Airplane horn

There's an RV-4 out there with a horn. I was the second owner of that plane and wondered about the horn when I bought it. It's pretty funny that when taxiing with people around, they might not be afraid of a whirling prop but if you beeped the horn they would practically jump out of their shorts.
 
Saw a plane at KOSH a few years ago with twin air horns on it. Can't remember the type it was. It was a turbine tricycle gear type. It also had tractor tires for the main gear and I think the nose gear was off a DC6. It used to be a tail-wheel plane. I spoke with the owner and he used it to clear the runway of animals at night and to let his wife know he was back in town.
Maybe someone else saw it and can tell us the type of plane it was.
 
I really wanted to put one on my plane but didn't get around to it. I will do it before OSH next year. When I idle down you can barely hear it.
 
A horn? Doesn't everyone?

I put an after market loud motorcycle horn on my RV7A before it flew the first time. At first I did it as a novelty, but after hearing about the Oshkosh accident, I began thinking it might just be a big safety feature.
 
I've been trying to figure out a way to mount a set of longhorns on the hood, er, I mean cowling...

;)

Joe
 
I've honked my motorcycle horn at deer, bison, cows and bulls blocking various roadways - none seemed the least bit impressed. I can see where it might be quite useful for getting the attention of humans though (and perhaps a much louder horn would have more affect on wildlife).
 
I'm not sure how loud the horn would have to be, but I've always thought it would be a great idea. (Especially for park or golf course forced landings)
 
Norman CYYJ said:
Saw a plane at KOSH a few years ago with twin air horns on it. Can't remember the type it was. It was a turbine tricycle gear type. It also had tractor tires for the main gear and I think the nose gear was off a DC6. It used to be a tail-wheel plane. I spoke with the owner and he used it to clear the runway of animals at night and to let his wife know he was back in town.
Maybe someone else saw it and can tell us the type of plane it was.
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As I recall that was a Helio Courier converted to a turboprop with tricycle gear and a coupla big air horns under the belly. I think the nose gear came from an F-101 Voodoo? That sticks in my head for some reason...
 
jbDC9 said:
As I recall that was a Helio Courier converted to a turboprop with tricycle gear and a coupla big air horns under the belly. I think the nose gear came from an F-101 Voodoo? That sticks in my head for some reason...
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That is the plane and if I remember correctly the air horns were on the nose gear strut.
 
I knew of a trucker that mounted a horn from a train on his big rig.....put that on your RV and everyone is bound to move out of your way!!:eek:
 
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John Myers in Alabama has a brass bicycle horn (with rubber squeeze ball) on his Pietenpol. It would probably look weird WITHOUT it.
 
At SnF a few years ago I was walking down the flight line when some guy in a Star Duster II yelled “CLEAR” followed by “AHOOGAaaaa…” and then his engine start. It sure got everyone to turn their heads and pay attention that something was about to happen.

A few years back as one of our chapter fly-in’s was ending a member got in his Cessna 170 after completing his walk around. He buckled in, put the key in the starter, opened the window, yelled “CLEAR”, put his hand on the key, and looked up in time to see the prop twitch. Thinking that was odd, he got out of the plane and walked up front. That’s when he found a five or six year-old playing with his prop. The kid looked up and said, “Mister, will you give me a ride in your plane?” Needless to say, my friend turned white at the thought he almost killed this little guy.

(BTW, we now request pilots have someone stand by when they start up to leave.)

I'm not sure having a horn on board would have prevented that but it would be nice to think it would.
 
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N941WR said:
(BTW, we not request pilots have someone stand by when they start up to leave.)
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At Oshkosh, this is exactly the procedure that is used, or supposed to be used. When you arrive, part of the "Welcome to Oshkosh, tie down your plane" speech are the instructions on how to depart the field. Everyone is told that they are NOT to fire up until they have an escort/ scooter guy with them for safety. Most people play by the rules; a few don't, and some of those have gotten an earful from me or my crew. I'd rather hurt someone's feelings than risk somebody getting hurt.
 
This is a related but slightly different topic.

