Engine Sounds

[BBP]

I don't fly the P-51 that much but my time will be much less because the engine sounds so much like my 2 cycle lawn mower. Its just AWFULL!

[PR3D4TOR]

In-cockpit engine noise is very different from the external noise. More mechanical and does indeed sound somewhat like a lawnmower. The pilot is shielded from some of the exhaust and propeller noise, but is effectively sitting in a metal box with the engine right in front of him. The mechanical noise becomes dominant.

https://youtu.be/v5wzI5RdAvw?t=256

[PR3D4TOR]

The 109 is the king of lawnmowers!

https://youtu.be/JGhMGQst4lo?t=343

[Chalenge]

They are all more, or less, the same except in external sounds (still a WiP).

https://youtu.be/BpgFjdpMsuQ?t=7m24s

[Vraciu]

In-cockpit engine noise is very different from the external noise. More mechanical and does indeed sound somewhat like a lawnmower. The pilot is shielded from some of the exhaust and propeller noise, but is effectively sitting in a metal box with the engine right in front of him. The mechanical noise becomes dominant.

https://youtu.be/v5wzI5RdAvw?t=256

I'd bet a thousand bucks it doesn't sound like a Briggs and Stratton.   

I realize a T-28 isn't an inline but when you add power to that sucker it makes your teeth fillings rattle.    It most certainly doesn't sound like a lawn mower.

[PR3D4TOR]

Radials are more growly.

https://youtu.be/twRdmdPrwEw?t=169

[PR3D4TOR]

Spitfire:

https://youtu.be/6tPVBBp3e1A?t=190

[Chalenge]

Growly? Radials have lot more noise to be sure.

[PR3D4TOR]

Yes growly. Deeper and more throaty. Radials typically have larger displacement pots and lower rpm, which means stronger impulses but lower frequency.

[Vraciu]

In-lines don't sound like mowers. 

The default engine sound for at least a couple airplanes in AH3 is justifiably criticized in my opinion.


One of my best friends flies Mustangs for a preservation group.   He gave the Pony sound a wrinkled nose. 

[Chalenge]

And yet that's how they sound on cockpit recordings, so . . .

[PR3D4TOR]

Being there for real is obviously a more powerful experience. The sound vibrations affecting your whole body and sheer volume cannot be replicated by PC speakers or headsets.

[Vraciu]

And yet that's how they sound on cockpit recordings, so . . .

A buddy of mine who flies the P-51B and D.   An excerpt from our conversation a few months back.

Me:  How would you describe the sound of a P-51 from inside the cockpit?


Him: Hmm...a cross between a continental 550 and a Merlin.

Me: So it sounds like a Merlin does from the outside a bit?   And not like a lawn mower?


I figured a Cessna 414 or 421 would be closer (to a Mustang) than a Briggs and Stratton.  Lol. Aces High 3 makes the Pony sound like a lawn mower I kid you not.

Him: Ha ha ha 

Yea...you can hear the Merlin influence when inside. What's really cool is when you hit the starter and it feels like a truck slamming in to your airplane. It startled me the first time.




---

(The 550 is derived from a 520 which is what the 414 and 421 use.   So my instincts are right.)

His opinion: AH3's P-51 sound is inaccurate. 

YMMV.

I will let you know myself at some point.   I'm going to get a ride in the D with him next year.   (Not for free either.)

[PR3D4TOR]

Awesome. Let us know what you find.

[Vraciu]

Awesome. Let us know what you find.

God willing and the creek don't rise...