I feel stupid asking this, but,...?

[Critch]

In war movies when a prop-driven plane gets shot down it always makes that high whining noise before it hits...so what's making the noise? Is the engine red lining or is it something to do with the air going over the wings....or is it just Hollywood?

I've seen two jets crash, and both were fairly quiet till the impact...

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[gunner]

Hi Critch,
you can hear a whining noise also on gliders but not loud. We have a lot around here. The airbase is only 1 mile away. The noise comes from the twisted air of the wing, because of the different windspeed from the upper and lower airstream of the wings. Thats what a glider pilot told me , hope that is right !? The extrem loud noise is a " Hollywood Made ". There was a good example on TV last week at History Channel about the kamikaze`s. At there you can`t hear a noise from the planes when the Bofor`s shot them down, only the splashes when they took a bath. Most time they use the noises from our WWII Stuka`s, wich used a air propelled sirene named " Jericho Trompet ".

Regards

Gunner

[Sunray]

It's the sound effects department.

[Critch]

I suspected this, but I'm more of a missile guy,,,,and like I said, the two jets I saw crash didn't make any noise till they smacked the ground..although on the second one I was close enough to hear the ejection seat blow out..

[Patrick Chadwick]

It's like just about every film that is set in the Alps or any other "high country" - there's a buzzard somewhere that would be very rich if he got paid a fee for every time the identical cry was added to a soundtrack.

And a piece of insider knowledge: When I was an engineer with the BBC, I found a set of soundtrack records - real old shellacs - dating back to WWII, with Spitfires, Lancasters, Stukas, artillery etc. The real original stuff, probably cut from wire recordings. I think the film companies are still using those takes!

Patrick

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Yes, it's only a Hollywood thing like the loud 'SMACK' they always use when someone gets punched in the mouth.

If aircraft made a loud piercing scream in a dive, they'd do the same thing at speed in level flight.

I was in a two-seat biplane once that made a loud ear piercing scream after my buddy put the plane into a spin, but noise was coming from me!

[Critch]

Thanks guys,,,,cafdfw, that's funny!