Whack! Whack!

Residents unhappy about low-flying helicopter tours

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

A helicopter-tour operation that operated next to a busy highway intersection over the Fourth of July weekend drew the ire of numerous Whitefish residents.

In addition, Triple-X Helicopter Inc. collected fees and loaded passengers on land that is not zoned for commercial activities, city attorney John Phelps said.

In a July 6 letter to the Whitefish Pilot, the company claims it provided 160 helicopter rides on July 5 from its temporary location at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 93 and Highway 40 and another 100 rides the next day after it moved to the Whitefish City Airport near Armory Park.

The company uses a two-seater Hughes/Schweitzer 269 helicopter and a four-seater Robinson R-44 Raven 2. Ordinarily, a one-hour sightseeing tour with Triple-X would cost $130 per person on the Raven with three passengers and $290 on the Hughes/Schweitzer.

But according to flyers hung around downtown Whitefish ahead of the "grand opening" event, rides went for $30 per person. The company also offered free hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks at the U.S. 93-Highway 40 location.

Triple-X provided short tours over the city to Whitefish Lake and Big Mountain, but at least 16 people contacted the Whitefish police dispatcher about noise from helicopters. Some residents said helicopters were flying over their homes "at treetop level."

The issue was raised at the Whitefish City Council's July 7 meeting. Councilor John Muhlfeld said he received several calls about noise from the helicopters, but he wasn't alone.

"About every 15 minutes, I heard the whack-whack of helicopters," mayor Mike Jenson said. "The quality of life took a noise dive."

Flathead County commissioner Gary Hall said four people complained to him about noise. He also noted that a man told him he was unable to run his radio-controlled airplane at Smith Fields, near North Valley Hospital, because of helicopters landing and taking off at the sports field.

The company apologized in their letter to the editor to anyone who was offended by the noise.

On July 7, Phelps sent a letter to Triple-X explaining that the site at U.S. 93 and Highway 40 was zoned SAG-5 and was under the jurisdiction of the city through an interlocal agreement with the county. Any existing businesses in the area were "grandfathered" in when the zoning was implemented, he said, and no new commercial businesses are allowed at the site.

"Although 'airfields' is listed as a conditional use (under SAG-5 zoning), I do not believe it likely that you could obtain a conditional-use permit to operate a helicopter business (from that location)," Phelps said.

Jay Sandelin, the registered agent for Triple-X, responded to Phelps with a letter the next day.

"This was a one-time grand-opening event and to be quite honest, we had no idea it would be so well received by that many people," he said.

Sandelin said he had received permission from Tee Baur, who owns the site at U.S. 93 and Highway 40, under the condition that Triple-X notify the city of Whitefish, the fire department, the police, Glacier Park International Airport, the U.S. Border Patrol and adjoining property owners.

Whitefish police chief Bill Dial said nobody from Triple-X spoke to him ahead of time. Dial said he later contacted the Federal Aviation Administration regarding regulations for rotary aircraft.

According to FAA Federal Aviation Regulations section 91.121, fixed-wing aircraft must fly at least 1,000 feet above the nearest obstacle within a 2,000-foot radius when flying over any congested area of a city, town or settlement. But helicopters are exempted from that regulation "if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface."

"They never violated regulations, but they violated common sense," Dial said. "It would have been better to speak with emergency services and the city. It caused quite a commotion."

Phelps said Triple-X never contacted the city ahead of time, but in a voice message recorded on his office phone, Sandelin said he spoke with the city, county, police and sheriff's office ahead of time.

Hall said no county officials were contacted. He said Flathead County was already dealing with complaints about a helicopter company operating out of the Kalispell City Airport. Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan said his office was never contacted by Triple-X.

Triple-X, which is constructing a new airfield at its business location on Tamarack Creek Road, nine miles north of Whitefish off U.S. 93, offers flight training, support for fires and law enforcement, real estate surveys and other general services. For more information, call 862-1332 or visit online at www.triplexhelicopter.com.