Damage

I wonder what the decibel volume is, inside the cabin of a SAAB 340 turboprop?

I’d had a sleep, which happened between Sydney and Dubbo. I fell asleep pretty quickly after take off because the cloudy, rainy weather made the plane move in some interesting ways. My body went into auto-shutdown to prevent the other passengers hearing me up-chuck the whole way.

During the Dubbo – Broken Hill leg (yes, this flight sets down mid way to let off and pick up) I got to thinking about the propellers that keep us in the air and the almighty racket they make.

I’ll give you an example. When Tracey, the flight attendant asked me if I would like a snack, I had to ask her to repeat her question. She was standing less than a foot away from me. Finally on the third asking, I understood and nodded the affirmative.

So I ask again. How many decibels in the cabin? The flight attendant couldn’t answer the question, and neither could the crew, when I asked. All they could say was it was within legal limits. Incidently I had to ask a couple of times, even after Tracey had put her hand to her ear while saying, 'sorry, these planes make you a bit deaf'.

I had been seated in the single row of seats on the left of the plane. The ‘A’ row. The right hand side has two seats, and the seat markers look like a date line:

1BC 2BC 3BC and on upto 11BC

Tracey counts her passengers on and off.

Really it a bit like being on a school trip. Actually, thinking about it, and as you know I’ve been doing a bit of thinking lately, it’s a lot like being on a school trip. Only, instead of the noise being produced by a bunch of kids who really don’t want to see Fishbourne Roman Palace again, it’s the two, shiny, four bladed propellers on the outside.

PS. I really would be interested to know the answer to the decibel question if anyone knows.