Useful, or useless

[Kolibear]

Following on from TonyR's 'Can't fly without them' thread, what the most embarrasingly useless thing you've ever bought and what item is the most useful?

My most useless purchase was my first kneeboard. (£15) I strapped it to my left thigh, it was supposed to open to the left but the cockpit structure prevented it. The PLOG was on the left side too. I ended up ditching it and adapting a hardboard clip board (£2)

Most useful purchase were a pair of headset tidies. They consist of a block of rubber with two holes in it and a strap which ties round the leads. The connectors go in the two holes which stops them tarnishing, the leads wrap round the headset & a clip on the back of the rubber block holds them in place. They cost about £5

[High Wing Drifter]

The best and simplest peice of kit I have is my square protractor. Although the essential items would occupy a small list.

The most useless? The cockpit bag I got for free with a set of Avcomm headsets.

[Aussie Andy]

Nice idea for a thread!

I still don't know why, but I sent off for one of those slid-rule style take-off distance calculators I saw in a catalogue a while back... looked at it when I got it, found it useless and confusing, and have never looked at it again since!

I strapped it to my left thigh

Why didn't you strap it to your right thigh then!?

Best thing I have bought? I think it must be Navbox QuickPlan software... let's me do "what if" flight plans real-quick, and lets me day-dream about possible future trips in idle moments at work...

Andy

[ACW 335]

My kneeboard (£8) was the most useles..... I never use it! I can't get full control deflection with it on so its a bit pants really (its a really nice one, just useless!)

Most useful piece of kit is my headset - i love it!

[TonyR]

I also bought a slide-rule style take-off distance calculator, totally useless.

I too bought the Navbox QuickPlan software £18, brilliant.

I bought a "shirt pocket size wizz wheel" in the US.

Avcomm AC454 head set, (better than my old DC)

[Aussie Andy]

So what do you use if you don't have a kneeboard?

[High Wing Drifter]

Avcomm AC454 head set, (better than my old DC)

Heavens above no! The passengers get the Avcomm

[Spikeee]

I did spend £40 on a compass last week.

Everyone says its a waste of money but when they're lost THEY WILL BE EATING THEIR WORDS!



and it is very shiny!


Spike

[TonyR]

So what do you use if you don't have a kneeboard?

An A4 clip board £1.99, unless your flying a Pitts or similar, then a small note book.

[Aussie Andy]

An A4 clip board ...

Maybe I'm pathetic, but I like having all the plastic sleeves within the kneeboard so I can put my Bottlang plates in these ready for when needed... of course, I could just clip them to a clip-board now you mention it

Andy

[Fly Stimulator]

I did spend £40 on a compass last week.

I bought an aeroplane and got a compass with it for no extra cost!

[Aim Far]

Most useless - VFR flight log pad from Transair

And that was the most useless item even before I bought the most useful - Garmin 196.

Of course, the airplane comes in pretty handy too...

[Chilli Monster]

So what do you use if you don't have a kneeboard?

Post-it notes. One note per trip - brilliant

Best purchase I ever made.

[loftustb]

Most useless?

"Hold Entry" calculator £8.95

Digital stopwatch that beeps and flashes and does everything except simply 'stop' and 'start' £19.99

[Send Clowns]

Andy - tape some A4 or A5 clear pockets (for ringbinders) to the back. I used a similar system for my IR training, worked a treat.

[Rallye Driver]

This reminds of the millions of dolllars the Yanks spent developing a ball point pen that would work in weightless conditions on their spacecraft.

The Russians pondered the same problem, and decided a humble pencil would do the job just as well!

Useless items - I weighed my flight bag a couple of years ago, it was 14 lbs! Full of the stuff I never use anymore. (Flying helmet and parachute are in separate bags, and see different thread about flying suits!)

Most useful item - my credit card (and it must weigh less than an ounce).

RD

[trevelyan]

most useless thing to date is he "cockpit bag" from transair that I got ages ago as a freebie. I just bought a Garmin GPS and they sent me another "cockpit bag" free with that.

If co`s like transair are sending out freebies, at least they could give us a choice!

Doh!

[Keef]

Useful - IFR Flight File - sort of ring binder for approach plates etc. About $5.

Useless - holding pattern computer.

[Aussie Andy]

Useless - holding pattern computer

a few people have said this... is it because you find you don't have to enter holds very often, or just that its not so hard as to require an aid such as this?

Andy (booked to start IMC in Sep)

[Chilli Monster]

is it because you find you don't have to enter holds very often, or just that its not so hard as to require an aid such as this

1) The hold is printed on the approach plate, you know your heading, from that you know how to join.

2) When you're being bounced around in IMC the important thing is to fly the aeroplane - not a e around with a silly bit of plastic.

Never owned one - never will!