and in lot A8. They were said to be the most active helicopter tenant.

• Ascent sublet from Allan Hansson in A3 who performed maintenance for them, as well as for KD Air. Ascent owned 1 helicopter which they say was in the airport for 6 days this year. They were also building a helicopter.

• Greg Walz had a hangar in lot A7. He flew for Airspan. He was said to be in and out daily as a pilot. He also performed maintenance.

Helicopters associated with the following companies etc were said to visit the airport occasionally:

• Vancouver Island Helicopters

• Colson Logging

• Coast Guard

• RCMP

• Ambulance

• Canadian Skytrain

Sensible Solutions for The Aircraft Noise Problem

The following Guest Shot editorial was published by a local newspaper, edited:

Leadership is the Key in Preventing Airport Noise

A perspective from 2007
Aircraft noise should concern all Oceanside residents. Not only has it increased in recent years, but it will continue to increase – if we allow it. If you are not presently affected, you may have little sympathy for those who are. But no matter where you live in Oceanside, you will feel the effects of this aggravation yourself, if local airport activity continues to increase unchecked.

Now is the time to think ahead and imagine where the one-way street of airport development is taking us. Unfortunately, if you have never lived in a congested urban environment, you may have little grasp of how perniciously noise pollution can degrade your quality of life. It drives people away from busy cities to escape in quieter communities like ours.

Are those who escape welcome here? Not if they’re seniors, it seems. One Town of Qualicum Beach councillor worries that seniors are too thrifty to support the local economy. Yet the Globe and Mail reports, “People over 50 own three-quarters of all financial assets and account for half of all discretionary spending.” With the ranks of baby-boomer retirees swelling rapidly, local businesses should seize the golden marketing opportunity at hand. Seniors can be excellent customers – once you understand their needs.

The Town Council needs to rethink their attitude toward aircraft noise. Surely they are aware of how unhappy many of their constituents are about excessive aircraft noise. And after last year’s two aircraft accidents involving student pilots, surely they understands the dangers of training pilots over rural and urban populated areas. 

Let's not sugarcoat the problem. It is absurd to imply that helicopter noise is as innocuous as the sound of bicycles, or people simply walking past. Glossing over the issue will not work for those affected by the noise - interrupting conversations, disturbing their train of thought, and making life generally miserable.

Town Councilors must stop trying to transform our quiet community into the kind of noisy urban environment that so many have come here to escape. Those who enjoy noise can easily find it elsewhere.

It’s not just tourists and recent arrivals who dislike aircraft noise. Long-time residents have for decades ardently opposed development of the airport. Against their wishes, Town Council pursued development, aided by over 1.5 million of our tax dollars. Thanks to our taxes, the current airport tenants benefit greatly with very attractive lease rates, while we taxpayers suffer increasing noise aggravation. Newcomers or not, we all have a right to voice our concerns about the encroachment of aircraft noise on our lives.

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Answers to Some Common Questions 

This section offers answers to some of the questions that were raised 
in the local newspapers in 2007 by those who opposed preserving Oceanside's quality of life.

Q. The Qualicum Beach Airport was here first. Shouldn't people who moved to this area later stop complaining?

A. Land title documents indicate that the airport was given to the Town in 1957 as a land grant from the province.

According to one local resident, the airport was originally just a grass strip where deer could often be seen grazing. There were no airplanes parked on it. It seemed to be just a clearing for emergency landings.

Unfortunately, on neighboring properties near the end of the new runway, there were some trees that obstructed the flight path. This prevented the airport from being certified by the government for commercial aircraft use.

According to local residents, after one property owner refused to cut down his trees, some illegal activities followed. One night, after a long visit from a local aviator, the owner left, posting his property for sale. Had he been intentionally intimidated? Local residents assume so. A short while later, two of the property owner's old growth fir trees - roughly 4 feet in diameter - were mysteriously destroyed by what seems to have been a dynamite explosion. No one was ever arrested for this crime. The subsequent owner removed all the remaining trees.

Another airport neighbor - a former village councilor and middle-school principal, who owned property close to the runway - was also subjected to criminal abuse. One day, he discovered that his acreage had been selectively cut to clear away any trees that obstructed the airport flight path. About 50 trees were cut down, each reaching 70 to 100 feet in height. These trees were cut without his permission or knowledge. Though there was some evidence that a particular local aviator was the perpetrator, the Village Council took no remedial action.

