Helicopters that are descending with a fair amount of power produce an annoying sound called “blade slap”. Beginners are cautioned to avoid this condition because it leads to people on the ground complaining to the FAA about “those damned helicopters.” (One can avoid blade slap by lower the collective to descend more positively rather than drifting slightly down.) A big turbine-powered helicopter flew over Harvard Square the other day, slapping away. I was with a friend, call her “K”, who hasn’t spent much time in the work force. I asked her whether she found the sound annoying.
“Helicopter noise doesn’t bother me,” K responded. “I assume that it is a traffic helicopter or some sort of medical emergency. What I really hate is airplane noise.”
Why?
“Whenever I hear a big commercial jet overhead I think about companies sending their employees out for ridiculous meetings with each other where they will show vacuous PowerPoint presentations and have meaningless conversations.”
I work in Mahnattan, close to Times Square. Helicopter noise is pretty much ever-present here, and gets especialy prevalent towards rush hour (although I’m not sure that there’s any news in ever-present rush hour congestion in this area). In any case, I agree with “K” that helicopter noise is bearable. Airplane noise however does make me cringe. This is perhaps because some of my friends still get panicky when they hear an airplane over Manhattan due to the misfortune of having been around WTC on 9/11.
So maybe companies should utilize video conference technology more, stop using PowerPoint, the FAA should change flight paths over major cities to minize airplane noise and silent helicopter technology should be implemented for civilian uses ala Conspiracy Theory (http://imdb.com/title/tt0118883/) 🙂