Originally Posted by
garrett_mcdonal
Hi Guys,
Just ordered a cortex from dreamworks to give one a go and only noticed after completing the order that the acoustic hush kit is recommended for turbine use. Can anyone give me a quick explanation on what it is, why it's needed, etc.
That's interesting that they should make that. I have had a MEMS gyro system suffer serious acoustic interference in one of my jets. At 3 particular rpms the noise from the engine was kicking the MEMS gyro and causing it to make massive control inputs. We easily proved it was noise and not airframe vibration by hand holding the gyro system away from the airframe and still it kicked at 3 particular rpms. It is very rare to suffer from it. The same system works fine in other jets and for many people. It must just be that one engine generating just the right noise. I read up about it. MEMS gyros are not solid state, they are tiny mechanical systems so small they can fit on a chip. Being mechanical, a sound at the right frequency can harmonise with the vibration of the MEMS ring and give it a kick. Early MEMS gyros, as fitted to so many consumer devices such as mobile phones, were quite prone to acoustic interference giving false readings and it was well known, so the vibration frequency of the gyros was increased greatly to stop this. However I expect our turbines and their high rpm are capable of generating sound frequencies much higher than those encountered by the normal consumer. An older design of MEMS gyro running at the lower frequency will have more risk of picking up acoustic interference.