08-05-2009, 06:19 AM
The idea of banning buses sounds ridiculous, as it should. Banning helicopters should also sound ridiculous. I am not saying that noise is never a problem, but these guys are just trying to make a living same as anyone else. They are part of the tourism industry and as such they do their part in bringing in tourism dollars. They do not have death wishes and being trained helicopter pilots they know a whole lot more about the risks than most of the posters do. They don't want to die. Aviation is already a heavily regulated industry. A pilot can have his certificate suspended or revoked and unlike driving almost no one ever flies without a valid certificate because if you get caught there are some real consequences. If you accept these facts then it naturally follows that helicopters raining death from the skies or strafing innocent homeowners for cheap thrills is unlikely.
I believe that the general public, who are overwhelmingly non-pilots, are unjustifiably intolerant of aircraft, while at the same time we (I include myself) are unjustifiably tolerant of motor vehicles. There is ridiculous mayhem on the streets every day. Half the drivers out there shouldn't be, and wouldn't be if there were driver licensing standards similar to those for pilots.
I believe that the general public, who are overwhelmingly non-pilots, are unjustifiably intolerant of aircraft, while at the same time we (I include myself) are unjustifiably tolerant of motor vehicles. There is ridiculous mayhem on the streets every day. Half the drivers out there shouldn't be, and wouldn't be if there were driver licensing standards similar to those for pilots.