A friend of owns the hangar next to mine is building an airplane of his own design for night airshows. It is going to have lights all over it...as well as produce it's own music -- yes...the thing will produce some crazy amount of decibels of sound. The music in the headset is delayed to allow for the distance of the airplane from the crowd. He even has plans to incorporate the doppler effect in his show in interesting ways. And you know those little battery-powered fans that have LEDs on them that show little pictures or text when they're turned on? Yeah...his prop does that.

This guy already has a low level aerobatic waiver as well as a night acro waiver and has done the air show circuit flying his Decathlon so he is not a newcomer to the airshow thing. Look for him at the Sun-n-fun night show in 2010...if not then...definitely in 2011.
 
N941WR said:
At SnF a few years ago I was walking down the flight line when some guy in a Star Duster II yelled ?CLEAR? followed by ?AHOOGAaaaa?? and then his engine start. It sure got everyone to turn their heads and pay attention that something was about to happen.

A few years back as one of our chapter fly-in?s was ending a member got in his Cessna 170 after completing his walk around. He buckled in, put the key in the starter, opened the window, yelled ?CLEAR?, put his hand on the key, and looked up in time to see the prop twitch. Thinking that was odd, he got out of the plane and walked up front. That?s when he found a five or six year-old playing with his prop. The kid looked up and said, ?Mister, will you give me a ride in your plane?? Needless to say, my friend turned white at the thought he almost killed this little guy.

(BTW, we now request pilots have someone stand by when they start up to leave.)

I'm not sure having a horn on board would have prevented that but it would be nice to think it would.
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Christ, Bill, that practically gave me a heart attack just READING about it.
 
Panic Button

I had one on my RV6, wired to a button in the cockpit on the passenger's side labeled "Panic Button".

And I can honestly say it saved my bacon once. I was returning to my home field one evening about dusk and as I turned final, a huge flock of black birds on the ground sprang right in front of me. I laid on the horn and even though I couldn't hear it in the cockpit, apparently they could -- they parted like the Red Sea.
 
Every MD-80 and 757/767 I've ever flown at work has a "Mechanic Call" horn and they're invaluable! Funny how with all the noise (and hearing protectors) on an airline ramp a small horn gets people to wake up, but it does! The sound of a Lycoming might get attention on Main Street because it's unexpected, but props and motors don't stand out on a ramp!

Once we get musical horns going, how about some little blue lights to mark the windshield wiper washer outlets? Hydraulic suspension to lower our rides? Harmonic exhaust resonators?

I mean, these are supposed to be experimental, right?
 
Helicopter Sirens

When is was flying medium lift helicopters fighting fires in Ontario we not only had a siren, a Whelen system, and a PA system. It was great fun to be low level down a highway with the siren on and pass a car on the left and keep going. The PA system was great to get peoples attention when on the ground or tell them something as you were landing...like get off the LZ fool there is a helicopter about to land on your head.
 
shamer said:
There's an RV-4 out there with a horn. I was the second owner of that plane and wondered about the horn when I bought it. It's pretty funny that when taxiing with people around, they might not be afraid of a whirling prop but if you beeped the horn they would practically jump out of their shorts.
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I now own that plane ! N144RS . I first thought the horn was a bit goofy but the idea has really grown on me . Aside from the novelty factor I think that it could be useful for quite a few things .

Marc
 
electric dual-tone

Put a simple set of dual-tone electric horns on my RV6. Not real loud, but people on the ramp can hear them. Always gets a grin. Might keep a dog from running through the prop -- not sure about wildlife tho. More for fun than purpose.

I put them on a simple bracket off of the lower motor-mount tube, edge-wise to the cooling air flow.

I run them from a fuse directly to a high-current switch, without bothering with a relay. Works fine and simple to hook up. Total weight is less than a pound.

I'd love to do air horns, but the bulk is too much to deal with.
 
This is the horniest topic I have ever stumbled upon at this site AND I have thought that I might add a horn to my -4 as well.
My choice of horn, though, would- by necessity- be that lever-operated BIG BULL -type that caused all kinds of disruption in my neighbor's herd.

Those cows of his are on the runway at least a score of times/yr.:)
 
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