Editor,

I have been noticing greatly increased air traffic over the housetops of my neighborhood in the Campbell Road and Maxwelton area and I’m wondering what is going on. I have lived on South Whidbey for 32 years and have never been bothered by the occasional aircraft overhead. This summer, there has been a never-ending stream of low-flying small craft with extremely loud and obnoxious engines and propellers. Sometimes I wonder if I am in a war zone.

I spend a lot of time outdoors, working in the garden, looking for mushrooms, caring for animals, walking, etc., and I have never experienced this kind of sound pollution before. As soon as one plane recedes into the distance, another one approaches. These disruptive flights take place on the weekends and at night, as well as normal working hours. Have some new commercial flight patterns been legalized, or has there been a huge increase in recreational planes? Is anyone else noticing this change and is there anything we can do to protect our formerly quiet and peaceful way of life?

Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration office in Renton say there are no regulations regarding airplane noise, but planes cannot fly lower than 500 feet above “un-congested” areas and 1,000 feet above “congested” areas. I wonder if the owners of private aircraft are aware of the fact that their flights are disturbing their neighbors down below, and if they care?

HEIDI HOELTING

Clinton