Transport Canada has approved a new accessory for the Cessna 152 that should help stop Michel Beaudoin’s phone from ringing quite so much. The manager of Saint-Hubert Airport near Montreal announced this week that TC has approved a supplemental type certificate for a French-made Chabord exhaust system that cuts the noise from a 152 by more than half. Beaudoin told COPA e-Flight that the four flight schools at his field have pledged to install the systems on their fleets to help quell the chorus of noise complaints that result from the necessarily repetitive day-long drone of their students earning their wings. “We have had a lot of problems,” Beaudoin said. The City of Longueuil, the airport authority and TC worked together to get the STC approved quickly after the system was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency. The company is also seeking STCs for Cessna 150 and 172 models.

Beaudoin said the exhaust systems should be a boon to training airports across the country who have to balance their good neighbour policies against the inevitable results of flight training activity. “It is a precedent that could be used at all Canadian airports,” Beaudoin said. The systems have been in development since 2011 by Chabord, which builds tuned exhaust systems for racing cars and motorcycles in addition to aviation applications. The company says the systems cut noise by 4-11 decibels, depending on the frequency and distance from the source. A reduction of three decibels equates to a 50 percent noise reduction. It also increases climb rate by 14 percent, reduces fuel consumption eight percent and cuts engine vibration in half. The systems cost more than $3,000 USD. The company is now building the exhaust systems for the Saint-Hubert aircraft and they will be generally available soon. Chabord will be showing the systems at AirVenture 2017.