Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Graham Quirk, believes that increasing building heights to 350m in the central business district could add over $2 billion to the city’s economy annually. However there is one limiting factor that Quirk has acknowledged – the aviation flight paths which could restrict the maximum development height to 300m.
Similar requests to modify the airspace have failed to receive the support of Brisbane Airport Corporation, due to the resulting need to make the aircraft take off angle steeper.
Reported in an article written by the Herald Sun, a spokeswoman for the Federal Infrastructure Minister said “When it comes to aviation, the federal government’s number one priority is the safety of the travelling public and residents around Brisbane airport.”
Aviation safety should be at the forefront of any developers mind when planning a skyscraper or even building an upward extension to a building. As part of airport zoning regulations, there are imaginary Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) to safeguard airports against tall structure that can disrupt safe operation. Pager Power has developed an online tool – called the Obstruction Assessment – to quickly find out if your development will be an aviation risk by obstructing the airspace.
We have recently run an example of the Obstruction Assessment for the tragic St George Wharf Helicopter crash in London.
The assessment can be run in accordance with the UK CAAs CAP168, UK Military, ICAO Annex 14 and FAA Part 77 methodology and comes with a commentary that helps you fully interpret the assessment. The commentary also offers guidance and provides the details you need, including any aviation lighting requirement.
