A MUCH Quieter Flight May Not Be Far Away

If you've ever tried to catch a nap on a loud airliner, but are one of those people who don't find the low rumbling of rushing air and guzzling turbofans particularly soothing, NASA may have some welcome news for you.

The agency, working with three corporations, have completed flight tests of a special B777 designed to help quiet jet aircraft noise, both in the passenger cabin and on the ground.

The program was a cooperative effort by NASA, The Boeing Company, the Goodrich Corp., and GE Transportation Aircraft Engines. Japan's All Nippon Airways provided the testbed aircraft.

"The team was pleased to see that concepts we had developed with computer simulations and in wind tunnels worked on a real airplane," said Charlotte Whitfield, NASA's Quiet Aircraft Technology manager of airframe system noise reduction.

During the three week test program, the 777 was fitted with various noise reduction combinations, including a variety of landing gear and engine inlet-exhaust combinations.

Some new exhaust configurations achieved as much as a two-decibel improvement in noise. In addition, the common low frequency "rumble" heard in the aft cabin by passengers at cruise altitude was reduced by as much as four to six decibels.

Perhaps most encouraging, though, was a sound-absorbing engine liner built by Goodrich. According to NASA, the seamless liner reduced turbofan inlet noise heard in the front of the cabin by up to 15 decibels -- making such sounds nearly inaudible.

Imagine a whisper-quiet cabin... that would allow you to hear your seatmate talking on their cell phone that much more clearly...

FMI: www.nasa.gov