"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." wrote in message
...
I have not read more ignorant, self-important, illogical and just plain
dimwitted crap anywhere else on the internet, than there is on this site.
I
just don't even know where to begin.

One place to begin is to notice that the article's reference to the group's
goal to "ban recreational flying entirely" is more extreme than what the
group's web site says. (You don't say where the article appeared.)

Another good place to begin--as in any conflict--is to recognize the extent
to which the other side has a valid point. In fact, many pilots are as
contemptuously dismissive of noise complaints as are sterotypical teenagers
blasting loud musice without regard for their neighbors.

In other walks of life, we take for granted that the right to engage in
noisy recreation must be balanced against others' right to peace and quiet.
The same should be true of flying.

The folks in Groton, whom the article mentions, are not examples of people
who moved next door to a runway and then started complaining. On the
contrary, they're many miles from the nearest airport. But they're right in
the middle of the practice area used by busy nearby flight schools, so
there's constant maneuvering and aerobatics taking place overhead.

Unfortunately, there are some people on the ground who simply don't care
about a pilot's right to fly. Similarly, there are some people in the air
who just don't care about their neighbors' right to peace and quiet. Pilots
who are oblivious to their noise just because the law currently allows them
to be are inviting changes in the law.

If indeed people who live under a practice area are subjected to constant
airplane noise levels in excess of what would be considered tolerable if it
came from other sources, then some sort of compromise is needed to alleviate
the problem.

--Gary