Thu, Mar 06, 2003
We ran an announcement earlier this
week about the Voice Alert system, which
activates a voice notification whenever a stall or gear horn
goes off. The release noted that users of active noise-reducion
headsets might find this particularly beneficial, as the
noise-cancellation work the ANR sets do is so very good, that a
pilot might miss, for instance, a gear horn, at least until the
prop starts getting shorter.
ANN readers are
everywhere, and it didn't take long for us to get a note
from Michael Feldbauer, who happens to be the Product Manager,
Aviation/Tourguide, for Sennheiser Electronic Corporation. He
volunteered, "As you know, Sennheiser is one the leading
manufactures of ANR Aviation headsets. In reading this article
(press release) we would like to note a common error: if the ANR is
working as designed, it is removing low frequency noise. When you
reduce this low frequency noise the noise left is easier to be
heard. Since warning devices in aircraft are high frequency, they
will be able to be heard better using an ANR headset then using a
passive headset. Based on this, it seems that the Voice Alert may
help non-ANR users more then ANR users."
Wishing to investigate further, this old
Editor wrote to Mr. Feldbauer, asking, "I've been using ANR sets
since the first ones came on the market (and I still use my
original Telex set), and I've noticed that high frequencies, as
well, are attenuated. It's near-blissful, with the set on. Perhaps
it's the age of the technology of my set. Have the attenuation
curves been significantly altered in the past 10-12 years?"
He replied, "The early Telex unit you speak of also had very
good passive attenuation and the passive portion does target mid-
and high-frequency noise. Maybe it is time for a laboratory to test
and publish the truths about the current technologies and have good
data for the pilot population to make decision with." (Our
Sennheiser guru may have signed up for some homework...)
More News
Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]
Aero Linx: The T-6 Racing Association The T-6 Racing Association is all about T-6‘s and racing. Our mission is to bring great racing to our fans in Reno and other venues wher>[...]
Also: Electra Aero, AMO-CBP v Smugglers, Naval King Airs, Boeing Deal To the surprise of everyone involved, Waco Kitchen shut down both airport operations with little warning and h>[...]
Also: WACO Kitchen Bails, French SportPlane Mfr to FL, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Innovation Preview Bobby Bailey, a bit of a fixture in sport aviation circles for his work with>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]