On May 20, 2025, as my day was just getting started, I heard a general aviation aircraft circling overhead.
Where I live, in Lakewood, Washington, that’s not very common.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord includes McChord Field (KTCM) and Gray Army Airfield (KGRF) to the east and south of our home. And we’re close to the south end of Tacoma Narrows’ (KTIW) airspace.
I’m used to occasionally hearing helicopters and C-17s from my home, but rarely piston-powered aircraft.
Curious, I launched FlightAware and quickly found the aircraft in question.
It is a Cessna T206 owned and operated by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and based at Pierce County/Thun Field (KPLU) in Puyallup, Washington. It took off at 7:48 a.m. PDT and returned at 9:45 a.m. PDT.
As you can see in the FlightAware screenshot, the 206 flew a bunch of circuits. My home is somewhere under that bright green circle on the left side of the image.
I could hear the 206 nearly the entire time it was circling overhead. And the sound from its Lycoming put a smile on my face the entire time. Music, as the saying goes, to my ears.
But I am quite certain the longer the 206 circled overhead, the more annoyed and concerned many of my neighbors became.
And in this case, with good reason. It turns out the 206 was likely flying aerial support for an arrest of a suspect wanted in a double homicide.
The arrest was made at 9:06 a.m., also under the green circle, about a mile from my home. Yikes.
The arrest time certainly checks out with the 206’s takeoff and landing times.
But not knowing who or why the plane was loitering overhead may rattle the nerves of those unaware.
All the more reason to connect with as many non-pilot neighbors as possible to discuss the myriad benefits of aviation.
And just maybe, in the process, we’ll help turn that noise into music.
Howdy Ben,
Great insight, as always. I obviously see your point, but as far as ‘hearing’ you…
I live 9.8 miles from you in a straight line.
I’m inside KTIW’s Class D boundary, and the “music” from the exponential increase in local flight training activity is getting extremely…noticeable. So is the “noise” from the increasing, primarily turbine-powered corporate activity.
To compound things over here in The Harbor …when SEA is departing to the south, we’re under that SID’s noise footprint as well.
I am also under the McChord AFB C-17’s radar ‘box’ pattern, and near a popular route that Ft. Lewis AH-64s like to fly low level, at night.
No one loves the ‘Sound of Freedom’ more than I do, given how much I contributed to it. The frequent, but-not-quiet-enough military turbine traffic is still music…to MY ears.
Regardless, the overall noise level in my neck-of-the-woods IS becoming intrusive, not just to the increasingly annoyed local residents, but to the ardent airplane lover as well. There are a lot of things we as pilots can do to mitigate the impact of noise without being forced to by the FAA, a local authority, or an angry mob.
Obviously, complying with any local noise abatement procedure is critical. If you can’t, you ought to have a good reason.
Climbing out at Vx, whenever possible, to keep your noise over the airport is helpful; so is NOT climbing to 3,000’ AGL before pulling your constant speed prop back from the red line.
Do you really need to do 15 touch-and-goes, over the same neighborhood, when you probably could’ve called it “good enuf” after 10?
Opting to not fly late at night, or extremely early in the AM …”because that’s when the tower is closed” …would go a long way towards making friends.
Notice I said “Opting” …I’m not trying to deny anyone’s “freedom to fly” as they see fit. So, you do you. I can guarantee, though, that will be a topic at your airport’s next Master Plan update.
(FWIW: I’m writing this while sitting in a grocery store parking lot, just off the north end of our single N/S runway, watching plane after plane violate a noise abatement procedure that has been in place here for several years. A former tower chief instituted it, yet the current chief wasn’t aware of it until we mentioned it to him at a flying club meeting. As far as I know, it’s never been “rescinded”.)
I am a huge advocate for a safe, affordable, enjoyable, “unencumbered”, thriving general aviation industry. But when your next-door neighbor, an Alaska Airlines captain, starts to complain about “noise”, it feels like a losing battle.
“…so is NOT climbing to 3,000’ AGL before pulling your constant speed prop back from the red line.”
That is “180-out“ from what I wanted to say.
Shoulda been: “Don’t pull your constant speed prop back from redline on climb out”.
Unfortunately, we can’t ‘edit’ after hitting “Send”.
I fly a non-turbo 182 (w/3-blade prop); standard climb out is Full Throttle/2,400 RPM (redline), then transition to 23” MP or Full Throttle (whichever is less) and 2,400 RPM for cruise climb.
Happy to take spears if your’s is different.
Tom
There is nothing sweeter than hearing Pistons working over my home here in British Columbia, how sweet it is
Actually this is an excellent point. Noise is an opinion. Sound is what is occurring. Many in GA often say “airplane noise” in interviews or while making comments.
If you want to check on noise vs. sound just turn on some music on random FM radio station. To some that particular song is wonderful, to other it is noise. Both opinions.
Words matter, don’t sell aviation out to others by referring to “airplane sounds” as “noise”.
This past Monday I was flying out of KFCI at 6pm or so. “River One” was the call sign of the VA State Police Cessna 172 orbiting off the approach end of 33. When I asked him what was up, he said the he was on scene of what looked like a riot. As I turned base I could see a dozen or more police vehicles surrounding a ball field. reports of a rifle shot were passed. Yet, that night and the day following, not a word of a riot or shooting on the local news. Weird.
A few years ago here in HSV, there was a sudden increase in GA traffic bearing a “Limo” callsign. They’d call for a VFR clearance “to relieve company on station.”
Flight aware showed several of those orbits over various locations. One day I was at the airport and saw two guy in shorts and polo shirts walking out to a late model 182 with some sort of sensor pod on the pilot’s side.
They fired up and called clearance as Limo ###. The tail number came back to an “RFK PRODUCTIONS” out of Virginia. These flights continued until one day there was a terrorism related arrest made. The Limos went away afterwards.