# Why do helicopters circle my house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724 "2013-08-08T16:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/1 "2013-08-08T16:57:04Z")
Yesterday, the normal thumping sound of that indicates a helicopter is overhead was even louder than usual. When I looked out the window a small helicopter was hovering over my front yard. The neighbor kids were waving and, I think, the guys in the copter were waving back. Then it moved down the road a little ways and hovered for a while, then moved on. Other than how low it was yesterday, this is a fairly normal occurrence in my neighborhood (Northern Virginia.) I’ve seen three or four types, from the tiny kind yesterday to what looks like traffic or maybe police helicopters. Probably once a week or more (I’m not normally home during the day) I’ll notice the sound coming and going for a half hour or more as it seems to be making passes through the neighborhood. It is really annoying. Anybody else seen, and heard, this? I used to think it might be a traffic copter because we live near the beltway but it is definitely over our area, not just passing through. We also have a powerline nearby that they could be inspecting, but surely not every week. They can’t be looking for escaped criminals that often. Do the police look for drugs this way? The wife says call the police. I say that if they know what the helicopters are doing (looking for drugs) then they aren’t going to tell me. But who else to ask? Ah yes, the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/2 "2013-08-08T17:02:00Z")
You live near a major highway? News/traffic copter. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/3 "2013-08-08T17:03:37Z")
Been doing any unusual travelling lately? Living in a house faaaaaar beyond your means? 😉 OK, that second question was a joke: you’re in NoVa like me, where EVERYONE is living in a too-expensive house 😉 It certainly couldn’t hurt to call the police’s non-emergency number, or depending on your locale, ask your county commissioner or whatever. A year or two back, I saw some odd-looking vans parked in the median of the Parkway several days in a row, and emailed my districtsupervisor. His office did a little digging and got back to me a couple of days later. Or ask the neighbors of anyone knows anything. Do let us know if you get any unexpected visitors from serious-looking guys with dark glasses, body armor, and black jackets with large white letters on them! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/4 "2013-08-08T17:17:06Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > …The wife says call the police. I say that if they know what the helicopters are doing (looking for drugs) then they aren’t going to tell me. But who else to ask? Ah yes, the Dope. The helicopters have large numbers printed on their sides. Copy the number and contact local airports or the FAA looking for answers. Who owns the copter? Are they for lease? Who leased it on whatever date. Unless it’s a police copter, PDs wouldn’t know who the copter belonged to or what it was doing. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/5 "2013-08-08T17:21:13Z")
**Why do helicopters circle my house?** Because it smells like carrion? Oh, you said _helicopters._ Yeah, look up the numbers on the helicopter [here.](http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/afs/afs700/) ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/6 "2013-08-08T17:42:18Z")
Good tip **Sicks Ate,**. They are very low and the view is often blocked by trees. I will keep my camera ready to capture the number. > [@doorhinge](#): > > Unless it’s a police copter, PDs wouldn’t know who the copter belonged to or what it was doing. That’s what I’m thinking. But do the police have the ability to stop it? I mean, does their power extend into the sky? At the end of this I plan to complain to someone so I need to know who it is and who can do something about it. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/7 "2013-08-08T18:55:16Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > …That’s what I’m thinking. But do the police have the ability to stop it? I mean, does their power extend into the sky? At the end of this I plan to complain to someone so I need to know who it is and who can do something about it. Unless you’ve made an official complaint to the PD concerning the theft of your helicopter, landing on your roof, or stuff falling off the copter onto your property or your head, there’s not much the PD could do. The FAA contols the airspace (above 1000 ft ???) and can pull the license of any pilot it finds in violation of it’s rules and federal/state laws. It can also ground aircraft. If the copters have a legitimate reason for flying over your house, there’s probably not much you can do. Be nice and ask them to limit their flight times??? This could be a police operation, or a untility company checking it’s right-of-ways, or maybe there’s a nudist colony that you don’t know about. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/8 "2013-08-08T19:21:18Z")
I spent the better part of an afternoon last week watching a helicopter crop-dusting some fields at the top of the bluffs across the road, but it doesn’t sound like that kind of activity would explain the 'copters in your neighborhood. Could they be realty companies or property assessors taking aerial shots? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/9 "2013-08-08T19:33:40Z")
