DAVID REDDY,
Sir, - I'm around long enough to remember the racket generated by the first generation of commercial jets using Dublin Airport. However, technical advances and international regulations have quietened these, meaning that even the largest of jets pass overhead practically unnoticed or with only a slight increase in city background noise.
Over the past few weeks, however, I have noticed a very small helicopter flying over the part of Dublin I live in. Indeed, it would be very difficult not to notice it because of the amount of noise it generates. It is a real reminder of those old window-rattling jets of the 1960s and 1970s. It's difficult to see what the purpose of these flights is as no clear flight path is followed; the thing just seems to meander around aimlessly.
My objection to this craft and others like it is the extraordinary amount of noise it makes. If my car even made a quarter as much, gardaí would be knocking on the door, and rightly so. Surely small aircraft like this have to adhere noise regulations as the bigger craft do.
I call on those responsible to protect us from this nuisance. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID REDDY, Durham Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4.