'They want to ban recreational flying...'

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.

Be sure to drop these people a note and let them know exactly what you think
of them.

http://www.stopthenoise.org/

July 02, 2003
Shirley, MA

Stop the Noise still battles for quieter skies
First of three parts
By Nathan Jones

REGION -- The sound of small airplanes performing various aerobatic
feats over the skies of this area would give way to peace and quiet if
it were up to Townsend native Bill Burgoyne and his group of like-minded
area residents.

This group not only feels that such activities are dangerous, but it
also thinks they create so much noise that it inhibits residents'
freedom to enjoy their own property.

Burgoyne, a co-founder of the group Stop the Noise, discussed during a
recent interview the problems group members think the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) isn't addressing. Formed in 2000 by area residents
to regain the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their property, Stop the
Noise is now an incorporated not-for-profit organization.

Stop the Noise mission is to ask for at least prohibition on
recreational flying in this area, and, from a longer range perspective,
seek to ban recreational flying entirely. Meanwhile, Plane Sense, a
group recently started by some Groton residents, seeks to compromise
with pilots via measures such as limiting the times or days of the week
during which they can fly.

Burgoyne explained that one critical factor makes the Nashoba Valley a
prime location for airplane aerobatic activities. It is the area's
proximity between the Nashua Municipal Airport and Hanscom Air Force
Base, coupled with the closure of the Moore Airfield at the former Fort
Devens, he said.

All this has created an environment that is simply irresistible to
sport and experimental pilots who fly solely with recreational
interests, Burgoyne said. Exacerbating the problem is the FAA, he said,
which is refusing to enforce its own regulations that his group feels
prohibit such activities in the area.

The efforts of Stop the Noise come at a time when things may be about
to get worse. "Most people don't even know what's coming," he said,
explaining his belief that there is a strong lobby on pilots' behalf
which might ease barriers to becoming a pilot at the expense of safety.
The situation would simultaneously increase air traffic and noise
pollution, he said.

The lobbying effort, Burgoyne said, is spearheaded by the Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), which may officially represent
pilots, but given what pilots purchase, also represents the aircraft
manufacturers. Burgoyne added that the association is now hoping to make
becoming a pilot of a personal aircraft "as easy as learning to drive a
boat or motorcycle."

Then, Burgoyne continued, are the regulations which the FAA is not
enforcing, namely height restrictions, airway limitations and sight
restrictions that apply to aerobatic flying, not to mention a
disagreement Stop the Noise has with FAA over a definition included in a
regulation.

The area crosses a federal airway, which means there is technically not
supposed any aerobatic flying within four nautical miles of its
boundaries, he said. Further, planes are not supposed to be flying lower
than 1,500 feet or higher than 4,000 feet. This problem is complicated
by the fact that many such planes have only barometric altimeters, which
don't respond to hill elevations, causing the plan to dip below the
1,500-foot minimum, he said.

Lastly, Burgoyne attested to having seen planes performing aerobatic
maneuvers in night or overcast conditions when visibility was clearly
less than the required three miles. He also noted that such flying is
further prohibited because aerobatics are not permissible in a
"congested area," though the FAA has been reluctant to define that term.

Furthering the problem even more, Burgoyne said, is the technical
limitations on the planes themselves, and differing requirements placed
on them that make it harder to identify them and their pilots. Such
problems unique to small aircraft include small fuel tanks, which force
these Nashua- and Hanscom-based planes to stay relatively close to home,
and over local skies, he said.

As far as regulations go, Burgoyne noted that the planes are difficult
to identify because their registration numbers are substantially smaller
than those on standard aircraft. Also, such planes do not have
transponders, which means they show up as blips on the FAA's radar
system, but not as anything more than that, he said. Transponders would
allow a plane's identification to be known from anywhere, as soon as it
popped up on the radar screen.

An FAA spokesman said the agency has investigated all Stop the Noise's
complaints and have found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of
pilots.