According to longtime residents, the airport could not have been certified without the removal of its neighbors' trees. The fact that certification was was obtained only after it was made possible by illegal activities, leaves the airport little historical legitimacy. 

This arrest arrest seemed to lend some credibility to the longtime residents' contention that illegal activities took place during development of the airport, undermining opponents of expansion.

In contrast, both longtime residents and more recent arrivals lived there legitimately, having purchased their properties and homes legally. No doubt, most settled there believing that the airport would not become as noisy as it did, due to inappropriate use. Undeniably, the airport changed in character over the years, from quiet to noisy.

Q. If groups of loud motorcyclists are allowed to make noise in Oceanside, then why not airplanes too?

A. This question only confused the issue of aircraft noise. In fact, motorcycle noise and aircraft noise are entirely separate issues. One kind of noise does not justify the other.

If the airport were limited to quiet, commuter use, without helicopters or flying schools, then most local aircraft noise conflict could have been avoided. If there was a problem with motorcycle noise, that issue should have been dealt with separately.

Q. If we don't support the teen-aged air cadets who practice over Oceanside during the summer, they might become juvenile delinquents. Shouldn't we support them?

A. This idea was mentioned a number of letters to the editor in the PQB News.

Learning to fly is a positive pursuit for young adults. However, they should not be learning to fly in an airport that is so close to residential areas. Accidents do happen, and the constant flight school aircraft noise is unacceptable. (See Plane Crash in Qualicum, Oct 14, 2006 and Courtenay Student Pilot Accident in 2006) The Air Cadets should train somewhere else over the vast uninhabited expanses of our enormous country, far from populated areas. Clearly, Qualicum Beach was not a suitable location for a flight school, whether for the air cadets, or for international student pilots studying year-round - as was informally proposed.

Furthermore, there are plenty of ways to keep young people involved, including sports, school, music, volunteer work, and employment. In any case, if certain young people are found to be emotionally unstable or inclined toward juvenile delinquency, they should not be accepted for flight training. While some delinquent youth may have been turned around by the Air Cadet program, but it seems there are less risky ways to rescue delinquent youth.

Facts: There were 35 Air Cadets in the 2007 summer program, and they come from all across BC. In 2007, they all received their flight training at the Qualicum Beach airport. Just one student was from Oceanside in 2007.

Q. What if a school bus filled with children crashes into the Englishman River? Won't we need local helicopters for rescue?

A. Since the local terrain is not very steep, there should be other more practical means of rescue, rather than helicopters. In any event, if that kind of rescue is needed, there are normally some forrestry helicopters stationed just outside Parksville. Anyway, helicopters do not need an airport from which to operate, as they can land and take off without a runway.

Q. Why are international flying schools becoming increasingly popular in Canada?

A. According to a Transport Canada employee, international flying schools had been easier to operate in Canada than in the USA. This was because after 9/11, it was learned that some of the terrorists underwent pilot training in Florida. The USA subsequently increased security restrictions, making it more difficult for foreign students to obtain pilot training in the USA. This left Canada as an easier alternative for international students wishing to obtain aircraft pilot training.

Q. Wouldn't a busy airport help to increase economic activity in Oceanside?

A. There are different approaches to supporting economic activity. Some - like increased air traffic - would negatively impact the quality of life for locals. And other nearby airports were larger and better-equipped. There was just no need for a third busy commercial airport so close by.

Oceanside's strongest advantage was the peaceful, relaxed way of life. The quality of life appealed to a broad cross-section of our society, including people of all ages. It also appealed to the baby boomers who were just starting to retire. If they moved there to retire - with their substantial life savings -  then countless businesses stood to prosper. Restaurants, financial services, real estate firms, grocery stores, car dealerships, golf clubs, and landscapers, for example. Countless other quiet, clean industries would prosper alongside them.

In contrast, unpleasant industrial aircraft-related noise, we would repel these affluent baby boomers, and they would choose to live in other better-managed communities. The community would have nothing special to offer, having squandered its natural advantage.

