I work in Mahnattan, close to Times Square. Helicopter noise is pretty much ever-present here, and gets especialy prevalent towards rush hour (although I’m not sure that there’s any news in ever-present rush hour congestion in this area). In any case, I agree with “K” that helicopter noise is bearable. Airplane noise however does make me cringe. This is perhaps because some of my friends still get panicky when they hear an airplane over Manhattan due to the misfortune of having been around WTC on 9/11.

So maybe companies should utilize video conference technology more, stop using PowerPoint, the FAA should change flight paths over major cities to minize airplane noise and silent helicopter technology should be implemented for civilian uses ala Conspiracy Theory (http://imdb.com/title/tt0118883/)