Loudest Aircraft During Takeoff?

kc135topboom · Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:44 pm

The loudest airplanes the USAF had was the KC-135A/Q on a heavy weight T/O using water injection through their J-57s. They had as much as 155 db.

B-707s and DC-8s equipped with JT-3C engines (cilivian version of the J-57) had sound baffles in the tail pipes to cut down noise to about 120 db during water injection T/O. The KC-135 did not have these baffles (but the B-52F/G did). The baffles did reduce thrust by about 250 lbs per engine.

RayChuang · Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:48 pm

727-200's and 737-200's can be quite loud, based on my experiences sitting near the end of Runway 1R at SFO.

However, for frightening loud, nothing beats a BAe Trident 3B with the three Rolls-Royce Spey engines and the little Rolls-Royce RB.162 engine running at the same time during the takeoff roll. I've read it's actually louder than a Concorde takeoff!

brilondon · Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:55 pm

Watching the 727's and the 732's were very noisy but I would say that the Convair 880 and 990 and maybe the Caravelle were the noisiest aircraft I ever heard.

808TWA · Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:57 pm

The Tridents and BAC1-11's were earth shatteringly loud, but loved the way it would rumble your insides as they spooled up for take-off.

Was really funny when they started to hush-kit the 1-11's....it really made very little difference to this little kid's ears!

railker · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:02 pm

+1 on the 727. And to think (for those that are comparing it to what we've heard recently, and if the airline had them installed) that these have hush kits on the engines to make them quieter ... imagine the roar back in the day?

aviationnut12 · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:04 pm

Try rows 1-5 on an ATR 72-210 (4 bladed curved props), now that's what I call ear shattering on takeoff!

xaphan · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:13 pm

I vote for the CV 880. It seemed to blast off the runway, spewing clouds of black smoke.

The BAC 111 and Caravelle get my next votes.

CHRISBA777ER · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:14 pm

Quoting Aerdingus (Reply 47):
Quoting CHRISBA777ER (Reply 34):

Always found the V2500-powered Airbus narrowbodies to be considerably quieter than the CFM-powered birds. Especially on landing.

Anyone else noticed that?

From listening to aircraft going in & out of Dublin airport, EI's CFM A320/321s are frickin loud! Those & SAS MD-XX, I nearly always know it's them.

Not compared to say, a 727 or old DC9.

Quoting Cpd (Reply 48):
A380-842 at full power is also quite noisy, with a very strange sound as well.

Its a bass rumble though - unlike the 777 for example where you can really hear the scream.

AirlineBrat · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:23 pm

I agree, the BAC-111's were quite loud from the inside and out. The old 737-200's were up there as well.

I learned a little something about atmosphere while attending the University of Alaska-Fairbanks from 1988-92. The UAF campus was about 2 or 3 miles north of runway 19R at FAI. Most of the time, you only heard aircraft when they flew overhead or took off towards the south and the thrust end of the engines were facing campus.

When there was a major cold snap and the thermometer plunged to -40F/C or colder, sound travels quite a bit farther. The coldest I experienced while living in Fairbanks was -58F and that is with no wind chill. The air was completely still and low spots were colder due to a temperature inversion. When it is -20F or colder, the atmosphere cannot hold moisture and you end up with ice fog. Since there is no humidity to absorb sound, you can hear airplane engines from pretty far away.

I remember walking around campus at 11:30pm listening to the southbound redeyes while they taxied to the runway and took off. When it was really cold, you could hear aircraft while they taxied to the runway pretty clearly. Takeoffs sounded like rocket launches, even from that far away. The loudest were definitely the AS and DL 727-200's. The quietest of the bunch was the UA 757. All three flights left FAI around 11:30pm and flew south to ANC then arrived in SEA just before sunrise.

474218 · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:33 pm

Quoting Burkhard (Reply 30):
After a Concorde takeoff, Heathrow seemed like a quet place for minutes.

Quoting 808TWA (Reply 55):
The Tridents and BAC1-11's were earth shatteringly loud, but loved the way it would rumble your insides as they spooled up for take-off.

