Vibration?

[jodava]

With about 14,000 hours of time, having flown Lears and other small jets, large turboprops,

and along the way about 1,000 hours in taildraggers of all kinds, my question is this:

Vibration. I've never ridden in or flown a plastic/foam airplane yet and maybe I'm totaly

wrong; however, I can't help but think that some of the vibration is absorbed by the foam

and glass, consequently a better ride. I'd appreciate any comments as to the difference,

if any. Everybody have a great day...........j

[ZUCZZ]

Can't match the hours for experience, but all my time is in small stuff, like Aeronca Chrief, Cessnas, Pipers and my Cozy

 

They all shake, bark & rattle like they should, and each to its own particular endearing tune.

 

I imagine that the Cozy is somewhat quieter, but that is pure illusion, because between the hangars it one of the few planes with straight out pipes, and you can hear it too. Not from inside and in flight tho'

 

Hope someone can answer in a more educated fashion

[WTJohnson]

I have flown my Varieze since 1981 and from day one thought there was a lot of vibration and noise from the structure. So I added a closed cell foam piece (from a camping pad) to the back of the seat. I thought the large flat seat back acted like a sounding board. Also, I later added 1/4 inch closed cell foam on the floor......plus some light weight carpet.

I also had the opportunity many years ago to fly a custom prop that was only 48 inches in diameter but had end plates to provide more thrust directed to the rear. This prop made the plane fly very, very smooth and quiet so the prop is the vibration maker in my experience. The small prop was not suited for the plane since it provided poor acceleration and allowed the rpm to go too high in level flight.

It would be interesting to try one that was pitched differently and possibly more suited.

The other small planes I have flown eg. older Cessnas and Pipers were noisey too, but hard to judge since no headset was used by me back then. The vibration was similar to the Varieze.

Cloudman .......Varieze

[Edge 513]

The 0360's in the Mark IV's have some vibration- I've flown in one quite a bit and the ride is very very very nice.... MUCH MUCH better than a funky spam cessna type can.

But, I have also ridden in Chris' 6 cyl 540 Mark IV, and that is one sweet smooth ride. Noticeably smoother than the 4 cyl.

That is just an ancillary benefit of the 6 cyl engine.

 

Another factor in the great ride of the Cozy is the fiberglass wings, which provide a wonderful dampening to turbulence that an aluminumb airplane can't match at all.

You will not be disappointed when you get a ride in one. =]