Midnite Choppers
My name is Warren and I live on N Suwanee Ave right behind Hillsborough High. My wife and I have been here since April. I tried to find an answer to this question on the SH blog, but was unable to, hence the email.
I was wondering if anyone can give me any insight into what all of the helicopter activity is at midnight and 1 a.m. all these nights. I used to live in Wellswood and would occasionally hear them, but it seems to be more frequent and significantly louder on this side of the river. A friend said he thought it was the Coast Guard running night time training maneuvers, but I haven't been able to find any info to confirm that. Anyway, I am frequently woken up by the noise, which ranges from to 76-80 dB-A in my home. (Yes I'm a geek and I've measured it).
Is anyone else bothered by this or am I just a whiny pansy?
Thanks for any insight you can offer.
32 comments:
Hi Warren,
Welcome to the "hood"...for the most part the late night helicopter rides are cops looking for someone who just stole a car, broke into a house, or basically up to no good...
Ah got to love thise ghetto birds!
Often it is the police looking for someone. In my corner of the 'hood it is in Sulpher Springs and drizzles in the our 'hood. But, it could be anyone. Since we lived sandwiched between Florida Avenue, Nebrfaska, I-275 and Hillsborough, we get a lot of the "running from the law" people going through. Ergo the copters.
No, you are not the only one bothered by it. We hate it, but short of eliminating all our major roads, we're stuck.
Yep, your a whiny pansy!
Last night it was the drive by shooting where the young boy got shot near giddens park.
i can't find anything about a drive-by shooting - any news links, etc? thanks
I'm on Hanna and the 'copter' came pretty low last night. It was a very long helicopter. There were no police markings. I thought it was covered in camoflague.
I'd like to know why it kept circling.
Is there nothing to be done about the helicopters?
I've lived in South St. Pete and Washington DC, and never experienced the frequency or neverending helecopter presence in my life. Do the Tampa police simply sit in the sky, waiting for something to happen? Do they search for suspects entirely by air, hoping the person stands in the open waving his arms asking to be apprehended? Is there no other way?
Or is the Tampa crime rate THAT much higher than Washington DC and South St. Pete?
I'm just asking...
It WAS black. The only thing that kept them from finding me was my trusty foil helmet.
NEWS FLASH: You live in a city. There is crime. There are police. They use helicopters. There is a major interstate that runs through out neighborhood. Ybor City is just 5 minutes to the south of us. There is crime in EVERY city. There are no helicopters in DC because it is a "no-fly" zone. There are no helicopters in South St. Pete because no-one cares about South St. Pete. That's why St. Pete continues to have such serious problems with South St. Pete. YOU SHOULD BE GLAD THAT TPD USES THEIR RESOURCES TO DETER AND CATCH CRIMINAL. Stop your WHINING!!!! WHINE, WHINE, WHINE. This is a great place to live and there are a million reasons why it is a great place to live. Stop living a miserable life and focus on the good things!!!!
NEWS FLASH: You live in a city. There is crime. There are police. They use helicopters. There is a major interstate that runs through out neighborhood. Ybor City is just 5 minutes to the south of us. There is crime in EVERY city. There are no helicopters in DC because it is a "no-fly" zone. There are no helicopters in South St. Pete because no-one cares about South St. Pete. That's why St. Pete continues to have such serious problems with South St. Pete. YOU SHOULD BE GLAD THAT TPD USES THEIR RESOURCES TO DETER AND CATCH CRIMINAL. Stop your WHINING!!!! WHINE, WHINE, WHINE. This is a great place to live and there are a million reasons why it is a great place to live. Stop living a miserable life and focus on the good things!!!!
The helicopter last night which circled around from 11:45 to 12:30 did not have a spot light. I watched it for about 5 or 6 roatations above my house and never saw a spot light. I find it odd that it would be a police helicopter without a spot light. It doesn't seem like visibility would be all that great without a light. Maybe it's a drug operation mission and they are looking for grow houses.
the helicopter last night wasn't a police helicopter - I wathced/heard it as well. I assume the majority of helicopters we see/hear at night are much more mundane then police chases and other sexy excitement of bad guys and drugs stings....USGS, DOT, Coast Gaurd - all of that sounds reasonable to me.
does IFLY have any insight into this?
