headset or not?

[Pilot16]

I was wondering if it would be worth buying a headset for my PPL studies.

I will do the PPL this summer and than take the rest of the courses in two years time after college for the CPL...
so its not just for PPL but beyond too...

[AerBabe]

I know you're thinking about doing some flying in the States, so get one out there if you can - will be cheaper! If not, I'd leave it until after you have your PPL. In the meantime you can use your club's headsets, and save some £££ :)

['%MAC']

Unless you're flying sailplanes, invest in a good headset. The money you spend now will be repaid a thousand fold over your career. Teaching and learning are cognitive functions that, to a large degree, rest on the ability to communicate. Training aircraft are incredibly noisy, degrading communication. If you can ameliorate this environmental variable you will learn more quickly and save money. Additionally, noise aids fatigue; you'll enjoy your training more with a good headset.

I started flying without a headset, finally got one during my commercial training. I have never listened to loud music or introduced other damage to my ears; but flying without a headset has caused significant hearing impairment. Not that I need a hearing aid, and my class 1 medical is not in danger, but there are certain frequencies I can no longer hear.

To wit: a long time ago, when at university and when I was young, I snuck into my girlfriends room. She, being of sound mind and body, could hear her father walking down the hall, I could not. Simply put, the hearing you save may save you.

No I have no stock in DC, I just rather not see a fellow pilot make the same stupid mistakes that I did.

Enjoy your flight training.

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

A good secondhand DC is, in my opinion, much better value for money than a new "budget" headset. I paid just over a hundred quid for perfect condition DC10-40s. Once properly adjusted they are very comfortable, protect my hearing, and should last for ever.

Mik

[fullcoarse]

re %mac. i nose i just a dum pliot but wat the hell does ameliorate mean??????

[Dupre]

I've always used a headset - but for most of my ppl used the club's rubbish ones - not knowing any different I thought they were fine. Then I got my own - nothing fancy, just a good condition second hand Altronic C 9070 with them silicon ear thingy's - and I realised how much better things could get!

Getting one of your own will improve your ability to learn, and let you enjoy your flying more - and as i figure it you'll have get one at some point anyway if you're going to go on with flying as a career.

As for these people who fly without headsets at all (the place i flew at in ozzie didn't even HAVE club headsets - cos they kept on being stolen) - they're just crazy. A few times i've taken off my headset in flight, and I'm always amazed at how loud it is - I certainly don't know how they can hear the R/T through it's speaker!

Now I own a total of 4 headsets - one good one for me (still the Altronic) and three old rubbish telex's for the Pax. All four of them set me back about £90 (but it was in NZ and I got the deal of the century on the altronic).

[WX Man]

Dispatcher... spot on. Don't bother buying a cheap headset, false economy. FWIW I use a Pilot 17-76 with Oregon Aero ear seals.

[MikeSamuel]

Just to add another question to this...I saw some footage on the news a while back inside what looked like a C182. The people on board weren't wearing headsets, and there was very little noise on the film itself. I suppose they may have edited the sound before broadcasting...But, how noisy would the cockpit of something a bit posher like a 182, Commander, Trinidad etc.. be compared with the 152?

[IRRenewal]

ameliorate = make better

Or am I showing my age?

Cheers

['%MAC']

The general direction of this thread has been to recommend a headset. This advice is not garnered from speculation but empirical evidence. You will destroy your hearing if you fly without ear protection. Yes, it is that simple. It remains your choice to use a poor quality common-use headset or to procure your own. Aviation communication is about clarity. Take a look at the ATC thread listed below. Therein they talk about the problems of repeating their calls to non-headset wearing crewmembers, and how this has become a safety issue. Now, think about the events of this week, obviously you want to be able to hear all calls emanating from ATC, not only those directed at your aircraft. The speakers in a trainer are for emergency backup, not primary communications.

Is it loud in a Cessna, Piper, SEL ? Yes it is. It is loud in every propeller driven aircraft, KingAirs, EMB-120s and so forth (except I hear the ATR is relatively quite – up front that is). If you are planning a career in aviation, you will want to use your headset at least until you get into jets, and there you’ll want to use it also. The 737 up front is not quiet. Hope this comes across as unequivocal.


http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58218

[low n' slow]

Mike Samuel

A reply to your question of the noise level in a bit posher A/C:
I have flown a completely new cessna 172 R and I must say that the noise level is rather acceptable. You can easily communicate with the pax without headsets. I don't know about in a brand new twin or the larger cessnas... But if it was a brand new cessna from the "next generation" series or whatever they call them, the noise level would probably be ok.

Regards/lns

Edit: As %MAC above explains, using the speakers and a hand held mike to communicate with ATC in this type of A/C is dangerous. On my school they make us contact ATC with a speaker and mike just to let us know what it's like and I cannot recomend this method as standard practice to anyone flying small GA A/C.

[englishal]

yep buy a cheapish headset (£150 / $150), then when you have your licence you can buy yourself a nice new funky ANR model, and keep the other set for your wife / girfriend / boyfriend / dog / mum /dad / sister / brother / aupair / etc etc.

You'd be nuts to try and fly a light A/C without one, even the brand new Skyhawks are too noisy NOT to wear a headset. Maybe when you upgrade to Citation X then you can dispense with the HS, but in the meantime, think of all those other sweaty ears that have been in the club headsets :D

Cheers:)

[mr.cool]

A good headset is well worth buying at the early stages in your career. You can get some very good deals abroad, especially in the States.