Sound in Flight
 

Hello

I am soon to be a third year BSc Music technology degree student and i have been thinking what on earth to do once im out the education cocoon.
I am posting this to ask what types of jobs in the flight industry there are to involve music technology. I can only think of instalation in the building of an aeroplane?

Thanks

Vince Parker

Hmmm, music and aviation aren't traditional bed mates!

The fitting of an aircraft with in-flight entertainment/intercom/PA systems isn't done by people with a musical background - it's part of the work of the aircraft engineers/builders and isn't a specialist area. The qualiity of aircraft sound systems doesn't warrant any musically-qualified people to be involved I'm afraid!

I think you'll struggle to find something that ticks the box. One is probably best of being a hobby - the music or aviation!

B&S

I don't know if this is of much help, but I used to work for a Japanese Company that made digital recording devices such as samplers and digital recorders. We supplied a lot of samplers to a simulator company to replay the many channels of sound required to simulate all the different conditions. I forget how many channels, but I think it was well over 150 and each one had to be recorded, looped (in most cases) and triggered. The main sounds were engines, undercarriage, weather, slipstream, warning chimes and messages etc.

The result was astonishingly accurate. The sounds were recorded during many flights with microphones positioned where the crew sat at head level, e.g. so the effect of rain on one side of the aircraft would be different for each of the crew.

Anyway, it would make some use of your music technology in an aerial context! Good luck. DeeCee

Acoustics engineers are in demand as the press for quieter engines continues.

Then of course there is the noise cancellation technology - used in modern turboprops and in noise-cancelling headsets.

Having worked in the field for 25 years (i.e., graduated at the University of Hard Knox) I would guess that a BSc Music technology involves a bit of musical theory, acoustics, psychoacoustics, analogue and digital electronics, and information technology.

In-flight entertainment (which IMHO is really an euphemism for in-flight boring c**p) hardware is basically just ruggedized consumer electronics and fitting this stuf is simple assembly line work.

PA systems are another matter: Designing such (safety-critical) systems is a specialist job - at least if it's done right, acoustics being the science involved. However, designing a PA system for a passenger aircraft is not very different from designing a PA system for a shopping mall - except for the parameters.

How long ago was that? I'll admit that an aircraft simulator has a much longer life cycle than present day consumer electronics, but these days, I'd handle similar requirements with not much more than a PC with a sound card.

Quieter engines and noise cancellation is applied acoustics, but to get to work on that stuff you'd be coming from a mechanical engineering background, rather than a musical one.

To the point: vinceparker, until we'll be seeing airliners with entertainment facilities more commonly associated with cruise ships :eek:, I think it will be very difficult to find a position in aviation that will allow you to apply your art. If I were you, I'd be looking toward theater teching and such. Not very glamorous, but good fun and you get to hang out with interesting people. :cool: