On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:57:17 -0700, daffy
wrote in . com:

Quite a good article in the Nov/Dec AARP magazine titled "Listening
for Quiet".
It talks about a silent sanctuary in Washington's Olympic National
park. The article
concluded by someone complaining about the silence broken by a small
plane.

The article said "The small plane flying north more than doubles the
ambient sound,
and we react to the intruder as a threat, drawing in, tracking the
source, hunching for
cover until the last traces of engine noise finally die away."


Did the article happen to mention the duration (in seconds) that the
noise from this "intruder" was detectable? There is little question
that small airplanes are noisy, but they are usually only audible for
about 20 seconds. In the area in question, it may be longer, but the
sonic impact of the occasional lone aircraft is nothing compared
living adjacent to a busy street. Perhaps we should consider closing
all the roads in residential neighborhoods. :-)