Air traffic noise over rural France?

You aren’t allowed to fly over central Paris unless it is eg the défilé du 14 juillet and the SC/SW are relatively empty. And you are right about untouchability.
I have to admit though that I would love to do what they do in their rafales and old mirages…

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Hello Paul
If you want to know which aircraft to expect to be flying over or near your property I point you to the - Carte aéronautique OACI 943 du sud-ouest de la France
This map has all the details relating to flight zones both civil and military.
As you have not named your location specifically I cannot definitely tell you what is likely to fly over your renovation property. Looking at the map I would say that you are either in or pretty close to at least one major Military flight training corridor. If this is the case you can expect very low level flights from helicopter, propeller, turbo prop and fast jet aircraft at speeds up to but below Mach 1. You can also go online to check when flight activity is scheduled for your area at https://notaminfo.com/
This is free and also has the maps and corridors etc.
I think that checking out flight paths etc. before you purchase a property would be fundamental if peace and quiet was an important prerequisite. I actually have a property under a red corridor and enjoy hearing and seeing Dassault Rafale jets streaking very low across the sky!

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Well, you did look for and find housing in a very remote part of France. Do you think the French Air Force does its training exercises over large population areas? I don’t.

I live in the remote Gers that is close to Toulouse (from a birds-eye view) and we get a lot of military flyovers. But always at altitudes for which one must be outside the house to hear any noise whatsoever.

We get mostly choppers, a few heavy transporters, and the occasional sound barrier breaking, window rattling rafales/mirages playing “shadow me” in pairs.

I took a video of a chopper opposite my house. Noisy but interesting!

almost as if it was chasing something… ???

bright green… denotes privately owned… or what… anyone any idea ?

Big camera on the front, sort of thing used by "security " services

Same colour chopper came over us a year or two back after storms, it was flying along the power lines checking for damage and fallen trees etc that might interfere with the overhead lines.

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Possibly EDF checking power lines ?

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We’ve just had them doing this and although I really didn’t pay much if any attention (the mairie just sent an email to let us know in case we saw them flying low and slow for a few days and became terrified an intergalactic alien space army were about to attack us and drag us back to the planet Zog or something :man_shrugging: ) but when I saw that greeny colour in @anon90504988’s video this was my immediate thought too as I’m sure they were this colour. But it may be a coincidence.

In our area they have been blue rather than green, the end result being that a couple of years later they came around and lopped off a few branches from our neighbour’s oak that were getting to close to the power line to our house.

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I live 10 minutes from the Auch airport in the Gers.

Never ever have I heard the jet-engine of a plane landing. (Oh, damn … ! ;^)

I have seen very high trails of what must be military aircraft in formation (from time to time). But never their sound.

It’s the sound of a jet taking off that is more likely to be noticed!

That white snout on the nose as well as the slight pitching down of the helicopter seems to indicate either picture taking or some other kind of “sounding”.

Frankly, the helicopter has no business whatsoever flying so low (tree-line!) over populated countryside. I’d report the incident to the mayor’s office. If the sounding was business-related, the pilot would have had to specify the fact. (Were it on a Sunday/holiday, likely it would be illegal.)

Very true! On takeoff the engine “working-like-hell” … ! ;^)

There is a process for complaining. Unfortunately, like anything of such a nature, it is complex to undertake. And likely will get you nowhere.

So, the French just sit back and tolerate the sound. Unless, of course, it becomes repetitive, whereupon that fact becomes legally processable. But, you’d need a lawyer - and given the circumstances (Covid) they-aint-cheap!

I used to live in Landivisiau not far from the BAN at St Servais ,there was a day in the week,which, was designated for flying, thursday iIrc, but thats by the by.The people who owned or built housesin St Servais had grant aid for sound insulation triple glazing etc.
Deviation from the thread but hey.

There is no way I would take on the French government, it is only occasionally that they fly so low, so we just put up with it.

Uh-oh. Better forget nude sunbathing even at home then.

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Unfortunately you live under one of the most heavily flown military areas in France. Your area of Chamberet is under 5 restricted military flying areas. They are R68B, R166C is only a transit airway, R68A, R165, and R368B. These are not in constant use and the times can be found on the NOTAM site: Affichage des Cartes AZBA
Scroll down and you will see some maps. Look for the time of day and then find limoges, Anything to the south west in red is militarty aviation.