Potentially controversial - Is the Vulcan REALLY that noisy?
Discussion
I've never seen the Vulcan display but twice this year I've seen it as it was en route to somewhere and on both occasions it didn't seem any louder than any other plane. The second time was last week at Silverstone during the 6 hour race and I could only just hear it above the noise from the track. In fact although I was aware of a jet noise overhead I paid it no attention until I noticed people around me looking up. I still quite like the photo I got though.
Everything about the Vulcan makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It's just to be near Lightnings that are giving it the beans is like someone pushing two semi-sharpened pencils directly into your ears. The Vulcan isn't, it's just loud like most big jets.
I want it to impair my hearing
I want it to impair my hearing
I saw it this year at Farnborough and it flies over my house a few times a year and it doesn't seem that loud.
The Typhoon did it for me this year at Farnborough, It was on the saturday so low cloud meant a low level display but it just blew me away. I found it quite emotional, hard to explain.
The Typhoon did it for me this year at Farnborough, It was on the saturday so low cloud meant a low level display but it just blew me away. I found it quite emotional, hard to explain.
Kitchski said:
Everything about the Vulcan makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It's just to be near Lightnings that are giving it the beans is like someone pushing two semi-sharpened pencils directly into your ears. The Vulcan isn't, it's just loud like most big jets.
I want it to impair my hearing
I saw the Vulcan do its stand up and scoot trick many years ago, at Cosford I believe. Fly in low and slow, then turn on its tail and rocket vertically out of sight. A massive and brutal display of power and noise, literally set the ground trembling. I want it to impair my hearing
If cars had had alarms back then they would have fallen off, not gone off.
I've seen XH558 in the wild twice now. 1st time over a local village en route to the Southend airshow last summer (Flying quite high so the noise was fairly suppressed) and then again last Sunday at the Gransden Airshow where she did a low full bore flypast. To me it was the sort of loud sound that makes your ears vibrate and feel that the ground is shaking! absolutely epic stuff!
As impressive as it was, no aviation engine can beat the mighty Merlin for noise still though IMO...
As impressive as it was, no aviation engine can beat the mighty Merlin for noise still though IMO...
A heavily laden VC-10 taking off on a cold morning, that was loud!
The Vulcan is a noisy beast, but as has been mentioned already, they probably don't give the engines too much of a throttling due to needing to look after them. I've attended several BBQ's just outside the ATC tower at Brize over the years and had the Vulcan take off whilst I've been there. When your sat about 200m from the runway I can testify its pretty damned loud!
I remember Lightnings scaring me as a kid though, spent a few years at Binbrook before it closed and if a couple of those went off it was deafening, even from the MQ's!
The Vulcan is a noisy beast, but as has been mentioned already, they probably don't give the engines too much of a throttling due to needing to look after them. I've attended several BBQ's just outside the ATC tower at Brize over the years and had the Vulcan take off whilst I've been there. When your sat about 200m from the runway I can testify its pretty damned loud!
I remember Lightnings scaring me as a kid though, spent a few years at Binbrook before it closed and if a couple of those went off it was deafening, even from the MQ's!
b14 said:
Looks like we have a winner! 
The Vulcan makes a "distinctive" once youve heard it, you'll recognise it again.
for sheer noise the loudest things Ive heard were Phantoms - on full-chat, you really knew they were nearby.
although I hav ementioned before, I work right at the end of Edinburgh Runway, and the VC10's heading in and out with the troops for the Military Tattoo - they make things on my desk move as they come over the building. I take it they dont give a stuff about "Noise Abatement" - well I for one am quite happy if they dont.
for sheer noise the loudest things Ive heard were Phantoms - on full-chat, you really knew they were nearby.
although I hav ementioned before, I work right at the end of Edinburgh Runway, and the VC10's heading in and out with the troops for the Military Tattoo - they make things on my desk move as they come over the building. I take it they dont give a stuff about "Noise Abatement" - well I for one am quite happy if they dont.
The Typhoon is noisy - the RAF displayed one at the Dartmouth Regatta a couple of years ago.
On the final pass along the river she had full afterburners on & as the plane did her almost vertical climb, on full power, dozens of car alarms around Dartmouth & Kingswear were set off much to the amusement of the crowd although the ''annoyed of Kingswear' brigade were not happy.
I recall that the RAF rep at the Regatta had forecast that alarms would be set off before the display although I don't think anyone believed him.
Sadly no Typhoon this year although we did get two passes from a couple of Tornado GR4's.
One was a fairly slow leisurely pass along the river. The second was a high speed, wings swept back, power on pass up the river before they flew down to Bournemouth.
The noise was amazing.
I would love to see 558 at Dartmouth as the noise from engines would be sublime echoing around the town.
I was talking to one of the Regatta organisers over the weekend & mentioned 55 to him. He said that they had made tentative enquiries about getting 558 to display this year whilst she was a the Bournemouth Air Show.
He said that the cost of getting 558 to display was too much for the Regatta to afford although he wants her there next year just in case 2013 is the last year that she will fly.
