Incessant helicopter traffic is unnecessary

As a pilot for 35 years and a Fallbrook resident for 25 years, I continue to seek an explanation as to why the incessant helicopter traffic has to plague Fallbrook residents.

Air traffic over Fallbrook, other than landings by fixed wing aircraft or helicopters commuting between the Base at 29 Palms, is simply a matter of choice, not necessity.

There is no logistical imperative other than preferring to make life miserable for Fallbrook residents rather than the residents in base housing.

The airspace over Pendleton is restricted to general aviation traffic and offers more than enough area for helicopter practice maneuvers not to mention the restricted coastal area and the entire Pacific Ocean. To extend practice patterns over Fallbrook residential neighborhoods is absolutely unnecessary.

I would like to take this matter up with the brass at Pendleton, but it appears that contact information is hard to come by. For those who argue that “if I don’t like it, move,” I can only reply that common courtesy and concern for the discomfort of populations in the area should at least be a matter of discussion rather than a blind sense of loyalty to the military.

It is quite possible that those in charge of flight operations at the base are oblivious to these concerns, but if there is some tactical necessity for rattling windows at all hours, seven days a week, I’d love to hear about it.

Bill Campbell