Headset?
 

Hello :ok:
Do you have any idea of which headset I can buy to start a PPL? I was interested to buy the A20 bose but maybe for my commercial. For my PPL I will need a cheaper headset

I agree with StepTurn.
A used David Clark headset will serve you well, and can usually be resold later for what you paid for it.
They provide good hearing protection and clarity of radio, without ANR, and are will not break under even rough use.
If you really want ANR, the same headset can be converted to ANR easily and relatively cheaply, and the after market anr kits work really really well - 90% as good as Bose or Lightspeed headsets in terms of ANR effectiveness.

ANR_kits

If you plan on going 'Commercial' buy a good headset now.
I think Bose has a 5 year warranty.

Thanks all! Will watch it!

I'm a firm believer in buy now, save later.

I bought a David Clark at the start of my PPL (I'm about to finish it!) and have since purchased Lightspeed Zulu 2. The active noise canceling does make a big difference.

I could've saved myself a bunch of cash just buying the Zulu's right out of the gate, although I found the DC's on eBay for £50! I keep them around for PAX now.

Bottom line, if you can afford it, do it.

Having a good ANR headset will help you to learn better since you have less noise around. I am very happy with Zulu2. I started out with ATC on speakers and a yelling instructor. Much more relaxed now.

Just my comment - Your hearing ability is one of the biggest assets you own, don't threaten it by following the cheap-road. If you already had a look at the A20 and like it, go for it, now.

You have right, I will go for a Bose. Bluetooth model is better?

I mostly wear a pair of Mendellson own-brand HM40s which are an excellent price and as good as David Clarke's in my opinion, without the high clamping forces. They work well for the environment in which I do most of my flying, and have very good passive noise attenuation. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.

However, it's absolutely true that you can concentrate on learning much better with a lightweight ANR headset like the Bose. I used a borrowed one for my CPL and it made a very noticeable difference when I made the switch. If you are definitely going all the way with your training, then the investment now is a pretty good idea. You'll never prove that, but the odds are that it'll pay for itself in the reduced flying hours to get your licences.

G

something to note about the journey to PPL, especially if you're only just starting it - many people begin the journey, few ever finish it. There are many reasons why people quit their training -some are to do with finances, others with weather, free time, interest, aptitude, health - you name it.. In Ireland, as the grapevine tells me, out of all students who take out their class 2 medicals, 1 out of 7 ever walk away with a licence and from that bunch there's another half who will never re-validate their licences (SEP ratings) after finishing their training.

So statistically speaking you are very likely to end up with a 1k worth of gear that you have only used couple of times and that has lost a good chunk it's value.

If money is no issue, by all means, go nuts. If money is an issue, I would rather borrow headsets for now up until a point where at least you go solo. if you continue your training after reaching your solo, statistically your chances with sticking with flying go up dramatically

I began to learn to fly helicopters using Bose X. So good that I fitted them (5 sets) in each of 2 EC120s and an R44 (4 sets). Good cheap deals on e-bay so a fraction of the cost of A20. Spare parts easy to come by. No Bluetooth, but then I don't want to take telephone calls or be distracted by music when I am flying.


I found the ANR sets much lighter on my head, and on long trips after 4 or more hours continuous use that really makes a difference.

I very much like my Lightspeed Zulu 3. The Bose A20s are very nice but not, in my opinion, worth the extra £250 difference in cost given that the Zulu 3's have the same functionality and having tried both side by side similar ANR capability.

Just my 2c

The David Clark head sets are not "endlessly durable", it depends where you are located.

I live in the Caribbean and the temperature is 26-32C through the day/night - this I believe is the cause of problems with DC head sets - the plastic that molding around the jack plugs and the molding around the the "Y" on the cable "rots" (the only word I can use to describe it), they become soft and crumbly and great chunks fall off.

My jack plugs have insulative tape and a layer of speed tape around them now - and the "Y" junction has just started to crumble. I will post some photos at the weekend once I can retrieve the set from the plane.

To replace the offending parts - two options, one, send to DC (from where I am more than the cost of a new headset for there, back and the repair), two, get the cable US$70-75, watch a YouTube video on the fix and trust one's soldering.

The headset in question is seven years old and the crumbling and softening started about two years ago.

I agree with the comments if one is going commercial - buy what you plan to use, it will be cheaper in the long run and you will have a better experience with the radios.

