My ANR kit came the weekend before last and, after some cussing and burning myself with the soldering iron, I got it installed. First tests were conducted by sticking my head under the extractor fan in the kitchen and they were successful if somewhat silly looking. The headset attenuated some of the noise as usual but when I flicked the switch, there was a sort of faint thump and then all of the drone from the extractor fan was eliminated. It's quite dramatic really or is that dramatically quiet.
Next tests were conducted in the aeroplane on the ground. Me and She popped out to the airport to test it. Plugged in with the ANR switched on, the noise from engines running on the apron was greatly reduced. I then got Herself to flick the stall warning switch on the wing - that came through clear as a bell. The last ground check was to call the tower for a coms check. Their response -"strength five". Happy days.
A few days later I went out west with my instructor to refresh myself on the use of the radio navaids. The new kit worked great. It took a little getting used to the speech volume. With the engine noise diminished, voices were a lot louder, so I had to adjust the intercom downwards a little. I should point out that I don't believe that the engine noise itself is reduced. I can hear it operating clearly but the reverberation of the engine in the empty vessel that is a an aircraft's fuselage was greatly reduced. I suspect that you'd actually hear undesirable changes in engine sounds more easily with ANR switched on.
The last big test will be the long cross country, which is what I had hoped to be using the ANR for. Of course I'll still have the aeroplane's own headsets there if there is a malfunction but I intend to be enjoying a slightly less fatiguing flight with my upgraded headset. I'll let you know how it goes.
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