Helmets - Should you? and Which?

[Hot and Hi]

Originally Posted by Paul Cantrell

Interesting. I've had problems with my Lightspeed Zulu-2 headset masking the low RPM horn in some Robinson aircraft. I called Robinson technical support and asked that they start piping it into the intercom and they politely refused.

Then, in September I brought it up during the R66 course and Tim Tucker said "we tested the David Clark and the Bose and it wasn't a problem and it would add weight so we won't do it". I said it was a problem with my Lightspeed but they basically seem to feel that since nobody has died yet from not hearing the low RPM horn they don't need to address it (and of course if there is a fatal you probably won't know that the pilot couldn't hear the horn, just that for some reason he never lowered the collective).

Well, Robinson is offering it now. On all new machines give low RRPM warning through headset only. No more buzzer. Working headset is now a pre-start checklist item.