Dear editor,

I have been following the recent conversations in Beefs and Bouquets regarding noisy airplanes. There are two sides; those who write to complain and those who write to support.

The complainers write about the noisy airplane which drones about their area frequently. This same airplane flies over my house all the time, and by design, it is indeed a noisy airplane and annoys me no end. Then I pause to consider why it is there. It is a training platform for SAR techs, who jump out of it.

These SAR techs are the ones who parachute into wooded and mountainous areas to search for lost persons, who parachute into crash areas to save lives or find victims, who are lowered onto pitching ship decks in dangerous situations often in stormy weather. I don鈥檛 think anyone whose lives were saved by their bravery would complain about the noise.

鈥淭hat others may live鈥� is their raison d鈥檈tre and guiding principle. Someday they may rescue one of my loved ones or someone I know.

The other target is the Snowbirds. Canada has had aerobatic teams for years, going back to 1929. The rationale is that it displays the difficulty and beauty of a group of airplanes being flown by professionals in close formation. Flying at high speeds very close together is not easy. Try it sometime.

It is also used as a public relations and recruiting vehicle. How many former and current pilots were inspired to become part of the CF because they saw an aerobatic team and said 鈥淚 could do that?鈥�

Yes, 鈥渢he sound of freedom鈥� may be annoying at times, but it is also the sound of who we are.

M. Bush,

Comox