Yesterday I heard a helicopter over midtown Toronto and assumed it must be covering something important that early in the morning (9 - 10 am).   The thing is loud enough to wake the dead and only 2 weeks ago it was on the scene at Mt. Pleasant / Davisville for a fatal tragic accident involving a pedestrian in a mobility device and a dump truck.  

This time it was covering a story to do with how a condo at Yonge / Balmoral applied to block lanes on Yonge plus bike lanes and sidewalks for 3 years for their staging area (read parking lot) and worked with the councillor to avoid it.    It's also replacing a 30 year-old medical building but that's for another day.    

Well, I tuned in and there it was, the wrong intersection and area and a stupid story about the condo!  Hardly a big deal.  They couldn't even get their directions right and would have been better served using a drone.  The real problem is the noise level.   These 'casual' one-off loud noises add up and are a big annoyance.   It must be really bad for shift workers.   At least the city is currently dealing with new noise laws coming down the pipe, maybe one for news choppers will be on it.

I wonder why they are wasting their money on this chopper anyway?  The police use drones, and news choppers seem to be just a gimmick for news coverage and for traffic conditions that rarely differ day-to-day.  

BTW, a few months ago a news chopper had mechanical problems and had to set down in nearby David Balfour park.   It was there for 2 days.   

I'm just glad the cops don't have one too.   Imagine the noise then.   I hear it's really bad in LA where they have a couple of them.
 

Last edited by SpinningWheel (December 14, 2023 2:02 pm)