Cabin Noise Level
 

I am enjoying my 12, an amazing airplane; 10 hours and counting! The cabin noise level is overworking my DC10-13.4 non anr. I have not installed any interior including floor mats. Curious on results with adding interior, anr conversion kits, Oregon Aero Hush kits.......or new headsets?

The -12 isn't a particularly loud cockpit, but the good old DC10-13.4 may certainly be lacking, unless you've already lost most of your hearing :). I would obviously suggest fixing the noise issue at the headset side as opposed to adding to airframe weight. My 2c will also say that ANR is not required.

Lightspeed Zulu3. Works very well with hearing impaired. I wear two hearing aids... one in-the-ear and one behind-the-ear. My hearing is to the point I can't understand speech without wearing my hearing aids, just ask my wife :D. The Lightspeed works magic.

My 10 year old granddaughter (with volume turned down)

I use QT Halos, they?re quiet enough. So is the Bose A20s we have for passengers. My co-owner likes his Zulu 3s. If I were buying new today I?d probably look very hard at the new CMW headsets, have heard good things about those.

I use Bose A20 headsets, and find the noise level with them on is fine.

i can't imagine the interior kit dampening much noise. For the most part, its just thin carpeting.. there is some black styrofoam kinda material under your feet, but thats it.

I was thinking of putting in some mat material (e.g. like this) along the firewall at least.. but honestly, with the huge canopy, I'm unsure how much noise comes in from the firewall vs. the canopy. May not be worth it.

In any case, I an definitely doing some sort of ANR headset.

Just update your DC's.

Check out this link:. http://headsetsinc.com/

I have been using them for 12 years and am still very happy.

When I first started flying my Lancair, cabin noise was a major problem. I could hear OK with my DC H10-30s but my mic picked up all that noise and broadcast it to ATC when I keyed the mic. I had several complaints that they couldn't understand me. It took a while, but with a multi-pronged attack, the problem is under control now.

• I installed 1" of foam insulation on the cabin side of the firewall
  
  I installed 1/4" of aluminum faced foam insulation on the cabin walls and nose gear tunnel then covered it with indoor/outdoor carpet (Yeah, I'm a CSOB)
  
  I installed foam-backed rubber mats on the floor, throughout.
  
  I insulated and sealed the area where the wings meet the fuselage (prop noise beating on the leading edge).
  
  I put fabric on the glareshield to absorb any prop noise coming through the wind screeen.
  
  I bought a Sigtronix "high noise" headset with a noise-cancelling mic and added Mic-Muffs.

On a recent flight I had to temporary to back to my old DC headset and the noise from the mic was keying the squelch on the intercom. Q.E.D.

My RV-12 has the interior kit with carpeting throughout, as provided. A few weeks ago I measured cockpit noise level during straight and level solo flight at 5,000 rpm with both side vents open. Noise level was measured at 96 dB(A) using an iPhone app named DecibelXPRO. The iPhone was held in the approximate location of the passenger's head.

Now, I have no idea about the accuracy of this reading; it is offered here only as a reference point. As for noise abatement, I use the Bose A20 noise cancelling headset, as does my passenger. We're both very pleased with the performance of the Bose.

Nice and quiet
 

I don't have any carpet or interior, other than my seats and some Amazon rubber floor mats. Like Catbird, I used the Decibel X app, but only get 86db recorded near my head. With Bose A20 headsets, it's as quiet as the living room.

I don't have any real noise issues.

I am just beginning my fuselage kit and ask myself the same question. Should I care about a "heat and noise protection mat" at the firewall?

sound proofing
 

I bought but have not installed insulation on my RV 12, I do not believe its needed. The Rotax dosent appear to put out sound levels to make it worth time and effort. I have 55 hrs on the RV 12. I did install sound and temp insulation on my RV 7 which helped mitigate the Lycoming IO 390 s growling! Good Luck Major

A good headset weighs a LOT less than extra sound deadening insulation that won't help at all in flight.

The Rotax itself doesn't seem really noisy, but the prop and wind noise are. Doesn't matter what's making the noise, it's pretty loud in the cockpit when you're flying. A decent headset will take care of that. Mine weighs almost nothing. Even out passenger headset (Bose A20) probably weighs less than a pound.

A good headset will take care of what you are hearing, but what about all that noise that you are broadcasting when you key the mic? Have you listened to your audio on LiveATC? You might be surprised at how noisy it is.

I have, actually, and it sounds fine. Mine, a couple of other RV-12s, etc. Noise cancelling microphones work pretty well. It's not like the RV-12 is noisier than, say, an RV-7, or most other airplanes for that matter.

+1

I would take my time and try out a few headsets to see what one I liked. Until you arrive at whatever final solution you decide on, just wear earplugs under the DC10?s and turn the volume up on the radio/intercom. In the stone-age I used to wear earplugs under my helmet in a very loud helo. Blissfully quiet and nearly free.

You did good. The only reason I brought up transmitted noise was because I never thought of it myself until ATC couldn't understand me. Well, my Lycoming is no-doubt noisier than your Rotax. Oh, I forgot to mention the one thing that made the biggest difference: Putting "down turns" on my exhaust stacks. Originally, the two stacks exited the lower cowling right under my feet. They were really loud. I added those down turns and it made a world of difference. They kept the belly cleaner, too!