What's new
Van's Air Force

The definitive Van's Aircraft support community! Buying, building or flying an RV? Join our exclusive family of mentors and enthusiasts!

Sound Proofing - Vibration Damping Tape

K

kibrickj

Active Member
Anyone use one of the several 3M products to reduce high frequency noise/resonant vibration on some of the aluminum panels. Seems like a very low weight add to reduce noise on the margin (especially high frequency noise which noise cancellation has more limitations). Products I have found include:
  • 3M™ Vibration Control Tape CL1151
  • 3M™ Vibration Damping Tape 2552
  • 3M™ Vibration Damping Tape 2542
Seems like a good product to put on any large surface that would be prone to drum (firewall, few spots in sub floor, larger side panels, yada yada). They use some of these products on high end cars and another type of tape of similar design but specialized for low temperatures for jets. No expectation of suddenly making an RV 8 quiet, but just seems like a great thing on the margin (except for the cost). Seem like standard "solutions" like various foam solutions add more weight and are limited in decibel reduction.
 
No experience. Most of what I hear is prop/engine/wind. Not drumming panels. If you wanna reduce the sound level, thicker plexi is a good starting point.
 
I would love to hear about solutions for reducing the noise in my RV-8. I don't have any interior "niceties" but need to keep any additional weight to a minimum. I think I have a pretty loud cockpit and definitely getting engine related tin drum noise.
Any good ideas that are lightweight but worth the extra few pounds?? Thanks
 
Sparrowhwk said:
I would love to hear about solutions for reducing the noise in my RV-8. I don't have any interior "niceties" but need to keep any additional weight to a minimum. I think I have a pretty loud cockpit and definitely getting engine related tin drum noise.
Any good ideas that are lightweight but worth the extra few pounds?? Thanks
Click to expand...
Few ounces more like it, but would only help for thin sheet metal resonating. It ain't going to change the world, but seems like a low weight product that would help on the margin in places that the sheet metal vibrates....Video from a science guy. :)

Unless I hear from people that have tried the product (s), I'll probably stick it on various spots that would seem most susceptible.

Looks like digikey offers nice product offerings in 2552. cut to standard sizes that could be put all over and still look decent if it couldn't be hidden. Worst case scenario out $100. https://www.digikey.com/en/products/base-product/3m-tc/1067/2552/551933?s=N4IgrCBcoA5QzAGhDOkBMYC+Wg
 
Last edited:
What I would worry about, possible without merit, would be corrosion happening under the tape. Could be a place to trap moisture. I remember sound-deadening methods in the past trapping moisture and causing major corrosion. Not sure if that would be an issue here..........🤷‍♂️
 
I'm not confident it will make a significant difference in the RV noise environment, but it might, and there is no downside when used on sidewalls and interior panels. Not suitable for the cabin side of the firewall.
 
I used a cheap large box store pipe insulating tape about 2" wide 3/16" foam thick strip on each panel in my tail cone. Big difference when one taxis their tail wheel aircraft. It works about as well as the tape did in the beginning of the video above. It is only a piece on each panel aft of the baggage compartment.

This tape was not my idea. A friend use it on his Luscombe and that was proof enough for me to try the $5 product. Yes that was the price almost 27-years ago.
 
Sparrowhwk said:
I would love to hear about solutions for reducing the noise in my RV-8. I don't have any interior "niceties" but need to keep any additional weight to a minimum. I think I have a pretty loud cockpit and definitely getting engine related tin drum noise.
Any good ideas that are lightweight but worth the extra few pounds?? Thanks
Click to expand...
I insulated the engine side of the firewall with heavy insulation as per DanH. It lowered the sound level on the ground by 2 dB but in flight no difference. 102 dB. The consensus there isn’t much to be gained. Just earplugs and ANR headsets. It made did result in a 10 degree F reduction in cockpit temperature.
 
Last edited:
There was a 6A at my airport that had dual mufflers (Vetterman??), It was reported to be very significantly quieter inside.
 
I’d do mufflers but I think that’s not possible in an RV-8A. That’s probably the single most worth while noise reduction for weight and cost.
 
I thought I'd follow up on the application of 2552 tape. Results: meh... as expected...Qualitatively, it makes a minor, even barely noticeable difference. Note: tested by just hitting large panels on aircraft...no decibel meters or testing in flight. Would I do it again? Yes, but only because the weight is minor and even a tiny difference over 100's to 1000's of hours of flight is worth the weight/initial $$$. That being said, it's PURELY and VERY incremental as expected, and the addition is way more academic than substantive. Wish I could have a muffler on the rv8. No regrets however.
 
kibrickj said:
I thought I'd follow up on the application of 2552 tape. Results: meh... as expected...Qualitatively, it makes a minor, even barely noticeable difference. Note: tested by just hitting large panels on aircraft...no decibel meters or testing in flight.
Click to expand...
I hope you follow-up again once it's flying! Maybe different frequencies/results in flight?🤷‍♂️

Sometimes I wonder if something like a portable speaker cube can be invented for active noise cancelling to complement/replace other options like ANR headsets, etc.
 
Tall_Order said:
I hope you follow-up again once it's flying! Maybe different frequencies/results in flight?🤷‍♂️

Sometimes I wonder if something like a portable speaker cube can be invented for active noise cancelling to complement/replace other options like ANR headsets, etc.
Click to expand...
I'm sure it will be somewhat better for higher frequencies/ high decibel environment of actual flight (for resonating panel noise only). Again, no regrets adding it.

My wife's uncle, an acoustical engineer, explained the challenges to me. A lot of the noise we hear is in the centimeter or meter length (approximately). Thin layer acoustical panel's effectiveness is severely limited because the longer wavelengths passthrough easily through the absorbing material. Bummer for us. Your concept of a speaker cube is a good one...I think it would only work well with directional microphones of sufficient length....Short of it is that I can't imagine it would ever work in a small space, but probably has merit in an amphitheater as an example. Bummer for us. Well, thank goodness of active noise cancellation at our ears.
 
I can't find the pictures or article, but Dave Anders ( CAFE winning RV-4) did a cockpit sound competition of some sort, and he used alot of the "egg crate" foam, based on a picture I saw inside the cockpit. Not that it's the best way to go, but Dave always wins at what he does, and usually has some very extensive testing and results.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top