How noisy are the front air vents?

[localizer]

Hi, all!
I fly a DA40 and I know that front air vents are very noisy (I fly in Bose headset and I still close them when I need to talk to ATC). It is a known thing for DA40s.

What about RV-10 front air vents? Are they very noisy too? I understand that it is probably subjective how noisy something is, but please let me know what you think.

Are there solutions for the noise in the front vents - better/different vents, rerouting?

Thank you!!

[Paddy]

Mine are noisy. I usually have them open on the ground. If I forget to close them prior to take-off, they'll break squelch and make quite a racket until I have a chance to close them. This happens no matter where they're pointed. In flight, I can crack them open, but still need to be careful where they're pointed so the blast doesn't break squelch. The overhead vents are less problematic from a noise perspective in flight, probably because I use only one NACA vent on the side of the fuselage to feed them and still throttle them further with a butterfly valve.

[rleffler]

There's not a stock reply. Do you have Aerosport Panel or a stock panel? The location on the vents are slightly different.

My personal experience with the original Aerosport Panel is that noise hasn't been an issue. Nor have the overheads been an issue.

It's probably also a function of how tall you are and if the mic is in the output stream of the vent. That is going to vary for each of us.

[localizer]

Thank you, Paddy and Bob.

I don't have any panel yet. Most likely it will be a panel from Stein.

On DA40 it does not matter where the vents are pointing or what the height of a pilot is - they are just noisy. Of course, if they point directly to my mike, then it is worse.

Just by looking at the schematics of how they are done on the -10 (I maybe very mistaken), it is a direct pipe from opening on the side of a fuselage to the vent. So, they should be noisy. What Paddy says, is what I think it is going to be.

On DA40 one solution is to cover part of the intake opening on the fuse. This reduces the amount of air, and the noise. I don't like that.

I'm wondering if there is anything that can be done for RV-10.

I'm planning to install overhead console and route rear vents through it. I think that because air will pass through more distance and elbow and corners, the overhead ones will not be an issue.

[Carl Froehlich]

Not noisy enough to worry about a fix, at least at this point in your build.

Be grateful that they provide a boatload of air. I’ve had a lot of non-RV pilots comment on the wonderful airflow, even on the ground during taxi. I recommend you don’t do anything to screw that up.

Build per plan. Fly for a few years then decide.

Carl

[joe gremlin]

No dog in this race yet but would it be possible and would it help to run SCAT tube from the inlet left side inlet to the right side outlet and vice versa?

Also now that youtube exists, make sure you only google scat tube and not scattube. Don't ask me how I know this.

[BobTurner]

I used the adjustable (air volume and pointing) vents from Stein. I also built for maximum useful load (which means minimal sound insulation). Under Lightspeed headsets, I cannot tell if the vents are opened or closed, unless one is directed right at a mike.