Identifying Aircraft By Sound

I thought this was gonna be a legit question when I saw the title.i was thinking of aircraft I can ID without looking.

Huey
f-104
Osprey
Avanti
Cirrus
C-5A
 
kyleb said:
I thought this was gonna be a legit question when I saw the title.i was thinking of aircraft I can ID without looking.

Huey
f-104
Osprey
Avanti
Cirrus
C-5A
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I was going to list the same types. I’d add the CH-47 and UH-60 only because I heard them so many times. AV-8 another one that’s distinct. Two more that are no longer in use, the S-3 and the EA-6.
 
By sound alone?

P-51 (who can't)
Bell 407 and 429 (heard enough of them)
Citation Latitude (during startup, they make a unique moaning sound)
A-10 (unique engine howl, used to live under a low altitude training route, heard them daily)
 
I have a really bad joke about how to tell an Agusta helicopter by sound, but I'll probably get banned if I tell it.
 
Actually, two researchers at Johns Hopkins (one who ended up being the dean of the engineering school and the other ended up being my boss when I worked for the Army) did a research project when they were able to identify helicopters by the sound. The gearing between the main and tail rotors are slightly different for each model and that was the key to their identification.
 
Hueys are unmistakable. Blackhawks too, to a lesser extent. Can always recognize a Kinner engine, too, though there aren't too many of them left.
 
wanttaja said:
There has always been an aircraft identification problem among journalists, and the general population. EAA has developed a device to help people identify aircraft by the sounds they make.
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I understand there is an app to identify birds by their sound. Aircraft could be next.
 
Velocity173 said:
I was going to list the same types. I’d add the CH-47 and UH-60 only because I heard them so many times. AV-8 another one that’s distinct. Two more that are no longer in use, the S-3 and the EA-6.
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Even the -H47 is easy to identify via radio w/ that transmission whine in the background.

Other easy ones not mentioned:
O-2/Skymaster
T-28
Hughes 500
 
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I track enough aircraft near my house, that I often know the tail number when I hear one. (Based on the sound, time of day, and past activity)
 
F-15 especially during eng start
F-16
A-10
F-35
F-22 starting the APGS (APU)

Most have a very distinct whistle when idling.

The 15s and 16s (with Pratt engines) make a very distinct and short whine when lowering the landing gear. The landing gear handle going down closes a relay that sends a signal to the DEECs that causes the nozzles to fully open.

A-10s sound like a Honda civic with a fart can muffler.
 
I think anyone who spends quality time around aircraft will develop a sense to recognize specific aircraft by sound. Supposedly, some mechanics during WW2 during the daylight bombing days could ID their aircraft out of a group of B-17s approaching the field by sound. But I think it could be a perishable sense, as one day I looked up to look for a Bell 206 and instead saw a R44 fly by. :rolleyes:
 
We live in the pattern entry area for our untowered airport. I have what my wife calls the "Round Engine Pop." Every time I hear a radial, I'm jumping up to look out the window.

Ron Wanttaja
 
flyingron said:
Actually, two researchers at Johns Hopkins (one who ended up being the dean of the engineering school and the other ended up being my boss when I worked for the Army) did a research project when they were able to identify helicopters by the sound. The gearing between the main and tail rotors are slightly different for each model and that was the key to their identification.
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Laser vibrometry can now detect acoustic vibrations from a distance without the sound ever having to reach the receiver. It can even work in vacuum where sound can't travel. Apparently, you can point it at the engine and diagnose which cylinder needs a new plug.
 
We did stuff like this for class projects in a Digital Signal Signal processing class years ago. The real trick is to tell how fast it's coming toward you or how fast it's moving away.
 
I can tell some car engine makes by their startup, idle, or drive-by sound.
 
I can tell some of our neighbor’s planes by the sound. One has an RV-9 with a particular whistle. His previous plane was a Comanche that whistled when the gear was down. A couple others I can’t necessarily tell by just the sound of the engine, but by the reduction in RPM at the same point in their departure.
 
Bell206 said:
I think anyone who spends quality time around aircraft will develop a sense to recognize specific aircraft by sound. Supposedly, some mechanics during WW2 during the daylight bombing days could ID their aircraft out of a group of B-17s approaching the field by sound. But I think it could be a perishable sense, as one day I looked up to look for a Bell 206 and instead saw a R44 fly by. :rolleyes:
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When I was a lineman I was really good at this. "There's a King Air about 10 miles out..."

I can still tell single vs multi, piston vs turboprop vs jet, but types, not so much. Besides, these days I can just look for 'em on ADS-B most of the time.
 
ateamer said:
I can tell some of our neighbor’s planes by the sound. One has an RV-9 with a particular whistle. His previous plane was a Comanche that whistled when the gear was down. A couple others I can’t necessarily tell by just the sound of the engine, but by the reduction in RPM at the same point in their departure.
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Somebody recorded a video of my low approach at Gaston's in the Mooney years ago. It makes a really cool sound, almost Jetsons-ish. I'll have to see if I can dig that up.
 
Wait. With everything I’ve read so far you’re telling me I’m normal and not uniquely skilled?
 
I have been flying my 172 0-320 for 7 years now with a power flow exhaust. I have been told by many people that my plane sounds loud and unique and they they don't even have to look up to know it's me.
 
I can ID a T210 climbing out by its muffled exhaust sound. The Pilates Air Ambulence goes over so often I don’t even get up to look. The C-5 has a very distinct whine, as does the C-17. A Stearman that flew over often was easy, as was the Hueys (from 5 miles away). Everyone can tell a P-51 so no credit there. R44’s are easy since they flew over so often. There’s an F-15 training base nearby so that’s a no-brainer as are the F-5’s that train with them. Living next to an airports for the last 60 years helps, I suppose.
 
nauga said:
There isn't a person here who couldn't hear an S-3 on approach just once and be able to ID by sound ever after.

Nauga,
and his War Hoover
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Or a Hummer for that matter.
 
Being a long time instructor at Fort Novosel (Rucker), I can ID the different helicopters here by sound quite easily.
Also, Piper Arrows make a pretty distinct whistling sound when the gear is fully extended, no need to look up when they are on downwind.
 
The F-35 is easy. It’s “somewhere in between a screech and a whistle.”

 
I thought they all went “cha ching “…

Tools
Whoop whoop
 
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