While it's fantastic to see so many people passionate about wonderful machinery such as Ducatis (and I don't claim they were great from an engineering perspective, merely seductive), it'd be nice to get back to the original thread topic. So I ask all the engineering geniuses out there (this clearly includes everyone who has contributed to this thread) the following question:
if the weight of a small plane, eg Jabiru or Rotax powered, could be increased by up to 5kg, and the cost increased by up to $5000, how much quieter could the plane be? Assuming no penalty in terms of safety.
These numbers I have plucked out of the air, on the basis of a rough guess of what might be acceptable to many pilots if push came to shove. If you see what I mean.
Opinions, anyone?