DC forever
 

I know I'm a bit of a Luddite, but you really can't go wrong with a decent DC. Just sold one of my spare sets on *B*y, and I know the buyer will be pleased. 30 years old but functioning like new (H10-40) and he only paid £83 for it.

At that price, you will never lose money, whether you carry on, and eventually replace, or give up and just sell it off.......

Whichever you do, PiwiOPL, enjoy your training, and welcome!

I found that DC had too much of a 'clamping' force which gave me discomfort. Additionally, the older examples have brass plugs which get corroded and make noisy electrical contact - the newer ones are chrome. My Lightspeed Sierra is a good compromise for ANR at about half the cost of Bose. I've done around 700 hours with them now, still excellent. I've replaced the ear cups and mic cover once, but these are 'consumables'. Good battery life and Bluetooth connectivity, works well with my phone.

I see SEHT are marketing a really inexpensive ANR, might be worth a look. They've been really helpful to me keeping our Club headsets going, but I haven't tried their ANR.

ANR is always going to be the better option, if the headset is designed from the ground up for it. The reason is that the headset can be made so much lighter and less fatiguing to wear - see my comment about DC above.

TOO

TOO

Whatever happened to using the school's headsets - our instructors use the same ones as the students.

That's how important we rate people's (instructors and students) hearing!

Another vote here for David Clark.

I bought a second hand one and put a new mic sock and cotton ear covers on.

I tried an A20 in the 152 I was learning in and didn't like it, there's some thing re-assuring about being able to hear the engine in a SEP!

If you are able to spend the extra money, go for BT - if you ever encounter a total loss of electrickity and use a BT enabled phone, you'll be able to make a call using the headset - made my life easy once.

I have various these days but I bought two Softcomm C-40s (cheap DC copy) in 1991 when I did my PPL and used the surviving one today as a back up set.

£80 or thereabouts at the time. Still going.

I'm not convinced that ANR necessarily offers better hearing protection- after all the headset is pumping even more energy into your eardrums. Contentious point but not unfounded . I've tried all sorts of hearing protection, including ANR in a far noisier environment than an SEP. My current solution works as well as any other - moulded ear plugs with filter and passive headset. Bose (used to?) have very poor passive protection. DCs are very popular in FW world but I would go for a Peltor. Better passive protection, lightweight decent quality. Cheap.

It's a toughie!!
 

I have flown for 25 years, the first 200 hrs with a basic peltor headset ( still works for my pax - never needed repair). At 200 hours I splashed on a 10.13.4 x. Best decision ever. 1000 hours later I still don't need hearing aids ( I know plenty younger that do). You fly with the volume knob on the radio at one or two, not twenty to hear over the background noise. The headset has never yet failed. It owes me nothing but still carries on. They accept a lot of abuse and they are easily repairable.

There's a few DC NC headsets on ukga. Definately worth £300.

The Bose are nice but......oooh they are nice but... perhaps a little flimsy.

We have a set of light speed anc in our ac, they are nice but again a little flimsy compared to DC's.

Remember if you ears are ringing you have permanently damaged your hearing. You will also happily pay thousands in your 50's to restore lost hearing. Your choice. If you want a really cheap pair put a notice on your flying board. Most pilots have collected many headsets over time and would be happy to sell. Perhaps a retiree will sell you his old dc's. I have at least 4 sets. PM me if you need a pair - I may have one that meets your needs.

Actually you are right! I always made my students use my spare headset which I knew worked with mine. This was preferable to headset incompatibility which made teaching so much harder. If they decided they had to buy a headset I told them which one to buy and the harmony continued. It was usually a dc13.4. If they wanted to go sexy later the 13.4 would be appreciated by their pax.

do you keep your headset in a plane at all times? Is it hangared or out in the open? Don't mean to sound like a smartarse, but maybe that's part of the problem why they are falling apart? UV and heat damage.. I bring them home all the time, where they are kept cool and in the dark.. 3 years later my DC looks like the day it came out of the box

Any idea for the David Clark 10-30?

I can certainly recommend the 13.4's.

Martin

No the headset would leave the airplane with me and be stored in a cloth bag in my apartment (in a ventilated cupboard); no not exposed to UV.

It is typically between 25 and 32C here in Barbados - seems that the heat got to it - it looks pristine apart from the plastic around the jack plugs and the "Y" junction. All of the plastic around the plugs has crumbled away and the "Y" is going the same way.

The plastic gets a little soft before it fails - it shouldn't have done that in seven years.

