Military helicopters are causing quite a racket in Arlington and it's gotten so bad that some residents are lobbying for new height restrictions.

Continue reading

For 10 years, that sound has been the bane of Ed Hilz's existence.

Hilz shared, "It's just irritating to the point that you sometimes can't carry on a conversation with someone that you're talking to."

But he's hoping a forum on Wednesday night will bring relief.

Arlington Board Member Mary Hynes told us, "We're having a helicopter forum here in Arlington at the Arlington County Board Room to restart the conversation and see if we can move this along."

Military helicopters are supposed to stick to designated paths like the Potomac River and major highways like I-395. But occasionally they will fly lower than they're supposed to and they will also diverge from those designated routes.

Steve Geiger, an Arlington resident, said, "Once a month is not a big deal. If someone does it every day, I'm gonna get pretty angry about that."

National and Homeland Security Choppers are not required to use flight paths. Even so, the military worked with the county in 2007 to minimize complaints but more recently, there was a change in command and complaints returned.

Hynes, who chairs the Aviation Policy Committee for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said, "Everyone recognizes that we can't make this go away. We can manage it."

Hynes says she hopes the forum will rekindle that relationship and prevent unnecessary deviations in the future. While residents support the military 100 percent, they say there has to be a more livable solution.

Geiger asked, "Is there a way the helicopter missions can still go on without being compromised, but they can still take into account the effects they're having on the neighborhoods -- by maybe flying a little higher?"

The forum starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday.