Royal Wharf - Too near London City Airport? (Noise Issues)

Royal Wharf - Noisy due to Proximity to London City Airport?

Investors ought to be aware that the Royal Docks area (Including Royal Wharf) is very near the London City Airport.  London City Airport has a single 1,500M long runway. It carried about 3Mil passengers in 2012, and had more than 70,000 aircraft movements.  Airport Website.

The aircraft operated is smaller due to the runway length, usually the AVRO Jet or Bombardier Jets.  The largest aircraft certified to operate out of London City is the Airbus A318.

British Airways A318 at London City Airport

How Close Is the Airport to Royal Wharf?
Take a look at this snapshot from Google Maps.  See where Pontoon Dock is? The flight path takes the plane over the water, however, it is very near the buildings.

How Near Is That?
Watch the following Youtube Video to get a sense of just how close the aircraft is to the ground as it passes the Royal Wharf plot.  Beautiful views of the landing.  Pay attention at 6:48 mark, you can see the Ponton Dock DLR station (right under the right wing).  You can see a green patch which is Thames Barrier Park.  The plot to the right of the park would be Royal Wharf. Near?



Landing - Plane Passes Pontoon Dock XX seconds before Touchdown
Review the above carefully:
6:50 - Plane passes Pontoon Dock DLR
7:07 - Plane wheels touches the runway

This means the plane passes the Pontoon Dock DLR area just 15 to 20 seconds before touchdown.

To make is clearer, see this screenshot of the video at 6:48 and marked out the areas.

London City Night Landing 
I enjoyed this cockpit video of Landing, thanks to the beautiful night scenery.  Isn't London amazing? Enjoy!

1:49 - flying over Canary Wharf (see the tall buildings)
2:06 - see the O2 Arena very clearly (like an inverted cup)
2:36 - approaching the brightly lit runway
2:45 -see the blue lights, that is the front of London Excel (Royal Wharf would be on the right side)
3:07- see the cars going horizontally just before the start of runway lights, that is Connaught Bridge




CONCLUSION - A GREAT PLACE TO TAKE PLANE PHOTOGRAPHS!
When I was walking that area, no aircraft flew in, so I do not have first hand experience on how noisy, or not noisy, the airport would be.  The good thing is that modern aircraft tend to be less noisy, and the aircraft operating out of London City have to fit into certain Noise Categories. That said, there will still be noise. Just how much?  I don't know for sure.  If anybody has been at Pontoon Dock, watching the planes land, do leave a comment to share your experience please.

What I know for sure is that you can take many beautiful pictures of jets taking off and landing at London City airport, if you live in that area!

Noise Issue Update
See this newer blog post for an update on the noise issue - it is noisy!!.  I managed to get updates from people familiar with the area.  The overwhelming conclusion is that the noise would be an issue.  And there may be even more noise in the future as London City Airport is seeking approval for a £200M expansion.
If approved, the expansion would accommodate 50,000 additional flights every year as long as serve bigger (i.e. more noisy) planes!

Plane landing, see the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf in the background

Planes parked at London City Airport - Busy, busy!

Other types of aircraft that operate from London City Airport:

Avro Jet

ATR 72, turboprop