Several years ago, the city of Wasilla built a new airport outside of
town and just over a couple of miles away from my home. From the top of
my tallest tower (160') I have a nice view of the whole airport. At the
time they built the airport I checked with the FAA and there was no
problem. Several years later I get a visit from the FAA and the FCC.
They now think my tower is in violation and will have to be reduced in
height or painted and lit with obstruction lights.
I garner a meeting with the FAA guy who has my case. I explain things
to him and we go over the information. I see a problem right away, the
point they used for the determination is not where I live. After
consulting a high resolution photomap, I see their point is on the next
road over, about 1/4 mile away. Fortunately, I have a letter giving a
set of coordinates for the big tower as determined by a licensed
surveryor as part of a property survey. Furthermore, I have a set of
coordinates (different datum) from a high-end GPS that averaged 999
readings. On the photomap I can see my house and the clearing for the
towers. The coordinates I provided fall right on the same spot. On
this basis the FAA guy uses the new coordinates and recalculates the
figures. Bingo, my tower is OK. A few days later I receive paperwork to
that effect and the FAA guy even called the FCC to let them know case
closed.
If you're putting in a new tower and have to file with the FAA, make
absolutely sure you have the exact location. The program he used got
the elevation from a topo database, so the horizontal accuracy affects
the vertical accuracy, too. If a new airport is going in nearby, or
there is a significant change (added runway, longer runway, heavier
aircraft, etc.) to a nearby airport, find out as soon as possible if it
will affect you. It could save a lot of grief later on.
Dan KL7Y
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