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Old 03-23-2012, 06:05 PM
  #17  
AA5BY
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Default RE: Is it going lean ?

I'm wondering if someone that believes they can tell in the air by sound if the engine is too lean, describe what sound they are listening to and at what point in flight do you listen for it? Large propellers on gas planes simply offer such a wide variety of noise from when they are loaded, unloaded, and braking... how do you weed out those sounds? The bark of the exhaust stack opposing or facing is different. Even the Doppler shift coming toward or going away plays its factor.

Far more notable to me is time, rather than sound.... whether the engine is failing to spool up quickly as I remember normal for it? This might be a little bit like depth perception, ie depth perception is not the ability of the eye to discern distance... it is the discerning of distance by the input of many senses. Relative size, comparison, sound, clarity, and mental hysteresis or dead reckoning. Some would argue they are doing depth perception with their eyes only... and I'd suggest probably not.

Frankly, for those who feel they can detect too lean by sound only, with all do respect, I wonder if they are not giving credit to some of the other senses that make it possible.