The 26 March 1977 edition of FLIGHT International has a chart that lists which aircraft produced the peak noise level at Heathrow for each month of 1976.

The list includes PNbB, Runway and A/C Type:

Jan - 118 - 10L - Trident
Feb -124 - 10L - 707
Mar - 118 - 10L - Trident
Apr - 117 - 28L - Trident and 117 - 10R - 707
May - 119 - 10R - Concorde
Jun - 124 - 10L - 707
Jul - 119 - 10L - 707 and 119 - 10L - 747
Aug - 119 - 10R - 707
Sep - 124 - 10R - Concorde
Oct - 122 - 10R - Concorde
Nov - 118 - 28L - 707
Dec - 117 - 28L - 707

planespotting · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:43 pm

Surprised no one has mentioned the F-4 phantom. Even without afterburner (so, trailing tons of black smoke) that thing would growl for miles around. Not that you'll see many of those flying above you nowadays.

As for airliners, I live under the approach/departure path for RWY 32L @ ORD, and the loudest airplane out here is the MD-80. I can just always tell when one of those is lumbering past the house. I can also always tell when a 757 is out there too, although they're not as loud ... they just have that very signature whine that everyone loves.

VirginFlyer · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:54 pm

Quoting Jlbmedia (Reply 42):
The 727 has a very loud, powerful sound.

At an airshow a number of years ago, a 727 did a three point turn using reverse thrust on the runway probably not much more than a hundred metres from where I was standing. I think I had ringing in my ears for a week afterwards...

V/F

skyymarc · Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:55 pm

The two loudest (non-afterburner equipped) aircraft I have heard are the C-5 Galaxy and VC-10. While living in GPT the C-5 would do touch and gos and I lived in an apartment just ofset from the end of runway 14/32. The whole building would rattle before the plane even came into view.

I also had the pleasure to witness a RAF VC-10 climbing out from IAD. I was on a layover at a hotel south of the airport. While walking to get something to eat I heard the VC-10 coming before I could determine what type it was. What a beautiful sound it was. I sure do miss the crackle of those early non-hushed jets.

Of course with afterburners Concorde was unmistakable. Years ago while waiting for my TWA flight to depart JFK I heard her takeoff. Several people in the gate area turned to the gate agents to find out what it was and the well seasoned agents calmly stated that it was just Concorde taking off.

Those were the days.

JQflightie · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:14 pm

if we are talking about inside a aircraft... anything from row 1 - 6 in a A320 with IAE's are sooooo loud on take off!

but if were talking about outside.. i have watched a 727 take of from BNE and i was inside the terminal boarding a plane, it made me turn around because i thought a jet was heading for teh teminal!

richierich · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:26 pm

Quoting Aviators99 (Reply 3):

I think the Bae-111 was pretty famous for its noise.

Quoting Burkhard (Reply 28):
Of what I heard:
Number one Concorde

Quoting OPNLguy (Reply 17):
I'd almost call it a tie between the two...

Almost but the edge has to go to Concorde. That was a seriously loud airplane! I'd had the good fortune of being near a runway for a Concorde departure - it was the only time I have ever covered my ears because the roar of those jets was unbelievable. And the ground didn't just vibrate or tremble, it SHOOK! The closest analogy I can make is to watch the Space Shuttle take off - clearly Concorde didn't have that kind of power or noise - but if you were close enough to the runway it was like being at the launch pad viewing area for a few seconds! Concorde stands as the only aircraft that could be heard (and felt) throughout the whole airport, no matter which building or terminal you were in. I miss her!!

I'm not letting the BAC 1-11 off the hook though - that was also quite a loud machine too! I don't know about inside the cabin, but those outside got to hear the pre-noise regulations RR engines at work! In terms of modern airliners, nothing comes close!

Quoting Spacecadet (Reply 7):
As far as aircraft in current service, definitely the DC-9 series.

I'd have to agree. I still don't put it in the same league as the BAC 1-11 (never heard the VC-10 or 707) but it is far and away louder than other aircraft flying today. Ever watch planes at JFK? Among the 744s, A340s, 757s, 777s and even the occasional 747 Classic cargo plane, nothing comes close to the noise generated by the NW DC-9s!
To me, it reinforces how far engine technology has come in one or two generations. Modern airliners are not silent but they are quiet enough to barely grab your attention now.

