The irony of an ex-mil FJ pilot complaining about noise and seemingly also unaware of the "see and avoid" principle in Class G airspace is not lost on me!
I'm not immune to a bit of irony, but the tables are most definitely turned, now, spekesoftly :-) (haven't got the hang of putting the emoticons in the text). There are far fewer FJ mates around now, and they practise more at medium level. And yes, I have had the odd airprox when my lookout was poor (in my younger days), but that was just me and my nav (sometimes) and a puddle-jumper. I'm concerned at the proximity of a large, relatively unmanoeuvrable ac to small, almost invisible gliders.
BugOutWest, for someone who has if your profile is to be believed spent their life in aviation, a lot of it at my expense as I'm a tax payer, I find this to be NIMBYism at its worst.
When you were blatting about yourself making lots of noise in FJs, did you ever spare a thought for the folk you were making noise over? A modern airliner must be much quieter than a 1980s vintage mil jet.
Of course a FJ is noisier, especially one of the ones I flew (it was limited to 450kts at 250ft over land as a result). Of course I spared thoughts for those underneath me, but it was my job and I avoided built-up areas at low level. And in those days, the sound of freedom was enough justification ...
But I live nowhere near an airport, military or civilian so noise from an increasing intensity of airline traffic is of course a concern, especially when I don't believe in allowing the UK to become more of a hub for the rest of Europe.
But that's not my argument: I am an aviator, and as such I believe that the practice of mixing airliners with small GAT or gliders (which, as I said, are nearly invisible) is more risky than necessary. My complaints about noise are minor (a twin-jet at 4,300ft is pretty quiet -- not as noisy as the aerobatter nearby, for instance).