So the choice seemed to be: Collect less than $28,000 per year in rent from noisy tenants at the airport and degrade the value of the community, or build a truly prosperous community around a small-town quality of life, and look forward to a bright future. 

Q. Wouldn't more airport commerce increase residential real estate values?

A. Real estate should always be dedicated to its "best and highest use". But that principle must be applied to the community as a whole, not just individual properties.

The best and highest use for Oceanside residential real estate was dwellings for people seeking a peaceful lifestyle. The high quality of life was Oceanside's strongest card. It had real economic value, because countless Canadians and Americans were seeking an escape from the noise and irritation of city life. This is why Oceanside could sustain property values far better with a quiet, commuter airport, than with an increasingly noisy airport that conflicted with the essential character of the community.

Q. Shouldn't Oceanside cater to the needs of young people?

A. Ongoing helicopter noise holds no special appeal for young people. Airport noise would not help young people have a good time.

Q. How can we attract tourists if we don't have a busy airport?

A. Tourists don't want noise any more than we do. If they came for anything, it was for the relaxed lifestyle, and the quiet natural surroundings.

Q. How could flying school activity be limited?

A. Undesirable use of the airport could belimited by substantially raising the landing fees for any planes not owned by airport tenants.

Q. Should the Qualicum Beach Airport be closed?

A. It seems there are no laws governing airborne aircraft noise. Once a plane is in the air, it need only obey the air traffic regulations. Otherwise, it can fly anywhere in Canada, making any amount of noise, without regard for the people below it. There are guidelines, but they cannot be enforced. 

Some people said that to solve the Oceanside aircraft noise problem, they would shut down the airport permanently. The community would still be easily accessible from the Nanaimo and Courtenay airports. And the extremely valuable Qualicum Beach Airport land could be used for profitable residential or commercial development that would generate substantial tax revenues for Qualicum Beach. 

While some people felt that closing the airport may the best option in all respects, there were several obstacles that would need to be overcome: 

1. The original Crown land grant stipulated that the airport land be used as an airport. This restriction would need to be removed, perhaps through some agreement with the provincial government.
   

2. Some Qualicum Beach residents enjoyed the convenience afforded by the airport for quick access to Vancouver. However, a one-acre helicopter port by the Lee Road boat basin could offer the same convenience with much less disturbance to the community, while occupying much less land. A company such as HeliJet could serve the travel needs of the community quite effectively.

Qualicum Beach Airport - A History of Controversy 

In this section, you can read about the controversy surrounding the certification of the Qualicum Beach Airport in the 1970s, and subsequent airport development.

INSTRUCTIONS: Click on the links below. After opening each image, you may want to enlarge it to a more readable size. If you are using Internet Explorer, you can zoom in by holding down the Ctrl key and tapping the + key. In Firefox, just click on the image.

Licensing Delayed, May 1971     Aid Sought     Neighbors' Trees Obstruct Flight Path

Trees Dynamited     Dynamite Photo     Airport Meeting

Aura of Secrecy     Bus Depot     Decision on Paving     Do Something

Material Goals      Parker: Refuse Paving     Paving Being Railroaded     Referendum Resisted

Referendum Requested     No Action Taken

Letter to MOT Part 1     Letter to MOT Part 2     Re-Examine Paving Offer     Easement Denied

Tourists Dislike Noise     Tree Cutting     Trees Chopped     Who Should Vote?

Land Use Change     Industrialization Opposed 1     Page 2

Qualicum Beach Expansion     Five Killed In Crash     White Elephant

Expansion Opposed     RDN Decision     

Crown Land Grant 1 2 3 4

2007

Qualicum Tourists Flee Aircraft Noise

Related news items:

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Petitions

Some people say that airports always grow. And growth proponents will never admit to you how noisy your life will become in 5 or 10 years as a result. But gradually and insidiously, airport and aircraft noise will invade your life. More and more airport businesses will start up and grow - honest businesses no doubt, but operating at the expense of your peace and quiet. Gradually, they will become so entrenched that there is no stopping them. By then, your opportunity to have any say in the matter will have passed forever.

Online petitions were submitted in 2007, along with several other paper-based ones, including about 500 signatures in total.