When I lived in L.A., helicopters would orbit for hours at a time. Of course, people blamed Santa Monica Airport. In reality, it was the LAPD looking for someone. Happened all the time down there. If there is a field near you, helicopters may be using it as a training area. Under FAR 91.119©, helicopters may operate below the minimum altitudes specified for fixed-wing aircraft, as long as people or property on the surface are not endangered. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/10 "2013-08-08T19:40:53Z")
The LR police helicopter trains on Fridays, and always passes over a particular neighborhood. Their is a hospital on the other side of the freeway, and the four buildings in a square at my place of employment apparently is a landmarker they use on approach. It may be something like that. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/11 "2013-08-08T19:44:48Z")
Bet they’s Revenoors, trackin’ moonshiners movin’ their product! I seen it on th’ Discovery Channel! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/12 "2013-08-08T19:47:58Z")
When I was living in the boonies, an aircraft with a strange antenna on it circled around at low level, presumably looking for folks growing dope. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/13 "2013-08-08T19:56:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > When I was living in the boonies, an aircraft with a strange antenna on it circled around at low level, presumably looking for folks growing dope. > 🙂 Could also have been Fish and Game or some university’s field biologists tracking specimens wearing radio collars. I know they do this in Florida with endangered panthers. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/14 "2013-08-08T20:01:32Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > …, or maybe there’s a nudist colony that you don’t know about. Exactly. If there is someone growing pot or running a still or playing nude vollyball in my neighborhood, I need to know. As a concerned citizen, of course. > [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Could they be realty companies or property assessors taking aerial shots? Could be. Hadn’t thought of that one. I’m making a list as it could be more than one thing since I’ve seen multiple types of helicopters. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/15 "2013-08-08T20:04:40Z")
My guess is either news choppers or support for ground crews like police. In L.A., there are both. The police are chasing or apprehending a suspect, and they call in choppers to provide backup and another angle. Very annoying at night when they are shining a big spotlight in everyone’s windows and yards. When the North Hollywood bank robbery happened, there were 6 (count 'em, six!) news helicopters, all lined up in the sky, hovering over the area for hours. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/16 "2013-08-08T20:55:08Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Exactly. If there is someone growing pot or running a still or playing nude vollyball in my neighborhood, I need to know. As a concerned citizen, of course. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/17 "2013-08-08T21:01:23Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Yesterday, the normal thumping sound of that indicates a helicopter is overhead was even louder than usual. When I looked out the window a small helicopter was hovering over my front yard. The neighbor kids were waving and, I think, the guys in the copter were waving back. Then it moved down the road a little ways and hovered for a while, then moved on. Other than how low it was yesterday, this is a fairly normal occurrence in my neighborhood (Northern Virginia.) I’ve seen three or four types, from the tiny kind yesterday to what looks like traffic or maybe police helicopters. Probably once a week or more (I’m not normally home during the day) I’ll notice the sound coming and going for a half hour or more as it seems to be making passes through the neighborhood. It is really annoying. > > Anybody else seen, and heard, this? I used to live half-way between Fort Meyer & Clarendon Metro and at least once a week they’d have choppers circling. Presumably on practice flights. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/18 "2013-08-08T21:04:57Z")
Could be worse. Where I live, every so often, helicopters circle and blare out some kind of spoken message over a big P.A. system. Usually, I can’t make out the words at all. (Once, I went outside and listened more carefully. They were giving the description of a missing child.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/19 "2013-08-08T21:13:22Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (Once, I went outside and listened more carefully. They were giving the description of a missing child.) That sounds kind of cool, but then I’ve never had loudspeakers from a helicopter blasting my house. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724/20 "2013-08-08T22:01:44Z")
Last time they did that around here they were looking for bank robbers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-helicopters-circle-my-house/665724.md?page=2)