N776AU · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:32 pm

Quoting RCoulter (Reply 4):
I was staying at the SFO Marriott a few weeks ago and you definitely knew when one was departing

And a very fine hotel too Smile

When I was in MSP a few weeks ago I stayed at the Fairfield and could hear aircraft taking off from runway 17. It was pretty easy to tell when a DC-9 was leaving. It was so much louder than anything else.

isitsafenow · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:37 pm

Loudest
1. Concorde
2. Caravelle
3. Boeing 720 waterburner i.e. United and Eastern

Loudest 'new airliner'
747

safe
listen

jcf5002 · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:41 pm

Quoting Aviators99 (Reply 3):
I think the Bae-111 was pretty famous for its noise.

I'll +1 this sentiment. Northrop Grumman still use a Bac 1-11 as a flying testbed out of BWI. No matter were you are in a 5 mile radius of the runway, the noise shakes your bones and moves your molars. Not sure if they have a hush kit on it, but it sure doesn't sound like it!

I've never seen a plane which moved so slowly, yet made so much noise... Not to mention the smoke that poured out of the engines made it look like it was being shot down!

sparky35805 · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:50 pm

I never heard a Comet but a Nimrod was as loud as anything around,but I agree that the loudest was a heavy KC135A.
Saturn 5?NASA tested the engines in a test stand on Redstone Arsenal here in HSV in the 60s.They would shake the town.Sometimes they would run them for as long as 2 minutes.
Sparky

mayor · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:56 pm

Quoting Aviators99 (Reply 3):
I think the Bae-111 was pretty famous for its noise.

I'd have to agree there......and the CV880, too. Might take the prize for the smokiest, also.

Quoting KC135TopBoom (Reply 50):
The loudest airplanes the USAF had was the KC-135A/Q on a heavy weight T/O using water injection through their J-57s. They had as much as 155 db.

B-707s and DC-8s equipped with JT-3C engines (cilivian version of the J-57) had sound baffles in the tail pipes to cut down noise to about 120 db during water injection T/O. The KC-135 did not have these baffles (but the B-52F/G did). The baffles did reduce thrust by about 250 lbs per engine.

When I was station on SYA with the Air Force, SAC had a detachment of two RC-135s. One was called the "Bitch" and the other the "Cadillac". The Bitch was very, very noisy and in comparison, the Cadillac was pretty quiet, but still noisy in its own right.

ATAflyer · Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:58 pm

Well I have been a passionate airline/airplane observer long before I started to work at an airline and here are my observations:

For LANDING: The Convair 880 at landing (and subsequent thrust-reverse) was an attention-getter, no matter where in the airport you might be at the time!

For TAKE-OFF: My vote would've gone to the BAC-111 easily, except for one thing...as a teenager I was having an afri-cola on the observation deck cafe of the Luxembourg (LUX) airport when a LUXAIR Caravelle took off...there was some debate from onlookers whether they should cower under the tables, it was sooo loud.
Just my 2 cents!
Keep 'em flying!

SAA380 · Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:22 pm

The 737-200 would get my vote. Those Pratt & W. engines really roar at takeoff.
Old MD's also make some noise.

SAA380 airplane

Arrow · Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:32 pm

My vote goes to the Merlin-powered Canadair Northstar. Incredible noise both inside and outside the cabin. A guy once told me it sounded like a squadron of Mustangs taking off.

BMIFlyer · Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:43 pm

Quoting Khobar (Reply 2):
Vickers VC-10 is the loudest aircraft I have ever heard.

Yes.

Phenominal to hear these taking off when I was out in the Middle East. Amazing NOISE!!

dl767captain · Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:47 pm

AA's MD-80s seem to make the most noise for the longest time, just listening to one land at SAN and could hear it for a while!

hamad · Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:12 pm

how about the DC-10?

when i traveled on them frequently on Northwest, they were so loud, not just take off, but even when they are taxiing.

