Some people have a very serious misunderstanding about not just low flying, but about life itself.
1. Low flying is a very perishable skill. It requires constant training to be good and safe. The majority is best carried out within range your home base for obvious reasons. Fast jets may be capable of zooming off to the north of Scotland on a daily basis to fly low, but Helos and Hercs etc just cannot.
2. This basic level of low level training is supplemented by focused training throughout the year. In the Navy's case this consists of exercises well north of the arctic circle for Arctic training (clockwork) Saif Serea for Desert training and so on. By doing this we remain current in the various theatres in which we may be expected to fight.
3. Nobody complains about these exercises, as we recognise the need, just as we don't complain about being sent to the Falklands/Iraq/Sierra Leone/Afghanistan/ to fight a war.
4. However, the idea that we should all live in the Falklands just so you do not have to occasionally hear the oh so distressing sound of an aircraft is frankly laughable.
5. Whilst it is unfortunate that a horse rider died, I have to be frank and say that the responsibility is 100% on the rider who decides to take up a dangerous sport, and quite frankly I would be prepared to sacrifice a great many more riders in the interests of keeping alive more of my mates during war.
6. A Chinook is just as noisy at 100ft as at 50ft, or even 300ft
7. We have retention and recruitment problems as it is. Do you think moving the entire aviation department of the military to the @rse end of the back of beyond will help?