Here are some comments from the online petitions:

"We need to examine which types of flights are causing excess noise problems (i.e. flight schools, helicopters, etc.), and at the numbers of people who avail themselves of these activities, versus the numbers of residents in the area who have to listen to them. I'm willing to bet that we will find that rarely have so few been able to adversely affect the quality of life of so many. NO one moves to this area seeking a noisy environment, so why are certain people among us so eager to create one, and foist it on the rest of us? (By the way, I lived here well before runway lights, or helicopter flights, or flight schools - and the residents of the area were never consulted before so many big changes to airport operations were made)."

"Please! Keep our community peaceful."

"I have lived in Coombs for 38 years and the airplane and heli noise has gotten to a point of absolute intolerable, the planes fly over my property starting at about 7:30am and fly until 10:00pm or later. They fly at extremely low heights and are an extreme harassment. These pilots should be prosecuted for criminal harassment. They fly over our property when we have asked several times for the fly club to fly some place else, they have steadfastly refused to respect those of us who live under their flight path. They can fly some place else than over our heads, there are millions of square miles of space up there go fly over the ocean or on the other side of Mt. Arrowsmith. NOT OVER OUR HEADS! My option would see the airport closed! These are recreational planes they DO NOT HAVE to fly here at all! Meaning they can be told to fly elsewhere or not at all."

"I have lived in the Qualicum Beach area since 1970 and the airport noise has always bothered me, so much so that I moved out of Q.B. only to find that the air traffic noise is as bad out in Hilliers. The land that the airport occupies would serve the citizens of Q.B. far better if it were a light industrial area supplying jobs for our children and grandchildren. I believe this would generate far more tax dollars for the town as well."

"Close the flight school!!! How long is it before a stall goes wrong and there is a training plane in one of our yards. Commercial activity is fine as it is good for economy but enough with the flight schools..."

"action on aircraft racket long overdue"

"Unbelievable volume of air traffic over our house. We are being continually driven from the property to get away from it. It's affecting our health."

"We have been exposed for over 35 years to this ongoing indifferent abuse. This is the worst year yet- absolutely intolerable now!"

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Facts About The Air Cadets Scholarship Program

• The program ran for about 6 weeks in 2007, ending on August 16.

• Of the 35 air cadet scholarship students training in Qualicum in 2007, just one was from Oceanside. The rest came from all over BC.

• The program trains about 240 young pilots every year across Canada. This is funded entirely by the Department of National Defense (DND) with your tax dollars.

• Every year, private flight schools in each province are invited to bid for the lucrative training contracts. In each province, the contracts are awarded to the flight school that submits the lowest bid, provided that they seem able to do the job.

• Flight schools that are located close to Air Force bases have a substantial cost advantage because the students can be billeted at low cost at the Air Force Base.

• In other communities, arrangements can be made for the students to be billeted at local community colleges. This involves a somewhat higher cost.

• Only two Air Force bases are located in B.C., one in Victoria and the other in Comox. The Victoria airspace is too busy for the flight training program, so the cheapest practical place to billet the students is at the Comox base. Thus, any flight schools operating near Comox have a cost advantage over all other flight schools in B.C.

• In 2006 and 2007, the winning bidder for the air cadet scholarship program was the Courtney Flight Center, which also owns the Qualicum Flight Center. In 2006, half the students were trained in Courtney, and the other half in Qualicum. In 2007, for reasons unknown, the entire class has been bused to Qualicum each day for flight training. In both years, local residents complained about the noise.

• In the seven years prior to 2006, the winning bidder for the scholarship training program was Parallel Aviation, operating out of Campbell River. During that time, few if any noise complaints were made by Campbell River residents about the air cadet program. Perhaps the airport there is better located, or the area is more sparsely populated. Unfortunately, Parallel Aviation went out of business two years ago. Their chief instructor then started another flight school, called Discovery West, but it has so far been unsuccessful in bidding for the lucrative flight training contracts.

• The air cadet scholarship program offers an excellent way for young people to learn how to fly. But it should not be operated in the vicinity of a quiet retirement community like Qualicum Beach, and over the homes of Oceanside residents.

• To limit local aircraft noise, a bylaw should be passed to prohibit fixed wing and helicopter flight schools from operating at the Qualicum Beach airport.

