Sir – At last someone has taken up the issue and complained in your letters page about the ‘flying circus’ which plagues our lives in the Didcot/Abingdon area.

I am, of course, referring to the light aircraft, which for several years now appears many times a day, whenever the weather is fine and puts on a totally unnecessary aerial acrobatics display, while creating the most awful racket as the engine struggles with the manoeuvres it is being put through.

I’m not one normally who complains about the noise from aircraft as usually, they just fly over and are gone in a few seconds. But this inconsiderate pilot lingers in the skies above our houses for far too long, without any consideration whatsoever to those of us on the ground who may be trying to enjoy our gardens or other peaceful recreational activities.

Your reader (Letters, May 6) asks the all-important question as to whether it is legal for an aircraft to carry out acrobatic manoeuvres over built-up residential areas. The Civil Aviation Authority makes it very clear on their website which states “The Rules of the Air regulations state that an aircraft shall not carry out an aerobatic manoeuvre over the congested area of any city, town or settlement”. The Air Navigation Order defines a Congested Area as ‘an area that is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes’.

As more and more development takes place on what little greenfield space that used to exist between Didcot and Abingdon, I suggest that this qualifies as a ‘congested area’. Do we have to wait for a tragic accident to happen before anyone does anything about it?

Gordon Collingwood
Balmoral Road, Didcot