When I tried to get it repaired when up in Florida not where could do it, but they all seemed to know about the problem - apparently the a DC characteristic, the other being losing a gel seal (my other newer set has that problem) "most people just buy a new headset" is what I was told.:*

You are also in Dublin - so thinking 30C average temperature not an issue;)

Mine looked brand new up to sometime in year five - other than these three plastic bits the headset does look perfect.

DC H10-30 is a good headset. The newer H10-13.4 is an updated version that is basically lighter than the 10-30, but the 10-30 works just as well. Hearing protection and clarity of audio just as good.

Go ANR now. It's an investment for the long term. The new DC One X seems to be very good. Bose A20 or QC15/25+uFlyMike do work and Lightspeed products are also popular. Try them out if you can.
I wish I bought ANR from the beginning. I am using DC 10-13.4. Good headset, but after a 3-hour flight my head is toasted.

Do you reckon Bose would have done any better in such climate?

I've had the same old Dave Clarks for 24 years and they've never failed me. Good piece of kit.

Which one?

Martin

I would not know if a Bose would have done better.

The galling thing is that it is a known problem and the "solution" seems to be to buy a new head set - as an aside when I took it to a well know aviation avionics place in the US the attitude was very "you're not American so why should be help?" - very Trumpian I thought.

Using the same style headset is quite common - you buy what you know. But, using the same individual headset for different people died as an idea when people got aware that headsets are a sanitary product and even your own needs frequently new ear cushion etceteras to stay germfree. Our SOP tell 6 month time for them ...

I have taken a couple of photos - but cannot recall how to get them to attach - I did a few on something else a week ago - but when I get the Album part I can add an album but the upload photos link seems to have disappeared.

If it reappears I will up load them.

Like many new pilots, I started off with David Clarks but soon found they gave me headaches on longer flights because of the clamping effect. Easy to sell second hand though. I then moved onto lighter Peltors which were more comfortable but not as robust. When ANRs started to appear, I purchased a couple of Pilot Communications sets which gave me many years of service and I still have one set as a spare. However, a few years ago, I bought a nearly new Lightspeed Zulu headset which is by far the most relaxing I have ever owned. If you are serious about flying and can afford it, go for this or something similar.

I'm not sure how many headset threads I've responded to over the years! ;)

DCs are great headsets but not for me. They don't fit my head and are extremely uncomfortable. Try before you buy and that means more than wandering around a shop for five minutes.

I have had a Lightspeed Zulu 2 for three years and wouldn't change. The ANR is great.

I also used the Bluetooth phone call feature for the first time the other day. Having released one glider, I got a call from another pilot who needed a tow from a nearby airport and so I was able to fly straight there!

I've got the Calgary Tower emergency number programmed, so in the event of radio failure, I have the option of saying "Hey Siri, call ATC"!

One thing I've noticed is that it is very difficult to avoid pushing the PTT when talking on the phone. ;)

I have the Zulu 2's also. I am interested in setting up the Bluetooth functionality. Did it pair straight away? I seem to recall it not seeing my iPhone.

Anyway, have you tested "Hey Siri, call ATC" in the air yet? The reason I ask is the "Hey Siri" callout function only works if the iPhone is plugged into mains/external battery. Just a forewarning, in case you didn't know!

What about the David Clark one X ?

BNI,

The pairing is straight forward as per the Lightspeed manual.

Once the headset is paired, to answer an incoming call, you briefly press the Bluetooth button on the battery box.

To make a call, press the Bluetooth button once and talk to Siri.

I didn't want to call ATC on their emergency number, so my son acted as substitute. ;)

It worked perfectly, so I was surprised by your comment. After some research, I discovered that the Siri "always on" feature was introduced with the iPhone 6s, which I have. On an older phone that supports Siri, if the phone is not charging, you need to press the Home button while talking to Siri.

A comment on the Zulu 3 headset. A year ago, my headset was stolen and I had to replace it, so I considered the Zulu 3. However, it is much more expensive and it requires more batteries, so the battery box is much bigger. I stuck with the Zulu 2.

Aha, the 6S. Yes, I have a habit of not buying the interim variants of the iPhone. It would seem this is the first feature I will be sad not have from an "S" model. It would seem the processor is efficient enough to have the mic always listening without too much additional battery drain (although the idea of it always listening is troubling! haha)

I figured out the pairing. I just needed to kick start the process with a longer button hold.

Thanks for all this info. Interesting stuff.