Roost Air Lounge => Aviation related topics => Topic started by: Futeki on June 16, 2011, 09:48:49 AM
Title: Headset
Post by: Futeki on June 16, 2011, 09:48:49 AM
Going back home to fly and the club there recommends getting/acquiring a personal headset. You guys have a recommended website or store to look for one?
Title: Re: Headset
Post by: Mike on June 16, 2011, 04:55:25 PM
I've had a David Clark H10-13 for 15 years now and still love it. Got tricked out with gel ear cups and a bigger pad for the top so the little knob of my ballcap doesn't wear into my head creating a pressure point and I am good to go.
It's not noise cancelling but I am not sure how much I like noise cancelling in a helicopter since I do like to listen to what my turbine does. Airplane might be a different story..... Last time I flew a helo with Bose headset I kinda liked the noise cancelling but they just don't seem to fit my head just right and start hurting after 2hrs in the air. But hey, that's me.
Title: Re: Headset
Post by: Baradium on June 17, 2011, 07:41:36 PM
When I first started flying I bought a cheap avcomm headset off ebay for a fair amount under $100 (new headset). It has a little push to talk built into the side of it that is very handy on GA aircraft if your yoke mounted ptt stops working (not all avcomm headsets have this). I've been planning on getting a nicer one when it dies... but it just keeps on chugging. I'm on my fourth set of ear seals (I've used both the bose ones and the ones avcomm makes) but the rest of the headset is working great and the ear seals are still lasting a long time. It was fairly quiet in a cessna, although with the turboprops I started just wearing earplugs underneath the headset with the volume turned up louder. This has the added advantage of still letting you hear the airplane (although my reason was just it was cheaper than ANR).
I think this is the model I have, if you enlarge the picture the orange button on the side is the extra PTT. I'm not sure if the price is higher or that's a premium for the carry case (probably a little of both)
Bose and DC's are nice headsets, but I have to say I've been very impressed with the reliability of the Avcom. It has been through a lot of hard use. In Alaska it was subjected to regular periods of 40 below or colder just to be warmed back up once we got back into the air. Sometimes it'd be cold soaked for hours and put right to use. The cold weather is probably half the reason I went through as many ear seals as I have. Now they don't get the cold but they get crammed into a tight flight kit sometimes 5 or 6 times a day. Even with all that I'm getting over 1000 hours of use out of a set of ear seals.
When I get my next headset the only thing that might stop me from getting another avcomm (they make a nice anr one now) is getting something that can take up less space since I'll be able to ditch the flight kit once we go to EFBs.
On that note, a popular route is the bose QC2 with the ufly mike conversion. A lot cheaper than the bose aviation headsets and you can remove the conversion at any time to use the headset as a regular headset say on a commercial flight, cutting the grass etc. The original conversion wasn't TSO'd but they do have a TSO'd version now and I periodically fly with people using it and they all seem to love it.
Title: Re: Headset
Post by: Futeki on June 18, 2011, 02:11:50 AM
Thanks for the options guys, I like to hear my engine and the other noises the plane makes...I'm finding I can figure out abit of info just by the sound the plane is making. I think I like the way yours sounds MIke, comfy :P
Title: Re: Headset
Post by: Mike on June 18, 2011, 05:24:48 AM
check the David Clark website for all the different options but I recommend you go to your local pilot store and try a few on.
i am a big supporter of local pilot stores even if they are maybe a little more expensive, I just hate to see them go away and the big walmart-style online stores take over for good..... they can advise you and order the extra parts you need. I've never bought anything I like to see fit first and that I use for a living online without "testing" it
