I specifically mentioned hovering not flying. We have a humming bird feeder right above a table, them suckers buzz us a lot. 50db my dishwasher is 48db (measured). Humming birds significantly louder when hovering.
Drones are always hovering currently. Yes they can likely get a lot quieter. Planes are still quite loud, they've had 100+ years of work? Birds, they still make noise, and they've had millions. They seem to switch modes of flight to be quiet.
Just to clarify, you measured hummingbirds at 50db?
Birds had millions of years to optimize for lower energy consumption which makes me wonder if it could be mechanized.
I understand where you're coming from with the plane analogy. I'd argue that a lot has been done to cabin acoustics the demand is that its quieter while you're on a flight. The desired for quieter drones stems more from 3rd parties.
Drones are always hovering currently. Yes they can likely get a lot quieter. Planes are still quite loud, they've had 100+ years of work? Birds, they still make noise, and they've had millions. They seem to switch modes of flight to be quiet.