No more than the next guy, that time of night, given the amount of loitering in the area, I would imagine it's law enforcement, or news, or a combination of both, the last time I heard this much activity was when they found that car over in the River near Henry and Ola Park a few months back. MedEvac usually is in and out, and some sort of special ops, even training, most likely wouldn't be hanging around for so long over a populated area. Infrared sensing for drug houses is certainly another possibility. One other guess, that I don't know if they even do here, might be airborne spraying for mosquitoes. The folks I work with got out of the chopper business so the only thing I can say for sure is that it wasn't us :-)
TPD has two olive drab former military helicopters.
From the TPD website:
"The Tampa Police Department Aviation Unit provides Aerial support and protection to Police Officers and the citizens of the City of Tampa on a 24-hour basis. The unit routinely flies 12- 16.5 hours per 24-hour period. The unit’s aircrew’s work 11.5 hour shifts with a two-crew overlap during peak hours.
The unit is nationally recognized as a trendsetter in gaining and applying new technology. The unit currently utilizes the Aerial Films Gyrocamâ systems, including; 2 Day/ Night Vision cameras, one Triple Sensor Day/ Night/ InfraRed Camera, and a Broadcast quality Day camera. All of these systems are capable of real time downlinking to all of the District Stations, a mobile Command Post and a Mobile Response Vehicle. This technology allows the Unit to be effective at all times of the day and night."
"The Unit currently operates three Bell 407 helicopters. Each of these helicopters can seat 6 passengers plus the pilot, and has a flight time capability of approximately 3.5 hours. The unit also operates two military surplus OH-6 helicopters. These Vietnam era helicopters were received by the department in 1994, and are an economic value to the citizens of Tampa. They are normally operated with just a pilot and an observer and can stay on patrol for approximately two hours.
The Unit also operates two Fixed Wing aircraft. A Cessna 172 is used primarily for surveillance, due to its low noise signature, and long loiter times. Also, the Unit operates a multi-engine 8 seat Piper Navajo. This Multi Engine aircraft is primarily used for transportation and off shore surveillance. This airplane was acquired through the federal government as a drug seizure, at a significant savings to the citizens of Tampa. "
Don't forget the various TV choppers who sit over the interstate in the early morning hours.
TGH has three AeroMed copters, and St. Joseph has 3 BayFlite copters. 1 copter is based at each hospital and flies locally to pick up patients. The remaining two for each hospital are based at outlying locations and come to Tampa to being patients.
Coast Guard flies to both hospitals to bring patients.
With Macdill AFB being a Special Operations Command it would not surprise me that some training session are run out of there, although I would think Hulburt Field up by Eglin AFB would be the real training area.
When I hear the choppers, I think "aaah yes, another bad guy going down!"
What you are seeing is APPLIED RACISM in action pure and simple. Their are elements in the Tampa City Government (the cops) who look at people of color as being natural born predators and at caucasian-americans as being poor little innocent victims. Whenever the facial recognition computers (actually the COLOR recognition computers) that were secretly set up by Jeb Bush and Crist spot someone a little to dark coming into the neighborhood they send up the helicopters to harass them and to heard them back out again. A friend of mine told me that three years ago she was chased down Nebraska Avenue for almost five blocks by a helicopter filled with racists. ANd she wasnt even a whor! If you think Im kidding just go near the projects and see the helicopters circling around their almost every night. The only difference is that they are trying to keep people IN the projects instead of trying to keep them out of Seminal Heights. The more things change the more they stay the same. Anyways, The only people who come out ahead on this are the homosexuals who have Crist in there pocket and have paid him off to keep things safe and white in "there" neighborhood so that when it comes time for them to sell out and move to San Francisco they will make a big profit and leave everybody else holding the bag. This kind of BS didnt happen when Benny Holder was in charge because HE had respect for ALL americans, IRREGARDLESS of there color.
I don't think they are using the spotlight now if it is the police. I though I had read they use infrared so that they can see the heat omitted form the body of the suspect - there are way too many trees for a good sightline.
Yes, we gays now have the politicians right where we want them. We figured it was the only way to make a fortune on our S.H. homes before the pilgrimmage to our holy land (you guessed it right, San Francisco!). Just get Benny back again after we are gone and you can do like Burger King & have it your way! I don't know who let you in on our plan, darn it, we thought it was a secret.
Benny Holder was an incompetent boob - that was why our crime rate was up then.
Anon 12:22
You post was almost too stupid for me to even respond to. I think you show your ignorance with everything you say.....especially the part about the gays having Crist (A major conservative Republican) in their pocket.
Take you tinfoil hat off - the helicopters can still see you.
anon 12:22
Wow! I am amazed. I laughed hard when I read what you wrote. You are one way out dude. Then I realized just how sad it was How you could ever get all that from what has been posted here, I will never know.
