# Noises On Planes



## 911 (Aug 16, 2020)

I am not a nervous flyer, but recently I flew from Philadelphia to Minneapolis just for the day. When we took off and was maybe a few hundred feet off of the ground, the plane started making a loud buzzing sound and we felt a lot of vibration for maybe 2-3 minutes, but then, just like that, it stopped and everything was normal. Anyone ever experience that or maybe know what that may have been?

I wanted to ask the pilot when we got off the plane, but he was still sitting in the cockpit.


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## win231 (Aug 16, 2020)

That wouldn't make me nervous; it would have a calming effect on me - the type of calm one feels when they acknowledge their time is up.
And, don't bother the pilot; he was still sitting in the cockpit because the Stewardess was sitting on his lap.
Ya know - _"Flight Training."_


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## Knight (Aug 16, 2020)

The vibration & buzzing as the plane was still ascending  could have been the landing gear retracting into the wheel wells contrasting with the air flow. Wheel storage doesn't take long but could seem long if nervous about unfamiliar sounds


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## hollydolly (Aug 16, 2020)

911 said:


> I am not a nervous flyer, but recently I flew from Philadelphia to Minneapolis just for the day. When we took off and was maybe a few hundred feet off of the ground, the plane started making a loud buzzing sound and we felt a lot of vibration for maybe 2-3 minutes, but then, just like that, it stopped and everything was normal. Anyone ever experience that or maybe know what that may have been?
> 
> I wanted to ask the pilot when we got off the plane, but he was still sitting in the cockpit.


I fly a lot, but I've never heard that before.. Best person to ask would be @oldman


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## Lewkat (Aug 16, 2020)

When I was a flight nurse in the Air Force and flew every day, you'd never believe the weird noises we would hear.  I got so used to it that even today, when I fly, I simply ignore a strange noise or some movement on a plane.


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## Aneeda72 (Aug 16, 2020)

Decades ago I was flying on a plane when it started to make, what I thought, was a strange noise.  . I was 19, it was a military aircraft that I hitched a ride on.  One of the pilots came back and said, “we are returning to base.”  They turned the plane around and headed back.

The rest of us bent over and kissed our butts good-bye.  . (There were barely seats, and no seat belts.)


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## Capt Lightning (Aug 16, 2020)

I used to fly a lot with KLM Cityhopper.  I described their planes (mainly Fokker 50s) as 10 thousand rattles flying in close formation.


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## jujube (Aug 16, 2020)

We used to fly domestically on THY (TurkHavaYolari: unofficial motto: "Fly and Die on THY").  You were glad the plane was making noises; otherwise you were probably dead already.

It's Turkish Airways now and is a delight to travel on.


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## oldman (Aug 16, 2020)

911 said:


> I am not a nervous flyer, but recently I flew from Philadelphia to Minneapolis just for the day. When we took off and was maybe a few hundred feet off of the ground, the plane started making a loud buzzing sound and we felt a lot of vibration for maybe 2-3 minutes, but then, just like that, it stopped and everything was normal. Anyone ever experience that or maybe know what that may have been?
> 
> I wanted to ask the pilot when we got off the plane, but he was still sitting in the cockpit.


The buzzing sound was probably the motors extending the flaps. Vibration on takeoff can be caused by several different things. Wrong weight distribution, landing gears late being retracted, or maybe the pilots forgot to reset the speed brakes or spoilers. 

If the flaps were set incorrectly, there is an aural warning system that tells the pilots that the plane is not configured properly for takeoff. (TOCWS=Take Off Configuration Warning System)


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## MarciKS (Aug 16, 2020)

oldman said:


> If the flaps were set incorrectly, there is an aural warning system that tells the pilots that the plane is not configured properly for takeoff. (TOCWS=Take Off Configuration Warning System)


I don't like flying and the words *NOT CONFIGURED PROPERLY *are not comforting. LOL


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## Don M. (Aug 16, 2020)

Every time we fly, I notice some noises and vibration shortly after takeoff, and a couple of minutes before landing.  These are pretty normal while the landing gear is being retracted, or lowered, and the flaps are being adjusted.  These things are probably more pronounced on some smaller aircraft, as opposed to the larger airplanes.


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## oldman (Aug 16, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> I don't like flying and the words *NOT CONFIGURED PROPERLY *are not comforting. LOL


Configuring the plane for takeoff simply means setting the flaps to the correct position, checking the speed brakes/spoilers and making sure that the rudder pedals and the horizontal stabilizer are also working properly. Once those items have been verified, the aural warning will not sound and the plane is set for departure.

The only sound that bothered me was if the master control warning would sound. I only ever heard it twice while I was flying. A few more times in the simulators.


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