Measurement, analysis, and prediction of aircraft interior noise

Considerations of comfort of passengers and crew in light aircraft and helicopters indicate substantial benefits may be obtained by the reduction of interior noise levels. This paper discusses an ongoing research effort to reduce interior noise in such vehicles. Data from both field and laboratory studies for a light aircraft are presented. The laboratory data indicate that structural vibration is an efficient source of interior noise and should be considered in the reduction of interior noise. Flight data taken on a helicopter before and after installation of acoustic treatment demonstrate that over 30 dB of noise reduction can be obtained in certain portions of the spectra. However, subjective evaluations of the treated vehicle indicate that further reductions in interior noise are desirable. An existing interior noise prediction method which was developed for large jet transports was applied to study low-frequency noise in a light aircraft fuselage. The results indicate that improvements in the analytical model may be necessary for the prediction of interior noise of light aircraft.