BAViscount · Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:29 pm

I can't really say what I think is the loudest, but what I can say is that when I first got into aviation and used to pay frequent visits to LHR back in the late 70s/early 80s, you could hear each and every aircraft taking off, even if you couldn't see it. These days the place is so quiet (relatively speaking) that you hardly know you're at the world's busiest international airport!! Big grin

Viscount724 · Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:06 am

Quoting 808TWA (Reply 53):
The Tridents and BAC1-11's were earth shatteringly loud, but loved the way it would rumble your insides as they spooled up for take-off.

All types powered by the various models of the R-R Spey were exceptionally loud, including the Fokker F28 and early Gulfstreams. Some Russian types were about the same.

aviateur · Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:18 am

A310? DC-10? MD-80? Are you kidding?

How many of you youngsters on this board have ever heard a 707 or BAC One-Eleven blistering down the runway? Now THAT was noise.

PS

fanofjets · Sun Jun 21, 2009 4:08 am

The Fairey Rotodyne, when its rotor was sped up by wingtip jets using air blead from the twin Napier Elands, made quite a racket, even by the standards of the late 1950s....

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Phil Rix

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Frank Hudson

Too bad; she was a most interesting aircraft.

MH017 · Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:39 am

3 aircraft come to my mind:

Comet
Caravelle 3
Tupolev 104

Slightly less, but still noisy:

Trident
BAC1-11
VC10
Tupolev TU134

Fokker 28 Fellowship was roaring too Smile

richierich · Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:38 pm

Quoting BAViscount (Reply 76):
I can't really say what I think is the loudest, but what I can say is that when I first got into aviation and used to pay frequent visits to LHR back in the late 70s/early 80s, you could hear each and every aircraft taking off, even if you couldn't see it. These days the place is so quiet (relatively speaking) that you hardly know you're at the world's busiest international airport!!

Makes you wonder what all the NIMBYs are complaining about these days!

ALexeu · Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:11 pm

Tupolev Tu-95! Those 4 turboprop Kuznetsov engines with contra-rotating engines can be heard from a submarine!

What's the loudest seat (or location in aircraft) in the B737/A320 or A340/B777 ?

cheers, Alex

babybus · Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:04 pm

Quoting Khobar (Reply 2):
Vickers VC-10 is the loudest aircraft I have ever heard.

I'd go along with that. I remember as a kid being near LHR once when a VC10 took off and the whole car shook as did al the bones of all the car occupants. It was really quite freaky.

readytotaxi · Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:49 pm

For me it has to be the Trident at LHR, worked there by the Northern runway for 23 year from 1975, could tell that aircraft without looking the the window. Big grin

socaldl · Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:19 am

A couple days ago during a hardstand boarding in ATL I was outside for about 10 minutes. The MD88s were twice as loud as the 757s. I do love being on the plane behind a MD88 in the departure line. Something about that powerful roar is just awesome.

MHG · Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:55 am

In my experience the loudest a/c are the (non-hush kitted) BAC 1-11 and of course the VC-10 (as still used by the RAF)
They appear on par with Concorde or even noisier ...

747400sp · Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:06 am

For widebodies, any current model of 747's can make some noise! I remember one night in 2003, LAX had both UA flight going to Sydney and Auckland, too take off over the east instead of west. The Auckland flight a 777 200ER, was the first to take off, and it did not have that much of a powerful sound. When the Sydney flight a 747 400, took off, you herd strait, pure and loud powerful thrust! Believe me current 747s are loud at take off.

Also those old NZ 747200 that flew nonstop from LAX to Auckland, used to be almost as loud as a DC-8 63.

PS: Fully loaded DC10-30 are pretty loud too. Those old AOM DC10-30 going from LAX to Paris, really made some noise.

Eseuffert450 · Sat Dec 16, 2017 4:25 pm

Loudest airliner excluding the Concorde would have to be the vickers vc10 second would be the 727 and third the md80

jovelson · Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:55 am

Fo me, 727's are the noisiest.

Runway28L · Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:25 pm

Good thread to resurrect.

Based off of my experience...

Civilian:
DC-9 and 727 easily, though I'd put the MD80 and DC-10 behind both too.
Also, the ringing/buzz saw of any CFM/IAE A320 and RR 757 is unmistakeable.

