[TowerTalk] Tower restrictions near airports
Tom Frenaye
frenaye@pcnet.com
Tue, 25 Jan 2000 18:57:23 -0500
Thought this might be useful to forward:
>From: "Hennessee, John, N1KB" <jhennessee@arrl.org>
>To: (deleted)
>Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 16:41:28 -0500
>
>In November of 1995, the FCC adopted rules requiring tower owners to
>register with the FCC each antenna structure for which Federal Aviation
>Administration (FAA) notification is required. Generally, this includes all
>structures more than 200 feet above ground or certain towers located near or
>on a public use airport. The FCC has long required registration and FAA
>notification, but they now have specific rules that appear in Part 17 of FCC
>rules. FCC may assess stiff fines to tower owners who do not comply and the
>fines, which can range up to $10,000, appear in Section 1.80 of FCC rules.
>If required, all tower owners, including amateurs, must register their
>towers with the FCC and they are required to do so immediately. Part 17
>mandates marking and lighting of non-exempt antenna structures to help
>protect the safety of air navigation. A copy of Part 17 is available from
>ARRL for an SASE with two units of postage or from the FCC Web page at
><http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/rules.html> http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/rules.html .
>
>Fortunately, the vast majority of amateurs are exempt from the federal tower
>registration process, but amateurs must still abide by local government
>zoning ordinance. Local government regulations will be addressed later is
>this chapter.
>
>Most antenna structures that are higher than 200 feet above ground level or
>that may interfere with the flight path of a nearby airport must be cleared
>by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and registered with the FCC.
>Unless specifically exempted, FAA notification and FCC registration are
>required:
>
>1. For any construction or alteration of more than 200 feet in height
>above groundlevel at its site.
>2. When requested by the FAA if it is determined that the antenna
>structure might exceed an obstruction standard of the FAA.
>3. For any construction or alteration of greater height than an
>imaginary surface extending outward and upward at one of the following
>slopes which represent the ratio of distance from the longest runway to the
>feet in height an antenna may be:
>
>* 100 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 feet from the nearest
>point of the nearest runway of each Specified Airport with at least one
>runway longer than 3,200 feet in actual length. If the runway is longer than
>1 km (3280 feet) and the airport is within 6.1 km (3.79 miles) of your
>proposed installation, your antenna may be no higher than 1 meter (3.28
>feet) above the airport elevation for every 100 meters (328 feet) from the
>nearest runway. This is a slope of 100 to 1.
>
>* 50 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 10,000 feet from the nearest
>point of the nearest runway of each Specified Airport with its longest
>runway shorter than 3,280 feet (6.1 km or 3.79 miles) in actual length. If
>the runway is shorter than 1 km (3280 feet) and the airport is within 6.1 km
>(3.79 miles) of your proposed installation, your antenna may be no higher
>than 2 meters (6.56 feet) above the airport elevation for every 100 meters
>(328 feet) from the nearest runway. This is a slope of 50 to 1.
>
>* 25 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet from the nearest
>point of the nearest landing and takeoff area of each heliport at a
>Specified Airport. If the installation is within 1.5 km (4920 feet) of a
>helipad, your antenna may be no higher than 4 meters (13.1 feet) above the
>airport elevation for every 100 meters (328 feet) from the nearest landing
>pad. That's a slope of 25 to 1.
>
>"Specified Airports"
>
>A Specified Airport refers to:
>
>* A public use airport listed in the Airport Directory of the current
>Aeronautical Information Manual or in either the Alaska or Pacific Airman's
>Guide and Chart Supplement;
>
>* An airport under construction, that is the subject of a notice or
>proposal on file with the FAA, and except for military airports, it is
>clearly indicated that the airport will be available for public use; or
>
>* An airport that is operated by an armed force of the United States.
>
>Which Towers are Exempt?
>
>The following types of antenna structures are specifically exempted from the
>FAA notification requirements and FCC registration requirements by Section
>17.14 of FCC rules:
>
>1) Any antenna structure that would be shielded by existing structures of a
>permanent and substantial character or by natural terrain or topographic
>features of equal or greater height, and would be located in the congested
>area of a city, town or settlement where it is evident beyond all reasonable
>doubt that the structure so shielded will not adversely affect safety in air
>navigation.
>
>2) Any antenna structure of 20 feet or less in height (except one that would
>increase the height of another antenna structure.)
>
>3) An antenna which is not near an airport and is less that 200 feet tall
>
>If you are still unsure if your tower needs to be registered, you may call
>the FCC at 1-888 CALL FCC, contact them by e-mail at mayday@fcc.gov or you
>may use on line TOWAIR software which is available on the FCC's Web site at:
><http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna/towair.html>
>http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna/towair.html .
>
>If your antenna which is near an airport or over 200 feet tall, check this
>FCC Web site for additional information: <http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna>
><http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna> http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/antenna . Owners of
>antenna structures required to be registered pursuant to Section 17.4 of the
>Commission's rules must first file FAA Form 7460-1 and obtain a final
>determination of "no hazard" for the structure. The FAA form is available
>from the Web at: <http://www.faa.gov/arp/ace/faaforms.htm>
>http://www.faa.gov/arp/ace/faaforms.htm . Second, tower owners must file FCC
>Form 854 with the Commission either manually or electronically to register
>the antenna structure. The FCC form is available from:
><http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html> http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html .
>
>Provided that the owner should register the antenna structure immediately,
>according to the FCC, there is no cause for concern if an amateur misses the
>filing window deadline. The reason for this process is to provide a measure
>of safety in air navigation against tall structures which could cause an
>accident.
>
>If an amateur who has reason to believe that the owner of a tall tower over
>200 feet or near an airport is not carrying out his or her antenna structure
>registration responsibilities is required to (1) notify the owner; (2)
>notify the site management company (if applicable); and (3) notify the FCC.
>The FCC will provide additional instructions to the tower owner based on the
>specifics of the case.
>
>If the tower owner is unable to fulfill the Part 17 requirements for
>painting and lighting due to negligence, bankruptcy or whatever, the tenants
>(amateurs, in this case) may be required to carry out these duties if
>specifically asked by the FCC. Amateurs who rent or are given space on tall
>towers should have a signed legal document addressing maintenance concerns
>as well as tower access. An ARRL Volunteer Counsel member can help with
>this. See the ARRL Web page for a list of ARRL Volunteer Counsel members,
>that is, hams who are also lawyers. See:
><http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/local/vci.html>
>http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/local/vci.html and
>http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/local/vc.html
><http://www.arrl.org/field/regulations/local/vc.html> .
>
>73.
>
>John C. Hennessee, N1KB
>Regulatory Information Specialist
>ARRL--the national society for Amateur Radio
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: (deleted)
>Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 11:33 AM
>To: reginfo@arrl.org
>Subject: Tower restrictions near airports
>
>Hi John:
>I plan to buy land soon and install a tower at 100 or 125 feet.
>The local Code Enforcement Officer said that the local ordinances did not
>state any prohibition on radio amateur tower height; but, he said that the
>local municipal airport was about 3 miles from the land I want to put the
>tower on...and that he thinks that the hill I will be putting the tower on
>is in the direct flight path.
>Where are the FCC rules on this??
>Can you send me a copy of the pertinent FCC rules?
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e-mail: k1ki@arrl.org ARRL New England Division
Director http://www.arrl.org/
Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box 386, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444
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