[TowerTalk] Tower planning

[Stan or Patricia Griffiths]

Hi Guys,

It sure seems to me like there is a huge amount of
misinformation floating around about towers and airports.
Everytime I review the rules (Part 17), I always come up
with the same results:

1.  Towers higher than 200 feet have to be registered with
the FCC and the FAA must be notified.

2.  Towers less than 200 feet but near airports must also
register with the FCC if they fall into one of  the
following categories:

A.  The slope is 100:1 for airports with at least one runway
longer than 3200 feet for a horizontal distance of 20,000
feet .

B.  The slope is 50:1 for airports with the longest runway
shorter than 3200 feet for a horizontal distance of 10,000
feet.

C.  The slope is 25:1 for a horizontal distance of 5000 feet
from a heliport.

3.  Some of the towers in A,B, and C above may be exempt
from FAA notification (FCC Part 17.14) if they are shielded
by "substantial topographical features".  Even these towers
must be registered with the FCC and an explanation given to
the FCC if the owner feels they are exempt from FAA
notification.

4.  Nowhere in Part 17 of the FCC Rules can I find ANYTHING
about "pie shaped areas from the end of the runway" or
anything about towers that are located off the sides of
runways being exempted from the slope rules.  It looks to me
like the slopes extend out from all parts of the runway and
in all directions from it.

I have two personal friends who have tall towers near an
airport who are in serious denial about being required to
register, notify, or comply with these rules.  Personally, I
think they are clearly in violation and are walking on thin
ice.  They quote things like "not being in the landing
pattern" and having "tall trees in the area" as reasons they
can ignore the rules.  I can't find these exemptions for FCC
registration anywhere in the rules.  The tall trees may get
one of my friends past the FAA registration requirement, but
the way I read the rules, he still has to register with the
FCC, with an explantaion of why he feels he is exempt from
FAA notification, and let the FCC decide if he must notify
the FAA or not.

The fines for violation of these rules run as high as
$10,000 . . .

I would really love for someone to point to the exact part
of the FCC rules that allows my friends to enjoy their
"exemptions".

Stan  w7ni@teleport.com

You can read these rules for yourself at
<http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/rules.html>  Please read them before
you try to poke holes in what I have said above.


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