Helicopters

[TheTravellers]

For those that live in the NW 10rd - NW 50th, I-44 - I-235 area, does the helicopter traffic all day (from 6 AM to midnight or later) bother you? It seems like it's gone nuts in the past few months - I work from home some days and there are literally a dozen flights over/extremely near our house at NW 36th/May some days (one Sat night, there were 6 of them in 4 hours), sometimes so low it almost rattles the windows. I feel sorry for the folks that live by the Fairgrounds because some news chopper seems to be hovering over the I-44/I-40 interchange every few weeks early in the morning.

What is the deal with all of it? How many choppers do the police have (I assume most, if not all, of the nighttime traffic is theirs)? Is there that much crime that needs them? Do all the TV stations have them? How many of them are medevac flights? Just curious, because it's not just regular outside noise that can be blocked out by louder music or TV volume, and it seems like it's gotten worse recently (used to be we heard a few flights every day or two when we moved here, but 8 years later, it's almost every couple of hours some days).

[eeyore]

I'm at NW 57th and May and when they have a low ceiling my windows definitely rattle. Usually when I look, they are air-ambulance types.

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

I hear one now in midtown

Maybe uber helicopter is testing the market for uber eats delivery via copter ��

[aDark]

I live in the neighborhood north of OU Medical Center. The AirEvac choppers fly over so regularly that I hardly notice them anymore. When guests are over they are frequently shocked when one buzzes by. "This is what I imagine it sounded like in Vietnam!" - my dad.

[TheTravellers]

I'm at NW 57th and May and when they have a low ceiling my windows definitely rattle. Usually when I look, they are air-ambulance types.

So how do you tell what kind it is? I think News9 has a red one, guessing the medical ones are red too, police are black, ...?

[LakeEffect]

So how do you tell what kind it is? I think News9 has a red one, guessing the medical ones are red too, police are black, ...?

KOCO's is blue and yellow. KFOR is white w/ blue lettering. News9 is red and black. OKCPD is black and grey. Many medical are combinations of blue, white, and red. A couple are red and black.

Use a flight tracker to see what's above. A really good one for seeing all data (including many military flights) is here: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/

[TheTravellers]

KOCO's is blue and yellow. KFOR is white w/ blue lettering. News9 is red and black. OKCPD is black and grey. Many medical are combinations of blue, white, and red. A couple are red and black.

Use a flight tracker to see what's above. A really good one for seeing all data (including many military flights) is here: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/

Ah, GTK, thx, didn't figure the police flights (which I think most of the ones over me are) would be tracked since they're probably fairly random flight paths, but I guess all of them do have to be tracked...

[gjl]

No annoying ads. https://www.flightradar24.com/35.47,-97.64/10

[Rover]

"This is what I imagine it sounded like in Vietnam!"

Uhh.... NO

[Brett]

I live in the geographic sector described. I do not have an issue with helicopters that happen to shake my house because I know that they are on a mission and it is their job. I used to work with a former OKCPD helicopter pilot and he said that they will perform two aerial patrols at night with one being somewhere before 2:00am and a second one after 2:00am.

What annoys me are the muscle cars and crotch rocket motorcycles that all have loud aftermarket exhausts and the idiots who own them who speed up and down NW Expressway and also on I-44 or constantly rev their engines. i believe that it comes from a need for attention even though we all know that they are insecure men (and maybe women). Law enforcement make no effort to set up speed traps at night to catch them.

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

This, hear it downtown most nights and very annoying
What annoys me are the muscle cars and crotch rocket motorcycles that all have loud aftermarket exhausts and the idiots who own them who speed up and down NW Expressway and also on I-44 or constantly rev their engines.

[Bunty]

No annoying ads. https://www.flightradar24.com/35.47,-97.64/10

Another one is available at: https://stillwaterweather.com/flightradar.php#Live

[TheTravellers]

Thanks for the flight trackers, I'll try them out and see which works best on my phone.

[TheTravellers]

No annoying ads. https://www.flightradar24.com/35.47,-97.64/10

Using their app on my phone has worked well so far, thanks.

[VeggieMeat]

No annoying ads. https://www.flightradar24.com/35.47,-97.64/10

Flightradar24 will have quite a bit of traffic filtered based on the FAA LADD program and other parameters.

[TheTravellers]

Flightradar24 will have quite a bit of traffic filtered based on the FAA LADD program and other parameters.

Every time I hear a chopper, I go to the app and it always has it, so it has what *I* need. I had no idea there were so many medevac flights, though, sooooo many of them fly almost right over our house, guess our proximity (we're in Venice) to OU Med on Lincoln is the reason.

[gjl]

Flightradar24 will have quite a bit of traffic filtered based on the FAA LADD program and other parameters.

Quite a bit? I have not experienced that when I use it. The tracking should still be there just not the identifying information. And if LADD is being used I would think that would effect all tracking apps. I'll still use it to avoid the annoying ads I saw when I tried the other one suggested in this thread.

[VeggieMeat]

Quite a bit? I have not experienced that when I use it. The tracking should still be there just not the identifying information. And if LADD is being used I would think that would effect all tracking apps. I'll still use it to avoid the annoying ads I saw when I tried the other one suggested in this thread.

I live where quite a few area flight schools send their students to do maneuvers. I'm lucky if half of them show up on FR24, but they all show on ADSB Exchange. And most medevac flights originating between I-44 and SH 3 enter the OKC area within earshot of my house; about 20% at this point won't be on FR24.

I totally understand it, too. I've long argued against mandating open ADS-B broadcasting until Congress fixes the FAA's privacy problem. As the feeds became more accessible, more people became empowered to sit in their underwear munching cheetos and beer and filing complaints of aircraft buzzing their house when they hear an engine and open the app(s). Or if training stall, spin, or unusual attitude recovery, the flight school gets a complaint that their plane was flying recklessly.

But yeah, I just wanted to offer up a source that would have potentially more information. I'm still a premium FR24 user; their filtering makes it much easier to track for business purposes for those that leave everything open. But I still have to go over to ADSB Exchange for the ones who like to hide a bit.

[OkiePoke]

I saw a military helicopter flying over May/Penn and 164th around 2:30 yesterday. It was quite low, maybe only 500 ft. Heading north. I thought that was kind of strange.

Then around 3:15, there was a red/black helicopter (not medical, maybe news but no logo) maneuvering fairly aggressively and low at Santa Fe and 150th.

I wasn't able to get on flightradar, so never figured out what was going on.