Yes it is. I had my ear plugs fall out once with a 503 over my head and it was the loudest thing I've ever heard. Maybe the fan on the 503 makes it louder?

Zzz wrote:Yes it is. I had my ear plugs fall out once with a 503 over my head and it was the loudest thing I've ever heard. Maybe the fan on the 503 makes it louder?

I thought the exhaust fell off my 503 one time then figured out it was just the batteries in my ANR headset went dead. When I play Avidflyer's video then this one without adjusting the volume his sounds quiet in comparison.

http://vimeo.com/4708686

AvidFlyer wrote:My plane isn't that loud I don't think.

http://youtu.be/-vUlL0aDOYc

yeah it is. LOL nothing personal but all our 2 stroke screamers are loud unless you do some serious sound deadening with about 40 pounds of crap in the cockpit. If I go without the headset for more than a few minutes I get a nice 3 day ringing in the ears.

tcj wrote:

Zzz wrote:Yes it is. I had my ear plugs fall out once with a 503 over my head and it was the loudest thing I've ever heard. Maybe the fan on the 503 makes it louder?

I thought the exhaust fell off my 503 one time then figured out it was just the batteries in my ANR headset went dead. When I play Avidflyer's video then this one without adjusting the volume his sounds quiet in comparison.

http://vimeo.com/4708686

I think it is the difference in recording devices. If I take video with my phone, camcorder and gopro at the same time they all 3 sound much different, Inside a 2 stroke powered plane is not a good place to be without a head set or earplugs... preferably both!

I'm going to agree that the 2 strokes over your head can cost you some hearing with constant exposure. In the open cockpit that most Rotax 2 strokes are in, aviation headsets with ANR do not work that well, for several reason, one being ANR does poorly with wind noise and the higher frequency of the Rotax's 2 stroke. Also, when you adjust the squelch to overcome the wind and engine noise, the closed mike slams shut too soon, and everything is clipped. Good open mike type headsets for open cockpit flying, like Lynx (made in England) have a mike that is open and hot all of the time, with filters to cut out background noise, and a lot of passive noise reduction.

I have a Quicksilver Sport 2s, an open ultralight type sport plane, that I flew across the US four times (back and forth each time), and each trip I sat in that seat for about 125 hours with that 2 stroke 582 droning on above me. (of course, it was music and comforting at the time) I had a Lynx helmet and headset, and at the time I did not find the noise bad at all, about like a motorcycle. However, each time I returned, my daughter would walk into the room and yell "HEY DAD, WHY IS THE TV SO LOUD??", and in about two weeks, the TV would be at normal volume. However, each trip the TV volume stayed louder longer, and in a couple of years, I started to realize I was starting to have some permanent loss from sitting in that seat on these trips.

I don't think all of my other flying caused the loss, but I think from sitting in that seat and flying for 6-8 hours a day for weeks at a time caused the permanent loss. I don't think I would have had the loss if the exposure had not been so prolonged each day. I also believe the Lynx headsets did help keep the loss to a minimum, and would recommend them for anyone flying in those conditions to minimize any hearing loss. I did not think the noise while in flight was that loud, just a steady drone, but I think it was the constant sound of it all day that caused the damage.

To be honest, another reason I did not notice it at the time was because it was just too much fun and I was having the times of my life. Kinda like sports, we all take a little bit of discomfort or pain for good times that we will remember for the rest of our lives. And though it bugs me a little now, I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I consider myself lucky.

Damn, Zenithguy....that is one heck of a flight, several times, in a Quicksilver! The name being not very descriptive of it's speed range for those that don't know, that's impressive. My best in my Pterodactyl was to Gimli Manitoba and back from Idaho. I used a army helicopter helmet, the ones with the various tint visors you can slide down and always used those soft foam earplugs.

I'll never forget one handy cost saving xc tip from the Pterodactyl Prez Jack McCornack: "put your used dirty earplugs inside your socks, if you get a chance to do laundry, that way they both get clean and you can re-use them several times. " My big xc tip was telling other 'dac pilots that the fold down compression struts in the wing, accessed by zippers, made a perfect toilet paper holder. Just squat down under the wing, and when it's time for the paper work there it is, just like at home (if you keep your toilet paper roll above your head anyway). Just remember to roll the excess back up and re-zip the wing before flight. Another was, clean clothes on the right side/inside of the double surface wing, dirty laundry on the other side, it made it easier to tell which was which, rather then the sniff test. Again, impressive flights for back then in that Quick, what's a little hearing loss for those memories!

The name being not very descriptive of it's speed range for those that don't know, that's impressive. My best in my Pterodactyl was to Gimli Manitoba and back from Idaho. I used a army helicopter helmet, the ones with the various tint visors you can slide down and always used those soft foam earplugs.

Wow, a Dac. that's one I could actually pass., I loved that plane. You like me, must have used a calendar for flight planning. My cruise was about 50-55 mph, and I used to kid that when I departed the 6,400 ft long runway of Leadville, Co. on one of my trips, by the time I cleared the numbers at the other end, I was out of annual. I loved all of it, the low and slow, waving at farmers on their tractor in their fields early in the morning over some rural Nebraska small town, whose biggest features were the silos beside the train tracks and the high school football stadium. i also learned the significance of flying below 2,000 AGL, because above 2,000 AGL, you can't smell the terrain, and I want those memories.

Thanks for your comments, and you're right, as you well know, I would not trade those memories for anything. I could write books on the people I met and the experiences I had. The one discovery I treasure is the confirmation that America is not defined by the cities on our coasts, it's the son helping his dad fill the hopper in a duster on a Kansas strip in the evening, or the Oklahoma rancher that threw me, a stranger that just set his plane down, the keys to his new dually and scolded not to walk to town, but take his new truck and get something to eat. Those are the experiences I want again, but this time in my newly completed Zenith 750. To hold a cup of coffee or turn on a heater, or not watch my ground speed go to 14 mph ( Moriarty,NM), those are the experiences I am looking forward to in this new chapter,and why I check this site daily for places to add to my list.