Military:
The Super Hornet and F-22 are the only two planes I've legitimately had to cover my ears for on takeoff. Also, being 50 yards away from a C-17 doing a HPT is really loud.

GaryDay · Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:42 pm

From my days spotting at LHR in the late 70's/early 80's the worst offenders were the super vc10 and the trident 3B (especially when it had the boost engine operating)

fbgdavidson · Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:48 pm

I used to fly out of Boscombe Down in the early 2000s and flew from a building right on the flightline with a view of the 23 threshold. We saw Harriers, Tornadoes, Typhoons and all kinds of wacky things there. The ETPS BAC 1-11 was the noisiest thing I heard from there, even compared to a Harrier doing a vertical takeoff! I really had no idea until then how loud those beasts were.

trijetsonly · Tue Dec 19, 2017 8:28 am

I can't remember anything louder than the Rockwell B-1... except for a Manowar-concert

SheikhDjibouti · Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:21 pm

My regular readers will know that I like to consolidate & summarise all the posts in a thread such as this, so here we go (again).
1) The OP specified "commercial airliners", so I shall ignore references to F-4, F-14, U-2, B-1 & B-2. However, I will ask why no mention of the SR-71? I don't have any particular memories of it being noisy, so I guess it was a case of lots of noise for a short while, but then whoosh! it was gone....
Then again it was usually followed into the air by two water-burning KC-135As, so it's all relative.

2) The absolute winners (or losers?) just from sheer common sense are
a) Concorde
b) Tupolev Tu-114 / Tu-95 Bear
c) Canadair DC-4M NorthStar/Argonaut
d) Fairey Rotordyne

Concorde is a no-brainer, but as one poster asked - what about the Tu-144? The simple answer is that very, very few of us have even seen one, let alone heard it in service. Hence Concorde gets the vote.
The award for the Tu-114 comes via a USAF F-15 pilot who intercepted a "Bear" somewhere out over the North Sea, and complained that the noise was hurting his ears, whilst he was inside the F-15!
The DC-4M Northstar gets an honourable mention because Canadair took a standard DC-4, and introduced it to four RR Merlin engines that eschewed exhaust silencers in favour of very basic exhaust ejectors. The sound was pure music for those on the ground watching it take-off, but probably a bit tiresome if you were stuck with it on a six-hour flight.....
The Fairey Rotordyne is probably unknown to many here, but the "indescribable" noise generated by an unholy alliance of factors could stop a conversation at two miles; and this was an aircraft/helicopter designed to operate in city centres! If they were worried about it's noise in way back in 1962, I can only believe it was ear-shatteringly loud.

Part 2 will follow shortly. :wave:

ER757 · Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:52 pm

ThirtyEcho wrote:
You said "aircraft"?

The Saturn V launch vehicle made the loudest sound ever known to human ears by a non-catastrophic event. Excluding the Krakatoa eruption or a hydrogen bomb test.

The sound was so loud that that it took a million gallons of water immediately dumped on the launch stand to absorb the shockwave.

Had the water not been used, the sound alone would have torn the launch vehicle apart.

I was about 14 when the moon landing happened and to this day, I swear I would sell my soul to witness a Saturn V launch. That year at Christmas my parents bought me the Estes Model Rockets version and we built it and flew it the next spring. Damned thing was almost four feet tall. I was always a big Werner Von Brain fan, Science Channel recently had a show about the Saturn program and it was cool to watch it, but made me wish even more I could have been in Florida during the time of the launches.

Back to the topic at hand. Loudest I can remember hearing are definitely Concorde and The Caravelle

ER757 · Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:54 pm

Damned auto-correct - should have said Werner Von Braun

BawliBooch · Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:58 am

Growing up in Airlines colony near BOM, the loudest aircraft by a wide margin were undoubtedly the Indian Airlines Caravelle's.

The BOAC VC10's were loud but definitely seemed less noisy than the Caravelles.

Buts it relative in the end. the 737-200 seemed whisper quiet when they came in '71. But in the 2000's, Alliance Air's 732's were the noisiest civilian plane in the Indian skies.

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