Other points of interest:

• At Comox, more than 2500 Air Cadet glider plane training trips were towed each year by the Air Force’s noisy 1950s vintage planes. Local residents complained about the noise. This glider training program was conducted by the Air Force itself. In contrast, the powered plane training program was conducted by private flight schools at public airports - such as the Qualicum Beach Airport.
  

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A 37-Year Airport Neighbor Speaks Out

September 29, 2006

The Mayor and Council
Town of Qualicum Beach
Qualicum Beach, B.C.

Sirs (&Ms'):

The ongoing volume of flight training and helicopters, has made the peaceful
enjoyment of our property almost non-existent. The surrounding countryside
is vibrating constantly with the noise of aircraft of one kind or another.
While at a neighbour's place last month I happened to have a noise meter
handy at the right time and registered the noise level of the local airline
passing over their roof at an impressive 87+ decibels, and I don't think
this was the loudest one - just the one that I was able to measure. It's
difficult to be ready at the right time if you're trying to get anything
else done.

I see the latest cute trick in airport management is to put a notice in the
paper distributed on the Friday preceding the Monday when you will be
allowing Strathcona Helicopters to train pilots for Weyerhauser for a whole
week at the expense of the peace and quiet of everyone who has to live under
the abominable noise that that activity will produce. Some notice! It is
noteworthy that you have all made yourselves unavailable to protesting
callers and have left a girl in the office to take the flak. Of course, on
the weekend there is no one at all to answer complaints. Really up front,
eh? Just great! The Town has pulled this stunt twice in recent past years
and it was totally unacceptable both times before.

Weyerhauser (or whatever the current name is) has stripped enough profits
out of this province that they can afford to build their own training strip
on some of the land that the public isn't allowed on and far enough removed
that they can train chopper jockeys all year if they want and no one will be
disturbed.

In fact, all helicopter traffic at the Qualicum airport should be disallowed
with the possible exception of occasional refueling, emergency or Coastguard
landings. Helicopters don't need an airport. If you're so keen on
accommodating helicopters, put a pad in right in town. There's a vacant lot
right next to the Town Hall that would be perfect.

How much is the Town being paid to permit this current affront to affected
homeowners?

M. McFeely

Here is an letter from a 38-year resident of Combs: 

I would like to address all those folks who say that people who moved into a neighborhood next to an airport should not have any say as to the noise and traffic that exists around and near their homes. I don't live near the airport, I live 6.3 air miles from the airport. In the 38 years that I have lived here the air traffic over my property has increased 100 fold. Every day from as early as 7:00AM to as late as Midnight and later, recreational planes and helicopters fly over my house at absurd height levels. It is truly like living in a war zone. 

J. Gerberg

The above letter has been edited for brevity.

A Common Sense Vision for 
the Qualicum Beach Airport

The Qualicum Beach Airport should be devoted to commuter traffic. The airlines that serve it should be required to fly only quieter turbo-prop driven planes.

The flying school needs to be eliminated. Flying a plane is not a necessity of life like food, clothing, shelter, sanitation and such. It is just a pleasant and expensive noisy hobby, which shouldn't be imposed on the whole community for the convenience of the few who wish to take it up. 

The airport should not permit regular use by helicopters. Helicopters don't need an airport - that's what makes them so useful for the tasks they are used for. They are extremely noisy and obtrusive. Occasional use by the Coast Guard, RCMP, or emergency landing is all that should be permitted.

The development of the Qualicum Beach Airport has been paid for almost entirely by taxpayers, at a cost of more than $1.6 million. That should be enough. Now the people who use the airport should be the ones who pay to maintain it. Let them cut their own grass and maintain their own asphalt and fencing and lighting. That in itself should have a certain limiting effect on growth.

The Town has jacked up my taxes by nearly $700 from last year. This is money that I won't have to repair my fences or cut my grass or repair my aging building. 

There have been flying lessons over my roof all day today and they continue now as I try to compose this letter. The planes are about 2 minutes apart, making it extremely difficult to write anything intelligible. After enduring 37 years of aircraft noise, I'd like the quiet enjoyment of my property to become more than just a meaningless phrase.

M. McFeely, August 14, 2007

The above letter has been edited for brevity.

This web page reflects the views of Oceanside residents who want to maintain their quality of life.

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