Maxwell wrote:
"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...
Maxwell wrote:


But from my experience, noise levels have always been a
consideration to a lot of the people I have introduced to GA. And
the world is becoming more demanding of creature comforts every day.

No Sh!t, how do you think Bose gets away with selling $1000 headsets.


But if people will pay $1000 for headsets, what would they pay for an
aircraft that doesn't require them?

Which is cheaper? A $1000 pair of headsets or the multi hundred pounds it
will take to make aircraft quieter in the cockpit. And before you answer we
aren't just talking insullation here we are talking a bigger engine to carry
the weight of the insullation, more fuel and fuel burn because of the bigger
engine and probably 100 other things I haven't even thought of.



And how many more people would be attracted to GA, if they didn't
have to decide between noise - and the discomfort, cost and
inconvenience of headsets. And before you answer, consider the battle
in the motorcycle community over helmets.


The fact is most people that ride motorcycles DO where helments. I personaly
got ****ed as hell that in the same session of the Arkansas legislature they
passed a law that adults could ride without them and at then turned around
and passed a law that requires that same adult to put on a seat belt in a
car that has airbags all around the driver.



I really believe most pilots today, are pilots because they love to
fly. And most would continue to fly even if they had to wear a space
suit. But we will never know how much noise, vibration and
inconvenience has handicapped aviation's ability to compete with
other pursuits, until we have eliminated them.

You are right that there are probably some folks out there that don't fly
for that reason. But motorcycles are loud, jetskis are loud, ski and bass
boats are loud. Being loud isn't the problem. The same goes for vibration.