Yesterday someone said something to the effect that since the muffler posed so many risks he was going to omit it and get a good pair of noise canceling headsets instead. You really need to reconsider this. All of general aviation needs to address this, but us rotary enthusiasts in particular. No other motor vehicle is allowed to operate in public with out a muffler (other than at raceways, etc.). The growing green movement is demanding an end to all the fun that we powersport enthusiasts enjoy, and when we call their attention every time we fly over, they will make more noise of their own.

            As the unmuffled rotary is perhaps the worst offender, we even have a reputation amongst the Lycosaurus crowd as being obnoxiously loud. This is unacceptable in my opinion. We may not need their support but we certainly don’t need to generate any more opposition from them.

Let’s lead by example and take the muffler off our heads and put it on the engine where it belongs.

Todd Bartrim