Winding Down After an Adventure Aloft

Copyright © 2006 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

We're collecting sound clips from listeners around the country. Sounds that people find interesting or evocative. Here's a mechanical sound that a Georgia man finds very comforting.

Mr. ROBIN TAVINER (Pilot): My name is Robin Taviner and I live in Macon, Georgia. I've been a private pilot for over 12 years and I have hundreds of hours in single engine land based aircraft.

I realized my favorite most fascinating sound is that of aviation gyros spinning down after a flight. I actually love the sound because it means A, that I have been flying and B, that I'm safely back on the ground.

(Soundbite of gyros)

Mr. TAVINER: By the time I've landed, taxied and shut the plane down, I tend to sit for a few seconds and wind down along with the gyros.

(Soundbite of gyros)

Mr. TAVINER: The sound is being made by gyroscopic instruments common in most aircraft. The three key instruments are the turn coordinator, the attitude indicator and the heading indicator, or direction gyro. These are unbelievably precise instruments. They spin anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 RPM, and have tolerances as small as 5 or 10 microns, less than that of a human hair.

(Soundbite of gyros)

Mr. TAVINER: Flying is still very romantic for me. And given the freedom of travel, the view from aloft and the challenge of precisely executing maneuvers, these instruments are never heard during flight. They only tell me how I'm doing with incredible accuracy. But I will always cherish those brief, few relaxing seconds of hearing the gyros slow down to a full stop.

SIEGEL: Pilot Robin Taviner of Macon, Georgia, and his sound clip, gyros spinning down after a flight.

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