Could anyone tell me if the Clarity Aloft sets are OK in a typical GA aircraft (Cessna 152 - 172, PA28 etc)?
I know they are expensive but Mrs DH starts to feel sick after a bit of time wearing the normal David Clark headsets. I think it is the pressure of them around the temple region. She likes to fly but this problem is becoming a nuisance.

Thanks.

Clarity aloft no problem in 172 or robins or piper arrow I have a set and love them I only fly GA

Cheers

Clarity Aloft work in all GA aircraft with the normal double plug setup.

One nice thing is the audio input which uses a std IPOD connector. So the user can listen to their favourite music.

I haven't found anyone who has tried them who doesn't like them.

The only problem is the price which is around £400.

ZA

I tried the Lightspeed Mach1 (a very similar idea to the Clarity) and found that it was liable to work loose and then one obviously got a massive amount of noise getting in.

Apparently this is a known issue unless one gets custom made earplugs for it.

I sold mine on U.S. Ebay (they were in short supply then) and stuck with the bose-x.

Have to say though that the M1 had the best mike I have ever used. Fantastic clarity.

jxc, ZA and IO540

Thanks for the info. I need to seriously look into them now.

I have the Sennheiser HME 95 headset and am very happy with it. I wear tinted prescription bifocals which could be more comfortable - though I've not noticed the discomfort whilst flying. Their is a feeling of relief when I take the headset off, so obviously it's not perfect.

Much better than the DC one's one gets issued with at flying schools IMO.

I am only In sudbury possibly not to far from you or I could meet you at earls colne and you could try them ( of course with new ear tips on them ! )

let me know

Another vote for clarity aloft. My wife used to suffer with all other brands of headsets, since she got Clarity Aloft she is happy. I tried them once and found them very good. Higly recommended.

I think these in-ear headsets are very good for passengers, especially female ones, because they don't mess-up one's hair, and if the thing falls out (partially or wholly) because the cable got sat on, etc, then it doesn't matter because the wearer can just push it back it.

However I found it hard to use because unless one took great care of the cable, the thing did occassionally partially come out, and this could happen right when one is busy with ATC etc.

never had mine fall out of my ears

99jolegg

Stick with the Serengetis - they are absolutely the last word in sunnies, IMHO. The tint on the lenses of trendy Raybans and the like are added on after the lens has been made. Serengeti's lenses, on the other hand, are tinted as they're made, which provides an altogether superior result. I've used all sorts in the past and nothing has got close to the quality of the Serengetis.

rich g85

I'd be careful about the Sennhesier HME95. It's a nice headset but the passive noise attenuation is pretty low - it's designed for quiet cockpits, not noisy spamcans, so depending on what type you fly you may want to consider headsets with better passive noise attenuation capabilities.

Both of you

If you're getting headaches after a short period of time then it's likely that the headset you're wearing is not right for the shape of your heads. Try the David Clark 'Stop Gap' cushions by all means (although these don't work on ANR headsets which require a complete seal round the ear), but you'll probably be better off visiting a pilot shop and trying on a few different headset styles. Some pilot shops (AFE at Oxford airport springs to mind), let you trial them on a local flight if you've flown in to visit them.

For my head, the David Clark 13.4 is the most comfortable passive headset, and the Lightspeed Zulu the most comfortable ANR headset - but everyone is different.

Cheers

jez

jxc,
Thanks for the very generous offer. Mrs DH is actually going to see her GP about the problem as it also hurts if she just presses gently around her temples and forehead. I fly out of Duxford so I am sure we can work something out.

Re: Headache with headphone and sunglasses
 

Hi, you can try wearing only earphones rather than head phone like there are one's for ipod. You can even buy the new Oakley Sunglasses that come with the MP3 player attached with them. That's a really a good alternative. However if you like to keep your Fendi Sunglasses , then those earphones are the best solution.

The sun doesn't shine enough in the UK to wear sunglasses. I never wear them, ever!

A common problem easily solved by purchasing an ex-RAF Crash Helmet with integrated headphones, throat-mic and visor. Think what a dash you'd cut as well.........:p


Running away......:O

I find that Clarity Aloft and sunglasses don't work too well - the combination hurt the tops of my ears. Maybe it's because I have a tiny head. You can always use the old fallback of a baseball hat............

Re wearing eye protection.

A friend of mine had an accident in a PA28. The windscreen broke into shards of Perspex and he had multiple small cuts on his face. The prescription glasses he was wearing were also damaged. He assesses that if he hadn't been wearing glasses, then he might well have lost the sight of at least one eye. He was a licenced aircraft engineer and a very experienced pilot. The lesson? In a light aircraft, ALWAYS wear some form of eyewear. clareprop above has a bit of a tongue-in-cheek look at what the military wear. They don't wear all that to look cool, but to protect themselves from injury.

Now, anyone over 40 probably needs to wear some form of eyesight correction whilst flying. Even if their distance vision is still good, then their close vision will have lost its 'accommodation' as the lens muscles seize up. My advice to them is NOT to wear half-moon specs but to invest in varifocals with no correction in the upper part, grading down to a reading prescription in the lower part. Of course, your medical will require you to carry a spare pair. Why not choose a second pair with a tint for brighter days? I've been wearing varifocals for flying for 25 years and at my age can still read a map, the instruments and spot traffic miles away without having bits of spectacle frame in the way. (A new lens in one eye helps a lot, too!)
I find many people who had good vision in their youth are 'in denial' about wearing specs, thinking they're somehow geeky and not cool. Get over it.
I appreciate the issue about spectacle side frames and headsets, I suffered with this when I first started. I now choose titanium frames that are extremely thin and frameless lenses and don't notice them at all under my Lightspeed Sierra.

Re headgear.
The pilots who concern themselves most with lookout fly gliders. They've developed the 'beany' hat which whilst keeping the worst of the sun off your head (they are invariably white) permit unobstructed vision as far as possible. So-called baseball caps and the like with a pronounced peak do nothing for your lookout. Beany hats look a bit silly and wearers of baseball caps think they look good (not my opinion!) but in the cockpit, what matters more, being able to avoid traffic or thinking yourself 'with it'?



TOO

Never thought of myself as a poser. Hey-ho. Tip for baseball cap wearers. Nip out the stud which can be pressed into your noggin by the headset band. The hat won't fall apart.