While the locals who will moan at anything are annoying - and there are plenty of them - we don't help ourselves much either. I'm in Lavant* most weekends and watch plenty of Goodwood-based aeroplanes (especially dark blue PA28s!) whose pilots obviously can't be @rsed with noise abatement. I grew up in Lavant and people know I fly, so i'm permanently getting moaned at - and to be honest most of the time i've got to agree.
Actually, the main problem seems to us to be a bit different to what you're suggesting.
We currently get almost all our compaints from Lavant when runway 24 is in use. At first glance this shouldn't make sense as 24 doesn't point in that direction, but it seems that many pilots overcook the noise abatement turn on 24, flying over Lavant rather than going through the gap between Summersdale and Lavant.
If this is what's happening then it isn't so much a case of pilots not being bothered but pilots failing to properly understand the correct procedures - and even trying too hard!
We've made sure that the procedures are published in all the guides (including recently having the charts added to the AIP) and, as you say, we give all pilots copies of the circuit plans. We also have reminder signs at the hold points. I'm always open to suggestions of what else we might do....
Evo, when you got moaned at yesterday was it about yesterday's traffic or another day? Call me in the tower, if you like.
Alastair Mackinnon
(Aerodrome Manager, Goodwood)