Editors, Vineyard Gazette:
We have been coming to the Vineyard for 36 summers without a break. Like many people, we treasure the peace and tranquility the Vineyard is known for. We are lucky to live in a wonderful part of Edgartown near the Harbor View Hotel. Recently we have been bombarded by incessant airplane noise. When I was having breakfast at the Katama Airfield, I was surprised to see that there were now three bi-planes, not just the red one that we had become accustomed to hearing flying low over our neighborhood. I noted this week that there have been flights before 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m. There are times when the pilot does acrobatics which increase the noise to ever higher decibels. I am a great believer in live and let live, but the continual noise seems to trespass on our quiet sanctuary. I wish there were an easy solution to this problem, but certainly shortening the hours or choosing a less residential area to dive bomb would be a step in the right direction. If anyone else has any thoughts or suggestions, we would be glad to hear them.
Barbara and Tom Israel
Edgartown
This article appears in August 31, 2012.