Telex Headsets in Commercial Jets

[Crossair]

Hi guys!

I urgently need some advice: Anybody here using (or having used)

- Telex 50 / Telex 30 (Stratus series)
or
- Telex 3100 (Air series)
or
- Telex 150 ANR (Echelon series)
or
- Telex 4105 (ANR series)

headsets in commercial jets? Any experiences or recommendations?

Thanks in advance
Crossair

[irishpilot1990]

look up the telex 850. Great Value. ANR. Light. No batteries

[Crossair]

Well, thanks, but I actually already know the 850.

Back to the topic:

I really need some evaluation of the Telex headset types mentioned above (see post #1) when used in commercial cocpkits (jet or large turboprop).

Is anyone here who uses or has used (or knows somebody who uses or has used) any of the Telex headsets mentioned above in such a flight deck?

Please help! Thanks

To the mods: if this is not the right sub-forum, feel free to move it...

[Crossair]

Come on, people!

There must be someone here, who uses or at least has used in the past one of the headsets listed above in a jet or turboprop airliner...
Please post a few words here!

Crossair

[411A]

If they ain't TSO'ed, it is unlikely they would be used in commercial airliners.
IE: not legal.

[GarageYears]

Of the headsets listed only the ANR150 has FAA TSO approval and is a current Telex product. Never used it though.

I believe the Telex 3100 is no longer in production and can't recall whether it was TSO approved...? Found it, yes, was TSO approved. But again no direct experience.

Sorry can't be more help.

- GY :cool:

[aviatorhi]

If they ain't TSO'ed, it is unlikely they would be used in commercial airliners.
IE: not legal.

So when did this regulation come into place?

[GarageYears]

The short answer to your question is that there is no law or
requirement to use TSOA headsets in any aircraft by any crewmember,
under any operating rules, whether Part 91, 135 or 121, or under Part
25 or Part 43 or any other FAR.

This information was provided by Inspector Bures, the Aviation Safety
Inspector (Airworthiness- Avionics) of the FAA Flight Standards
District Office (FSDO) in San Antonio, Texas, with whom I spoke by
telephone.
The contact page for that FSDO is here:
http://www.faa.gov/fsdo/satfsdo/off_person.htm

He said that the FAA's TSO program with regard to headsets and
microphones is for the purpose of establishing a standard, or
benchmark for such equipment, but that the FAA has not mandated nor
regulated the use of such equipment.Found this on Google answers.

Full link here (http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/542619.html)

The long and short of it is that it is NOT a legal requirement to use a TSO approved headset, but it does give the user some confidence that a headset that is TSOA will meet certain minimum performance levels.

- GY

[aviatorhi]

Kind of the (sarcastic) point I was making, thanks for the reference.

I always find it funny that the TSO is supposed to give you confidence, as some of the flimsiest headests I've seen are TSOd and some of the most robust are not.

[411A]

Contrary to what some might believe, many airlines, in their operations specifications (which are issued by the regulatory authority, and not just the FAA, either) specifically mandate certain requirements, and those requirements often specify what type of pilot headset shall be used in normal line service, and which ones are disapproved.
Those pilot headsets which do not carry a TSO specification are many times excluded, IE; cannot be used.
I know of two airlines that had this requirement in their ops specs, and pilots found using non-approved headsets were promptly removed from flight status.
However, it would seem that a few pilots like to demonstrate their 'individuality' and ignore the stated requirements.
Too bad for them.

[aviatorhi]

I'll continue "demonstrating my individuality" and using what I need to use to get a job done. I've never seen a OPSPEC requiring the use of TSOd headsets (maybe there is one buried somehwere that I've never seen, it's sure not in my manual), and I've heard of companies requiring them, for no good reason other than that they can, nonetheless a GOM is a "examined and accepted" not an "approved" document. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, I (or anybody else for that matter) cannot be violated by the feds for doing something solely contrary to my GOM, only for a violation of an FAR, the company may choose to take action against me for a violation of the company GOM, but that's not the sort of company I'd be working at in the first place. At the moment I use a TSOd (Plantronics) headset because it's the most comfortable one that has the functionality I like, however, I have no problem with somebody using a headset they like TSOd or otherwise.

In regards to the OP, the best thing to do is find one that is most comfortable for you, I like the Plantronics T-30 personally, some people insist the Telex 5x5 is better. I don't really see a need for a big earmuff style headset in a jet, it also takes up a lot of room in the flight bag. But, like I said, find what works best for you and go with it.

[Crossair]

Well, thank you so far, guys! Any further posts welcome...


@aviatorhi
Since I have heard of bad experiences of airline jet cockpit crew members with hearing impairment caused by high noise long term exposition during duty (and use of lightweight headsets providing unsufficient passive noise reduction), I rather tend to prefer an "uncool", earmuff style headset and am considering buying one - but I 'm a beginner and therefore possibly wrong...

[aviatorhi]

There are some jets where they are necessary (loud cockpits), the one I fly isn't one of those. I known many pilots without hearing impairment who have never used an earmuff style set in loud cockpits and I know other who have used the best protection they could and still have hearing problems, makes me think it's more related to genetics, luck and other activities than it is to wind noise.