In this post-radial age (talking of big transports), we have to make do with the ever-fewer big turboprops (as well as the occasional RR Merlin and Chinook) to provide the kind of aurally-induced adrenalin rush that makes one abandon PC for the garden in all weathers...
Quote from WHBM:
"I don't know why [the Vanguards] were so noisy when their close competitor for size and power, the Bristol Britannia, was the opposite, the "Whispering Giant". I suspect the props rather than the powerplant, I believe De Havillands for the Vanguard and Dowtys for the Britannia."
Think you are right about the props generating most of the noise on both types. But the Proteus itself was an incredibly quiet engine. As the Brit approached you taxiing, it was virtually inaudible. It was only when the pilot throttled it right back that a momentary "whoosh" was heard: possibly the prop blades going into full-fine (or, perhaps, even reverse) pitch. Then, when the a/c had turned on to the runway and the power levers were pushed forward, there was no noticeable increase in the pitch of the noise - simply a slight increase in the volume. So different an engine from its less-powerful contemporary, the Dart. Oh for a hi-fi recording...
Yes G-ALHI, am familiar with the sound and sight of strings of Transalls en-route at low level from Toulouse-Francazal to the parachute-dropping area near Pau. But most of them seem to be abroad on ops these days, and Francazal has closed.
Last edited by Chris Scott; 3rd Dec 2015 at 22:02.