After hearing that some of you could tolerate the noise, I took my flag apart to see its operation. I found the cam was on the wrong side of the motor lifter. I put it back together and the loud noise I was having was gone. I optimized the flag flapping with some spray starch. I now can hear the snapping of the flag from the "wind" over the sound of the vibrating mechanism. It looks like a strong wind is blowing the flag - reasonably realistic.
It turned out to be a nice accessory once tweaked (like most operating accessories).