I'd like to know what's the loudest commercial aircraft ever flown, past or present? Also, what's the quietest aircraft in airline service today? I'm talking about both outside and cabin noise. In my experiece, the Fokker F28 is the loudest (there's almost no difference b/t cabin and outside noise! Its noise footprint exceeds even that of the 737-200 and the DC-9.), the quietest being the A319/320 and the BAe 146. Once again, this is from personal experience, but what is really the loudest and the quietest airliner? Personal experiences are welcome, though.

Loudest: Boeing 727

Quietest: Boeing 767-300

An MD-80 is very quiet in the front, but very lud in the back!  

The loudest would have to be the CV880/CV990A jets, while the quietest is the Avro RJ70/85/100 series- I have yet to hear one- even while standing on the ramp watching it takeoff or land!

The loudest planes were the non-fan first-generation jets, those powered by the PW JT-3C and JT-4A (non-B-model 707s and 720s) and the GE CJ805 (CV880 and, to a lesser extent, CV990).

JATO (jet-assisted take-off) rockets were fitted to some C-47s and DC-4s (or DC-6s, I'm not sure) operated from short runways or in hot-and-high conditions; the roar must have been excruciating!

I agree with CV990A that the quietest airliners must be the Avro RJ series, along with its BAe146 predecessor, as these are the only commercial jets allowed at London City Airport.

While watching a Mets game at Shea Stadium, I was amazed at the difference between the early-model PW JT-8 powered 727s, 737s, and DC-9s and the CFM-56 powered Boeing 737s and A320s taking off from LGA and soaring overhead. The older aircraft were able to drown out the cheers of the local fans!

I personally feel one of the loudest airliners can also be one of the quietest...depending on the hush kits. For instance, I've noticed Delta's 727s are considerably louder than Northwest's. The A320 is also one of the more quiet planes around.

First, quietest (from the outside) would have to be the BAe 146/Avro's - just outstanding; on the inside, I still have never flown in anything that can match the near-silence of the front cabin in an MD-80 (while the back, between the engines, is a living hell!).

My funny quiet plane story: some time back (I'm thinking late 86, early 87? Some DL hotshot check me on this), I was sitting at a traffic light just north of the 405 Freeway in Santa Ana - and just a couple of hundred yards off the end of 19R at SNA; had the top down on the old Eldorado, and I heard this strange hissing noise- looked up, and saw a DL 757 VERY low and on approach to land.

It was Delta's noise-test proving flight to secure approval to fly the 757 into SNA (no-one was at that time), and the aircraft was fully-laden (sandbags, I was later told); I guess Delta picked their best pilots for the exercise, and set up the best approach they could make, because they weren't pushing a bit of power on that approach, I'll tell you.

I was convinced that the 757 had to be the quietest thing around from that, but I soon learned otherwise; they got their approval, and from then, they sounded like any other jet on landing.

Good fun, that.

Older generation 727s, 737-200s and DC-9s are very loud on takeoff. Its amazing to hear one of these suckers take off and having the room you are in shake (Jorge Chavez International, Lima-Peru). At the same time, its amazing to notice a 767-300 takeoff and hear but a whisper (high pitched engine noise and airframe wind noise). But I got to admit, i love to hear the "Buzz-saw" sounds from a 747/A340 on takeoff. 
BUT, after they pass over, it's that silent high pitched noise again that reminds one that the jetliner that just passed over you is a modern, noise abaiting plane. After a 722, 732 passes over, your ears still scream for mercy. My experience and my 2 cents.
A300 American

From aircraft that ive been on:

The Boeing 747-200 was pretty loud when I was in First class.. but on the -400 its very quite.. also I found that the most quite aircraft was the Airbus 321 very nice its like a Shreking sound but u dont hear it for long. The 777 was also pretty loud.. but I was sitting in the last seat of the aircraft so thats a bad spot to say. Airbus aircraft seem to be very quite... and I like that.

I would have to agree about the forward cabin of the MD-83 being quiet. All you hear on take off roll is increasing pitch of tire speed and that's it.

Have you guys ever witnessed the Concorde on take-off roll? That plane has the most violently-loud thunderish takeoff for such a little plane! It gets my vote for earth shaking acceleration (and it's not even a sonic boom speed at that point!). I heard some of the Russian-built planes are loud, but I don't recall watching one on takeoff.

Quietest: I've seen almost all western-built civilian aircraft on take-off. It seems the quietest to me is a toss-up between the A320/A319 & 737-500. 757s and MD90s are also relatively quiet.

LOUDEST

From the outside would be a toss-up between the F28 and the B727.

From the inside I would have to say the SAAB 340, or the last three rows of a B727.

quietest

From the outside would be the CRJ-200

From the inside would be in the first 5-rows of the B767-300.

Cheers,
B727-200.

From personal experience, the loudest airliner which I know of has to be the DC-9. When BWIA had its DC-9s in the pre-hushkit days (they sold them before Stage III was implemented) they were very notable for their noise. On takeoff, the jets issued a loud half-crashing, half-screaming high-pitched noise that was almost like a bomb blast and was audible for kilometres around POS. With hushkits, though, DC-9s are no louder than other types. I know that Concorde would in fact be loudest due to its exemption from Stage III but I have never seen (or heard) one in flight.

As for quietest, probably 737NG; on take-off and on landing they are absolutely silent and when they pass overhead one can barely hear them. The 777 is also outstanding - for such a huge plane with massive engines, its footprint is very small indeed.

