If your neighbors are traveling by personal aircraft then it is very much the same thing. There are a lot of privately owned GA aircraft and many of us don't particularly like everyone snooping on us.
Many in this community get awfully nervous about things like police surveillance of cars, license plate tracking, etc. The Police say they need it just for special cases like crime, but we all know the dangers of dragnet surveillance. This is also dragnet surveillance; it's the same violation of privacy if the mode of transportation is different. Many on this forum think it's fun though because the mechanism is a bit nerdy and they aren't the ones being surveilled.
Your milage may vary but my experience of the GA community is that their concern is more based on being being 'busted' for any minor infraction of airspace rather than their neighbours knowing where they are flying too.
It's a bit like having a box in your car which automatically alerts the authorities every time you exceed the speed limit.
I'd wager that the HN demographic skews just as wealthy as the hobbyist GA community. Indeed, your friend or coworker with a brand new Model X is probably wealthier than the person taking the occasional weekend flight in their used Piper Cherokee.
I think this situation is closer to corporations and other companies having to list an address in a public catalog. Anyone can start a business, even my neighbors. It's much cheaper than buying an airplane. But we've decided it's in the public interest to have that information available.
Small aircraft can be surprisingly affordable; many small used GA aircraft cost about the same as a nice car does new and they generally don't depreciate very quickly -- there are lots of perfectly safe small aircraft from the 1960s and 70s still flying.
You'd be surprised how many middle and upper middle class americans fly.
Many in this community get awfully nervous about things like police surveillance of cars, license plate tracking, etc. The Police say they need it just for special cases like crime, but we all know the dangers of dragnet surveillance. This is also dragnet surveillance; it's the same violation of privacy if the mode of transportation is different. Many on this forum think it's fun though because the mechanism is a bit nerdy and they aren't the ones being surveilled.