Originally Posted by
Floyd
So in all honesty, has the Airbus gotten louder? I remember it being fairly quiet to the point of gentlemanly.
Yes.
FWIW, most of the noise in the Airbus is
internal airflow due to the placement of the cockpit in the middle of the avionics cooling circuit. If in doubt, momentarily put it in the fumes/smoke evac config and you will be shocked at the difference. (As a side note, it’s also helpful when somebody drops a deuce in the fwd lav.)
Over the years Airbus has made minor “running changes” that naturally make the new ones quieter. And the ducts and insulation on the older ones never seem to get put back together perfectly after a heavy check. Over time the airplane gets noisier.