A criminal, is a criminal, regardless of their color. (oh yeah there is no such word as irregardless!) Doesn't matter if black or white. And by the way Benny was as big a criminal as those he put in jail. He just dressed better and had more cronies to hide his deeds.
OK - I'll quit whining. TPD is in love with their helicopter technology, and since they are in the air so much, why not hover over Seminole Heights? If they stay long enough, something's bound to happen!!
Maybe tonight I'll go outside and wave at them. If you can't beat em, join em!
BTW- not to beat a dead horse, but I did have a helicopter in my DC neighborhood, once. Someone fired shots in the park across the street from my apartment in Mt. Pleasant, and when I called 911, a helicopter showed up. Maybe it's a no fly zone now, but back before 9/11 it sure wasn't. Maybe TPD needs helicopters more frequently than DC police do...
Or maybe the info posted about how Tampa uses helicopters explains it. Thanks to whoever posted the information about helicopters from the TPD site. It makes sense.
Anon 12:22!!!
Please, please, please post here MORE OFTEN.
I love your sense of humor. :-)
the chopper last night was the police. I live at suwanee and idlewild. I was out in front of my house with a neighbor when a tampa cop pulls up asking if we've seen a back juvenile wearing a red shirt. The cop also said that he had a BB gun. they got his friend, but he slipped away from the cops 3 times. I dont know why they had to have the chopper out for a kid with a BB gun. Maybe they robbed someone using the gun. I didnt ask.
Surprise...a black youth. Who'd a thunk it???
This is a great neighborhood to live in. I've lived here off and on for over 50 years. Our home has been in the family since 1954 and I wouldn't live anywhere else. I spent 17 years in the flight path of the airport, I'd fall asleep counting the planes. These choppers are nothing compared to that. If you hear 'em, they're doing job and I feel safer. You'll get use to it, I did.
LOLlolol OMGOSH!
Someone else asked the question for the weekend.What ABOUT those copters.
I reside off Hanna Ave.W. and last evening the chopper was very low and continual
I used to be thrilled by the stuff and excited enough to think the same as some of the posters.yep another one bites the dust.
Yah. But its usually chopper for alot of different things too.
While realizing this is not that secure and we have our own special kind of crime, I for one feel pretty dam safe here where I am.
Thanks TPD AND my neighbors in the HOOD.
Well Flyer, according to your description, The SESH is full of whiners. I thought that meant you felt you were different. I now know it means your right at home. Never heard more whining than your last posts!
Ten years from now you will still be a cranky uninvolved mouthy resident with nothing to contribute but depressing commentary and the rest of us will be enjoying the fruits of our labors as we do now.
Oh yeah, as to the trio you say will move. Perhaps they will. Does that mean something? People move in and out of every neighborhood. I rather doubt they will "sell out". Unlike you, they at least "bought in". All three of these people have done more for their neighbors that you ever will.
......."it is getting brown but it has never been black"....And you accuse the rest of us of being racist?
Poster 11:35
Could you be any more rude?
I stated we have our own special crimes here..i .e. theft and burglery.What is your problem?
You sound so bitter. I do not own a home here .I rent.So what I can appreciaite what I have surrounding me.
My roomate is as nasty as you are ,perhaps you two can hook up !
Take her please.....and you two can live off egypt lake and be whiners and complainers of the "have nots" together
If you cannot have part of something you complain......
You make the world a less wonderful place.
All anyone wants is a safe neighborhood the last time I checked its a pretty common thing...
Maybe you need to leave Tampa.
Think about it.
Flyer Anon: Mike F. isn't going ANYWHERE!!! Cashing out wouldn't do a thing for me financially as I would have to replace what I have now. I only paid $63,000 for this place and only pay about $600 per year in taxes. Don't you know that I couldn't even downsize!!! You're stuck with me for a long, long time. Sorry!!
Flyer Anon, if I interpreted your question correctly, I would say that there's a chance that something like a news helicopter might have some loitering locations so they are airborne and quick to respond, I would imagine however that if the TPD is burning fuel they are going to be either involved in an active pursuit, or patrolling, or some sort of operational mission, not just hanging out waiting. If you meant certain areas for geographical reference reference I'd say that once you've done it for a while, from lower altitudes its usually even easier than driving to figure out what is where and your relation to it. Additionally, much if not all of Seminole Heights is in the surface ring of Tampa International airspace and depending on the approaches being used is right under airliners coming in at 2-3000 feet so controllers don't really like aircraft loitering over us without good reason.
The unusual number of sirens was due to the rail accident not so far from here.
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