Lizard Skin Sound and Thermal insulation
 

Watching TV last week end I saw this product.
http://www.lizardskin.com/
It looks like a pretty good product. Not toxic, weight? (about 17 lbs. for 30 square feet), easy to apply, can be painted. I have not heard of anyone using this stuff but I am considering it. But like anything else we use in an airplane it needs to be thought through carefully. So what do others think?

Thanks
Brian

I don't know of anyone who has used that product.

I have sprayed the firewall and interior of my plane with this.
http://silentcoating.com/sr_500.html

Not flying yet so cannot say there. You can definitely tell the difference in the way the skin or firewall vibrates when struck before and after. I had some overspray to remove and I can also say it is **** hard to remove. But it does add weight as any product would, about 6 - 7 lbs.

Update?
 

Just wondering.... Is the 6-7 lbs for the total cockpit area and do you find it was helpful now that you are flying?

Thank you

Apply what you want on sidewalls, but there are very few products suitable for the cabin side of a firewall. Both Lizard Skin and SR500 look like genuine Darwin Award materials to me.

testing needed?
 

the MSDS makes these sound a lot like an acrylic paint, no doubt a spin-off of the spray-on boxliner industry.
Seems to be relatively 'safe', as in, not combustible when dry....but it's behavior at high temps IS in question.

I don't think combustibility is the real concern when using these type of products inside the cockpit. The real danger is the 'off-gassing' that will occur when the product is heated. What will you be breathing during an emergency when the firewall starts getting hot?

One honest question for the sound-proofers: Why go to such great lengths to attenuate noise, when a good pair of Lightspeed ANR headsets is proven to be more effective?

It just seems like the risks of corrosion and weight gain cannot be justified.

Agreed. I went to some effort to sound proof my -10, from firewall to baggage bulkhead. It is noticeably quieter than uninsulated -10s, but still way too noisy to fly without a good ANR headset. In retrospect, it was not worth the time, effort or expense.

Jim Berry
RV-10

This is perhaps the best small airplane perspective I've seen to date on this subject. Shave ounces by cutting lightening holes then add soundproofing pounds. Bite the ANR bullet - I remember my first experience with a set in the C-130 coming back from deployment. My third or fourth trip over, so I knew the effects of several days of 8-hour flying and was shocked how much better I felt after each day of flying this trip. Those were David Clark's - now using Bose in the Herk and modding DC's for the -4.
Enjoyed the post JJHoneck.
Patrick