Hush Houses

Vital Link has been a major supplier in the aircraft Hush House market since 1990. Our scope of supply includes both  A/F37T-10/T-11 type facilities for the U.S. and foreign military services, and VLI advanced custom designed Hush Houses for the overseas market.

Primarily designed for military fighter aircraft use, a Hush House is a facility that provides an enclosed, acoustically treated environment to run various aircraft types with the engines installed or to test un-installed engines. The Hush House provides an enclosed work area for preparing the aircraft or un-installed engine, also equipment rooms and an environmentally controlled, acoustical control room for test operators to work in during engine operation. The Acoustic treatment provided by the facility reduces the environmental impact on the surrounding area by reducing the sound created by running aircraft engines.

Hush Houses are also capable of testing un-installed jet engines mounted on a movable test stand with support equipment to supply fuel and air for engine running. Engine operation and testing in line with the engine OEM requirements is controlled and monitored using a computerized system. The Test Bay is sized to allow the users aircraft to be safely installed and restrained while running the engine(s) through their full performance tests as determined by the aircraft/engine OEM to enable performance issues to be identified and corrected. Various aircraft systems can also be checked while the aircraft engine(s) are running as per the Aircraft OEM requirements.

The most recent Hush House project commissioned by Vital Link is probably the most advanced facility of it’s kind in the World. This newly designed Hush House facility provides “State of the Art” jet engine test capabilities for installed engine testing for the F16 and Mirage 2000-9 aircraft and for un-installed testing of the F110 engine as a “Turnkey” package. The enhanced noise suppression systems incorporated into the design provide excellent noise attenuation at any engine condition. The most advanced feature at the heart of the facility is Vital Link’s own Fully Automatic Data Acquisition System or “FADAS™”. As well as being a high speed, highly accurate engine data capture and control system, the system also includes fully automated engine test capability, and provides complete facility control and self diagnosis with virtually 100% redundancy “built in”.

Other features of our hush houses:

Vital Link is the leading global supplier of USAF Model A/F37T-10/T11 Noise Suppressor Systems, or Hush Houses. The T-10 platform remains the most popular global aircraft acoustical enclosure for intermediate engine testing, with approximately one hundred fifty (150) units having been placed in service since the late 1970s. Vital Link provides the full spectrum of support for the Hush Houses including manufacture and supply, refurbishment and relocation, upgrade and maintenance. Custom commercial variants of the T-10 type facility are also available for sale. The T-10 platform has been proven in service for support of the F-4, F-5, F-15, F-16, F-18 and F-22 aircraft, with engines supported including the J79, J85, F100-PW-100, -200 and -229, F404 and F110-GE-100 and -129. The T-10 supports both in frame and out of frame intermediate engine testing, when used in conjunction with the A/M37T-20 Mobile Engine Test Cell. The Hush House allows for engine testing on the flight line in an environmentally protected aircraft acoustical enclosure, while attenuating sound pressure levels to approximately 85 dBA at two hundred fifty (250) feet or seventy-seven (77) meters. A further advantage of the T-10 is that it is demountable, being designed as ground support equipment, allowing for relocation of the complete facility as missions change.

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