Airplane cabin noise
A cabin hum generated on your phone, shaped to match a Boeing 757 at cruise. The sound that sends half the plane to sleep.
Generated in your browser with the same code as the app, nothing to download. Start with your volume low. Keep this tab open.
About this sound
The steady roar of an airliner cabin at cruise: a deep, wide hum with the low drone of the engines and a faint turbine whine, and none of the chimes, announcements or trolley rattles of a real flight.
It is not a recording. We measured the spectrum of a Boeing 757 cabin recording made mid-flight and fitted a chain of filters to it, so random noise comes out within about 1 dB of the recording from 40 Hz to 10 kHz, including its two engine tones at 74 Hz and 894 Hz. The player generates it live in your browser with the app's code, slightly different left and right like the original. In our own blind comparison we preferred it to the recording, and it never repeats a recognizable moment.
How people use it
Plenty of people sleep better on planes than anywhere else, and this is the sound behind it. It is full in the low end, so it covers traffic, a neighbor's bass and snoring well.
The app's Long-Haul Flight mix plays it with the Tone control turned down a little for a darker, quieter cabin. Keep the volume low: a real cabin is far too loud to copy.
Questions
Why does airplane noise make people sleepy?
It is loud, steady and broadband, so it hides other sounds, and there is little else to do on a flight. At home, a much quieter version can give the same steady background.
Is it a real airplane recording?
It is generated, but shaped to match a real Boeing 757 cabin recording closely, including the engine tones.
Mix it with
Get airplane on your phone
Nightwool is coming to iPhone and Android. One e-mail when it launches, then we delete the list.