 
Trintocan.

From my personal experiences:

Jets:
What did you say? (loudest): Boeing 727
We're on a plane? (quietest): Boeing 757 or 777

Turboprops:
What did you say?: Beechcraft 1900D
We're on a plane?: DeHavilland Dash 8 Q series

Corey777

Noisiest plane I have flown is Antonov 24. When I was a kid I remember terrible noise at Warsaw airport, as it was visited mostly by russian planes.

Boeing 747-400 which I have flown- was pretty quiet.

Regards- Kuba

I have flown once on a BAC-111, and I
must say that it is PRETTY loud !!!
Especially from the outside it's noticeably
the loudest aircraft at the airport. And
when you realize its size !

regards,
Matej Sabol

Hi guys,

Well well, 707, 727, believe me this is nothing compared to:
Sitting in an IL62 in the last row!
Sitting in an IL18 next to the wing
Sitting in an AN24 while take off

these moments are to die for! you feel what aviation is...... my best memories ever.
Rgds
Amir

P.s least noise in my opinion are in the A340 and 777

Outside noisiest Concorde.
Quietest outside (jet) Bae146/Avroliner

If you include props I wouldn't like to say.

Isn't the MD90 supposed to be very quiet?

A close second to the BAe.146/Avro RJ-series, so I've heard. Dunno for sure -> there aren't any in my part of the world ....

From personnal experience I'd have to say that from outside the 737-200 rips your ears off pretty hard ...but it's such a great sound!!! The louder it is the better !!  

At YYZ the loudest airplane we get is probably the F28/737-200/DC9 it's a three way tie...but the quietest one we see is by far teh Canadair Regional jet...even the ERJ's make more noise....

The Noisiest I have been on is a DC-9-30.

But Just recently I flew on an Airtran 717-200 and I am nicknaming that plane the Peacemaker. I sat there in the very back with my Ear up to the window right next to the engine and it was still quiet enough that I didn't have to Back away. In Fact, The Back is the quietest in My opinion but the whole 717 plane is as Silent as a Pin-Dropping.

I LOVE IT          

Definitely noisiest is Concorde
Quietest is CRJ
(these are of course at take off!!)

My experiences haven't been with a very wide variety of airliners, but I've spotted a lot and stood at the end of the Hopkins Airport (CLE) runways 23R/L... So here's my opinion...

Loudest I've ridden -- DC-9-10. I was sitting right next to the engine on the left side and it took me 10 minutes to get used to the noise. I couldn't hear the flight attendant doing drink service so I used hand signals to order. Luckily she understood me. The Fokker 100 comes in close second, but the pitch is higher and not so much of a roar as a loud hum. (As a musician I'm sensitive to that aspect).

The loudest I've heard taking off (from about 50 yds. away) are DC-9, Boeing 727, MD-80, and one awfully loud Learjet (private) whose pilot/owner is going to get fined someday for violating Stage III compliance. Boeing 737-200 can be quite loud too, with those old "tube" engines.

Personally, I've seen a correlation between the operating airline and the noise the jets make as well. For example, Continental's MD-80s are loud, but not nearly as loud as Delta's. Northwest's DC-9s are screamers, but I've been deafened by Midwest Express. USAirways Metrojet and Southwest Airlines both operate Boeing 737-200s from Cleveland, and those are loudest among 737s.

In terms of loudness when riding on the planes, I think it really matters the location of the engines and where you are sitting. There's going to be a lot more noise if you're in a DC-9, MD-80, F-100, EMB-120, etc. with fuselage mounted jets than if you're on a plane with wing-mounted jets, just by dint of distance. Also, if you're sitting right over, next to, or below a jet, you're in for an earful.

I also nominate the DeHavilland Dash-8 in the turboprop category. Not only is it loud, the props vibrate the entire aircraft which was a living hell for me when I was riding with an ankle injury!  

Quietest? Hmm... Most of the turboprops are pretty quiet in comparison to the jets! I would nominate the Boeing 757 and the Boeing 737-800.  

I feel sorry for people who don't live around either LHR, CDG or JFK, because you guys don't get to see Concorde take off and land EVERY DAY. What a sight, and what a noise. Nothing, absolutely nothing compares. 727s and 737-200s are positively silent next to the 'Rocket'

BA744

The Tristar is STILL very quiet inside and out. Long live the Whisperliner.

It has been proven that the Airbus A340 has the quietest cabin in the world
(check out their website) it is all proven
trev*

In the quietest catageory, I would have to nominate the B-767, -200 series RJ, and just about any Airbus. Honorable mention goes to the EMB-120; with the APU off and engines at ground idle you sometimes have to look at the props to see if it's running. The loudest would have to be anything sporting JT-8s, or (suprisingly) Garrett TPE-331s. The BAe Jetstream 32 (two TPE-331-12UHR) remains the only plane besides the Air Gaurd F-16s that can be heard from my place during a full power ground run, and I live on a busy intersection about three miles from FAT.

There was a graph in a Concorde information sheet that I read (I forget the web site but it is probably still out there somewhere) that states that the loudest jetliner ever was the DC-8-10 with water injected engines, at 8db louder than the Concorde on take-off.

The quietest jetliners are the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 (with IAE 2500 turbofans) and presumably by the same token the A320 series with the same engines, and the British Aerospace RJ-85. - the only jetliner certified for ops into LCY.

Other quiet airplanes (outside on takeoff) include the 777, F-100 and 717.

FLY DELTA JETS



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