Drone, drone, drone. Summer is here and the days are wonderful — except for the obnoxious sound of floatplanes circling over Liberty Bay.

Brmmmmm goes the loud takeoff. “Drat, now two planes are overhead.” And so it goes — day after noisy day. One person’s skylarking disrupts the peace of thousands. That’s the blunt reality of planes flying low over thousands of houses.

“Seaplanes to buzz Liberty Bay,” the May 4 Herald headline proclaims. Pilots “invited … to touch down on Liberty Bay,” the text reads. “Port of Poulsbo hopes to expand seaplane moorage capacity,” the article threatens.

On April 13, 2012, and Feb. 3, 2017, I wrote letters to the Herald’s editor decrying floatplanes using Poulsbo as an airport and using Liberty Bay as a runway, and I objected to port commissioners’ plans to expand the air assault. But the planes came, they flew, they conquered. They now circle during many best-weather days, and there are more of them. The May 4 article says that some are advocating for even more planes. Build it and they will come; that’s reality, too.

Who cares about quiet on Liberty Bay and the peace of people who are outdoors for a day near the shoreline or on the water? Who cares about the safety of boaters, sail boaters and kayakers, or the presence of waterfowl? I would guess that many do.

If that’s you, then when you next hear a floatplane buzzing overhead, think of your representatives and send them an email: Poulsbo port commissioners (commissioners@portofpoulsbo.com); Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson (berickson@cityofpoulsbo.com); and District 1 Kitsap County Commissioner Rob Gelder (rgelder@co.kitsap.wa.us).

They can end the droning. For the peace of people, waterfowl and the bay, floatplanes should be prohibited from landing or mooring on Liberty Bay.

Michael Maddox

Poulsbo