August 31, 2005
Wednesday

I've been reading with interest the comments on the aircraft noise in Ketchikan. I lived on Shoreline Drive for 30 years and woke to the sounds of Beavers, Otters and 185's taking off at 6am in the summers, headed for town to pick up the first load of passengers for the towns and camps around southern Southeast. If you were out on your deck (on a nice day) having a conversation, you quickly learned to wait till the plane went over to continue the discussion. At times it was inconvenient but considered a part of living there. The air traffic was vital to the area and my conversation most likely wasn't.

I bought an airplane, kept it at Peninsula Point and I'm sure I made my share of noise. Now I'm flying the same 185 on wheels, off of a small grass strip outside of Portland Oregon and the noise issue didn't stay in Ketchikan. I've been confronted for making too much noise at Renton Airport, Lenhardt Field in Oregon and by the owner of the field where I base the plane. On the one hand, most pilots like the sound. On the other hand, for those that aren't aviation enthusiasts, it's just a bunch of unbearable racket. I've learned to take off at reduced power and RPM settings to make the plane a little quieter. It seems to be working as I haven't been accosted since I started using this technique. It works fine when you are on wheels but, I wouldn't want to take off with less than full power, on floats, with a load of people and boat wakes to skip over.

Where would Ketchikan be without airplane noise?

Bottom line is, it doesn't seem to matter where you are, airplanes make noise and there is always someone within earshot that will find it irritating.

Ed Elliott
Canby, OR - USA

 

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