Most distinctive and charismatic engine sound?
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First and foremost the DC3. Then the Airspeed Ambassador - Bristol Centaurus - Quiet and Powerful with a Gentle Whistle when heard in the overhead. Strangely enough just at the moment I find the F15s and their horrible after-burning row rather reassuringly normal and comforting in these difficult times as they practice interceptions in their 'Lakenheath Play Ground' above here in North-east Norfolk.
Last edited by OUAQUKGF Ops; 5th Feb 2021 at 10:31.
This does not come across in all the WWII films about Spitfires, with "in-cockpit" shots presumably set up in a studio. It's a very different sound to the deeper Merlin roar heard on the ground.
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Loadsa fun stuff on 7 odd pages makes me apologise if mentioned before but I recall the BEA Tristars in that l BEA cul-de-sac of Terminal one making a very distinguished, deep, throaty (stop it ) growl into life as , I think, centre engine was started first. Tridents also didn't make the same noise as the 1-11 even when powered by the same Spey,(5-11 was it?). !-11 -300 had same engines as the T1's. Like the tristar, I think we started centre engine first & that might have blocked out the same start noise on the outers. Crikey, I sound like I know what I am talking about !.
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TriStar certainly made quite a deep sound while starting up, I remember Delta's at Gatwick. The 1-11 had quite a distinctive start up sound too.
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mntech
Those are the ones!! JT3D not 3B as I wrote. Are there any 707s / DC8s left still operating that have the original engines, albeit hush kitted? That looks as though, from the look of the ground below, to be one of the Iranian 707-320Bs that were still operating until comparatively recently.
Those are the ones!! JT3D not 3B as I wrote. Are there any 707s / DC8s left still operating that have the original engines, albeit hush kitted? That looks as though, from the look of the ground below, to be one of the Iranian 707-320Bs that were still operating until comparatively recently.
The US Air Force still uses the KC-135, but most of those have been re-engined (I think.....)
Gnome de PPRuNe
I believe all C-135 variants still flying have been modified with CFM-56s. B-52s still have the TF-33 which is the military version of the JT-3D.
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Most BAC1-11s had a Plessy CSDS (Constant Speed Drive Starter) that made that distinctive sound. A few had a different starter that was much quieter, American Airlines I think.
I don't know what the Tridet had.
I don't know what the Tridet had.
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I'll have to dig out some notes some day to check which ones didn't have the Plessy starter.
The FAA data base says there are about 7 707s and 8 DC-8 still registered. That has to happen every 3 years, but does not mean the aircraft can fly. Doubt if there are many left of either in the world,
The US Air Force still uses the KC-135, but most of those have been re-engined (I think.....)
The US Air Force still uses the KC-135, but most of those have been re-engined (I think.....)
There are some military 707s still on active duty - most are equipped with CFM56 engines, but I believe the USAF AWACS have JT3D engines (they put CFM56 engines on the NATO 707 AWACS but not the USAF - no idea why).
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Glad someone mentioned the C-133. When I was in London in the late 60s, they flew over quite frequently at around FL200 and had the most distinctive and loud sound - once heard never forgotten
Check out the first video at 01.52 and 04.10 where you will get a feel for it and even better in the second one of it landing from about 0.28 in. Worth reading the notes too. Of course being at altitude, the sound went on for some while
https://www.aerothusiast.com/blog/vi...33-cargomaster
"Hey Mick! There's a Cargomaster going over"
"Sorry Fred - can't hear what you are saying, there's a Cargomaster going over..
F104 have been mentioned with a wonderful and distinctive howl especially when downwind. I remember once at the eastern end of the runway at Greenham on arrivals day, someone had a tape recorder and recorded one downwind. From the road at the end of the runway, you couldn't see stuff on finals until the last minute. And not many gens had UHF radios in those days to see what was coming in. He played the tape several times during the day which certainly woke the enthusiasts up, but after it happened a few times and no F104 appeared, someone rumbled what was going on! The Canadian F104 team were good for plenty of howling as they kept everyone busy with their excellent displays. In the latter days the German ones seemed not to howl very often - either a mod or a different piloting technique perhaps?
Original C-5s were fun too - we always had to stay at Mildenhall if one was departing to watch and hear the "'laxy taxy". And In the 60s, Aeroflot TU-114s occasionally overflew the UK and were also quite distinctive
Today the flying hairdryer aka the Avanti is quite distinctive as are AN-12/26 and A400M all of which have flown over me in the last couple of weeks.
Check out the first video at 01.52 and 04.10 where you will get a feel for it and even better in the second one of it landing from about 0.28 in. Worth reading the notes too. Of course being at altitude, the sound went on for some while
https://www.aerothusiast.com/blog/vi...33-cargomaster
"Hey Mick! There's a Cargomaster going over"
"Sorry Fred - can't hear what you are saying, there's a Cargomaster going over..
F104 have been mentioned with a wonderful and distinctive howl especially when downwind. I remember once at the eastern end of the runway at Greenham on arrivals day, someone had a tape recorder and recorded one downwind. From the road at the end of the runway, you couldn't see stuff on finals until the last minute. And not many gens had UHF radios in those days to see what was coming in. He played the tape several times during the day which certainly woke the enthusiasts up, but after it happened a few times and no F104 appeared, someone rumbled what was going on! The Canadian F104 team were good for plenty of howling as they kept everyone busy with their excellent displays. In the latter days the German ones seemed not to howl very often - either a mod or a different piloting technique perhaps?
Original C-5s were fun too - we always had to stay at Mildenhall if one was departing to watch and hear the "'laxy taxy". And In the 60s, Aeroflot TU-114s occasionally overflew the UK and were also quite distinctive
Today the flying hairdryer aka the Avanti is quite distinctive as are AN-12/26 and A400M all of which have flown over me in the last couple of weeks.
Last edited by Suzeman; 5th Feb 2021 at 19:57.
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Has to be the Rolls-Royce Merlin of any mark. So many historic aircraft that it powered: Spitfire, Lancaster, Mosquito, Mustang, Hurricane, Halifax, Tudor, York, North Star. And probably a few more! It's one engine that literally 'brings tears to one's eyes', depending on your vintage of course! ;-)
One sound I loved as a youth, though there were not many aircraft so fitted in my neck of the woods, was the inertia starter on the radials, a prelude to the symphony of the main event. The wind up, clunk of engagement, belch as a cylinder caught and died, then all firing with a cloud of smoke. Sound (music) with theatrics (smoke).
