Full Impact of heliport proposal being realised by the Mission Beach community

9/1/2021

Mission Beach community is only just becoming aware of how much a heliport proposed for 2224 Tully Mission Beach Road will impact on their quiet peaceful lifestyle.

The DA proponent owns Melbourne based Kestrel Aviation, described on their website as a "Leading provider of specialist aviation services to corporate and government organisations Australia-wide and overseas".
Read the Development Application here.

Sikorsky-Erickson Air Crane - 'Incredible Hulk' - Start up & Take Off

The type of helicopters proposed to operate and be stored at the site can be seen on Kestrel's website here. One of the fleet is a S64-E Aircrane (pictured above in a video showing the start up and take off) .

Residents of Mission and Wongaling and anyone enjoying our beautiful beaches will be impacted. The proposed location is directly adjacent to a primary cassowary corridor and close to the walking/bike track along Tully Mission Beach Road.

Below shows the noise and dust generated from a Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk taking off.
There are many videos on the Kestrel facebook page demonstrating the noise factor of these large aircraft.

Neither the Development Application nor the CCRC Planners report contain studies of the noise impact on the environment.
For your interest many discussion papers can be found on line of the impacts of helicopters on communities/environment. The following are extracts are from 'Helicopter Impact Discussion Paper' AmorosoCastelluccio Maritano '

"...The current international regulatory framework on heliport facilities seems to be lacking with regards to the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the heliport facilities. Moreover, the national rules on this topic are often undefined or vague. For this reason, it seems necessary to define guidelines to improve the awareness of the consequences which spontaneously arise from the planning and designing phase of heliports. Already from the site selection stage, heliport planners have to take into account all potential environmental issues. Noise is always the primary concern in these cases..."

Read full discussion paper here

"...helicopters sound noisier, because the “blade slap” produced by these machines involves low frequencies sounds that determine the diffusion of vibratory systems that affect greatly the perception and the annoyance..."

In order to control the environmental impact of a heliport all involved actors (the State, the local authorities, the local resident associations, the heliport users and the heliport managers) should adopt measures that aim to reduce the environmental pollution and its associated annoyance, especially noise and gas pollution, due to the helicopter activity in order to preserve the health and peacefulness of the local residents.

Conclusions
"...Rotorcrafts have unique flight capabilities, such as hover and lateral or vertical operations. But these additional operational degrees of freedom are balanced by complex source noise mechanisms that can enhance annoyance..."

3 Comments

Warren Giffin

12/1/2021 08:42:58 am

Could someone please tell me what specifically this company plans to do, virtually stuck in the middle of nowhere at Mission Beach?
I cannot see that they could remain viable as a training facility? Are they intending commence passenger carriage to fly streams of Chinese tourists back and forward from Cairns?
What are they really up to? We all know the noise when one helicopter flies over our coastline, let alone a constant stream. Mission Beach ONLY has the peace and serenity of nature to offer, which is very unique and becoming a rarity in this world. This proposal looks like it would destroy the two of the key things we have, which attract people here. We are nothing without nature and as the custodians of Mission Beach, we have a moral obligation to protect and preserve the area for all to enjoy, for many generations to come!!!!! The lack of regard for the pristine nature of Mission Beach is telling and whatever their plans, I smell a rat.
Please tell me if I am barking up the wrong tree?

Julie Linden

13/1/2021 11:15:41 am

Good comment Warren. What is it that the COUNCIL are not telling us???
Why have Councillors been instructed not to make comment on this issue??
If the Council believes it's report is valid and genuine why can an independent, ratepayer appointed study also be conducted BEFORE any further development. If they believe they are right, then what do they have to fear??
2 of the FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY being ignored here are-
1.Protection from abuse of power
2. Majority rule - the elected act in the interests of the majority who elected them
NO COMMERCIAL AVIATION HUB HERE AT MISSION.
Go make your profit somewhere else. Leave us and the cassowaries alone Mr Cronin, at your home high on the hill at Lugger Bay - GO AWAY!

Liz Gallie

15/1/2021 01:35:23 pm

The Planners report is seriously lacking any clarity. It makes claims about low impact and benefits for the community without any supporting material.
The community expects the council to make decisions in their best interests. For Mission Beach that is the quiet peaceful village atmosphere, the exceptional natural environment and the cassowary. The community has reinforced this message over decades of planning.
If the planning scheme as it is structured now cannot protect the the 'jewell in the crown' of the Cassowary Coast then the Planning Scheme definitely needs to be strengthened. As iit is the community has no security for the future. Any Mawhinney, Cronon or Bond can come to town with a grand idea and the council will embrace them with plans designed behind closed doors (commercial in confidence) placing community input last.

Full Impact of heliport proposal being realised by the Mission Beach community

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