Last month, I took advantage of my membership on the Legislature's State Administration Committee to question representatives from the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC) regarding the many complaints my office has received from constituents regarding noise from aerobatic flights over the Groton-Fort Devens area. Executive Director Robert Mallard soon responded with a letter which I reproduce in part: "The law clearly establishes the federal government, through the FAA, with the complete and exclusive responsibility and authority for regulating aircraft noise. State and local control are pre-empted by federal statutes. Nonetheless, the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC) appreciates the concerns of the residents affected by aircraft opeations and has addressed those concerns in a variety of ways by visiting with residents at their homes while observing aerobatic flights, meeting with neighborood groups that have formed to speak with one voice, and by meeting with respresentatives of flight schools and aerobatic teams to determine what can be done that is agreeable to all. It is desirable to develop a system whereby those on the ground will have less frequent noise exposure in any one town or area, accomplished by users of the airspace agreeing to alternate their flights in several locations. The MAC will continue to work with community groups, flight schools and the FAA to come up with a plan agreeable to all involved".