As a matter of interest does anyone know what the cos is to get 558 to display as he wouldn't tell me & I don't have any idea as to the costs involved.
On the final pass along the river she had full afterburners on & as the plane did her almost vertical climb, on full power, dozens of car alarms around Dartmouth & Kingswear were set off much to the amusement of the crowd although the ''annoyed of Kingswear' brigade were not happy.
I recall that the RAF rep at the Regatta had forecast that alarms would be set off before the display although I don't think anyone believed him.
Sadly no Typhoon this year although we did get two passes from a couple of Tornado GR4's.
One was a fairly slow leisurely pass along the river. The second was a high speed, wings swept back, power on pass up the river before they flew down to Bournemouth.
The noise was amazing.
I would love to see 558 at Dartmouth as the noise from engines would be sublime echoing around the town.
I was talking to one of the Regatta organisers over the weekend & mentioned 55 to him. He said that they had made tentative enquiries about getting 558 to display this year whilst she was a the Bournemouth Air Show.
He said that the cost of getting 558 to display was too much for the Regatta to afford although he wants her there next year just in case 2013 is the last year that she will fly.
As a matter of interest does anyone know what the cos is to get 558 to display as he wouldn't tell me & I don't have any idea as to the costs involved.
A couple of years ago at B'mth, we could feel the Typhoon through the gear lever as we were driving away from the airshow early to beat traffic, not realising the EF was en route. Saw it at Farnborough in 2006 too....I remember thinking it'd probably be quiet because it's new etc.
How wrong can you be?!
How wrong can you be?!
Kitchski said:
the most recent being Bournemouth today.
I was down the road at the Shoreham airshow on Saturdaythe Vulcan was noisy, but in a good way
I really liked the flypast of the B17 flying fortress (Sally B)
i've got loads of pics, some crap but a few goodies
is there an airshow thread to post them in ?
tank slapper said:
bigfoot7 said:
The B-1B Lancer does it for me. Saw it a few years ago and has to be in the top 10 for noise 
The B1 is ridiculously loud. I saw it take off straight after Concorde at RIAT, and it was considerably louder than that.Blib said:
It may well be too 'blowy'. It blew my cap clean off of my head when it took off at Farnborough 2008.
I was part of a parade at Marham officers mess a few years back, and we had a Stabbed Cat (RIP) Tornado do a fly past. The winged superheros decided to show off a bit, so did a vertical climb on full power directly over the parade. Our hats went everywhere and there was the smell of AvGas in my Number Ones for months after. Happy days 
For a non-afterburning aircraft, the Vulcen is pretty loud. Concorde was even louder as it had an afterburning version of the same type of engine (the Olympus).
Most afterburning aircraft are pretty loud when the afterburners are engaged. For most of us the loudest we will hear these days is the B1B bomber. However, at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show had a Tupolev Tu22M/26 Backfire display and that seemed even louder.
As for older airliners, old style pure jet airliners such as early 707s, DC-8s and Caravelles were much louder than any modern airliners. Later, the early low bypass engines fitted to aircraft like the second generation 707s and DC-8s (the Pratt and Whitney JT3D) and British airliners such as the BAC 1-11 and Trident (Rolls Royce Spey). Were also very noisy by modern standards. The Nimrod also used Speys - which explains why they were so noisy.
Most afterburning aircraft are pretty loud when the afterburners are engaged. For most of us the loudest we will hear these days is the B1B bomber. However, at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show had a Tupolev Tu22M/26 Backfire display and that seemed even louder.
As for older airliners, old style pure jet airliners such as early 707s, DC-8s and Caravelles were much louder than any modern airliners. Later, the early low bypass engines fitted to aircraft like the second generation 707s and DC-8s (the Pratt and Whitney JT3D) and British airliners such as the BAC 1-11 and Trident (Rolls Royce Spey). Were also very noisy by modern standards. The Nimrod also used Speys - which explains why they were so noisy.
Not sure how you define loud but years ago (late 80's possibly) when it was displaying before the Grand Prix at Silverstone it flew over our house (about 10 miles away) and every window and cupboard in the house rattled. I wouldn't say that was load necessarily but the energy emitted was phenominal.
The Vulcan was at Aerospace in Filton a couple of years ago for an air show
Very impressive (i do remember them in service as a child) however it was very loud compared to the airbus A380 which also flew that day. The vulcan was just doing some light moves whereas the pilot was chucking the 380 about like a red bull racer.(very impressive!)
So by modern standards yes it is loud, but then its very old technology and as a nuclear bomber it wasn't designed with stealth in mind! Warplanes by their nature do not need to be quiet, by the time you hear them their missiles are on you!
Very impressive (i do remember them in service as a child) however it was very loud compared to the airbus A380 which also flew that day. The vulcan was just doing some light moves whereas the pilot was chucking the 380 about like a red bull racer.(very impressive!)
So by modern standards yes it is loud, but then its very old technology and as a nuclear bomber it wasn't designed with stealth in mind! Warplanes by their nature do not need to be quiet, by the time you hear them their missiles are on you!
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