Helmets on my mind

[delorean]

Have you tried the ENC yet? When DC came out with it, I thought it was so-so in the helicopter. It was quite a bit better in the airplane, but not enough to put up the extra $300 and deal with all the extra cords & batteries. That was close to 10 years ago, so its probably gotten much better.

 

What I'm saying is, make sure it's worth the extra money. When you order it, read the return or exchange policy. You might just save $300 by dropping back to a H10-13.4.

 

I don't know what ANR, ENC, etc does in turbines. Anyone have any experience? I do know that all these headset companies engineer these headsets for airplanes, not helicopters. Telex and Senheiser used to make helicopter-specific headsets (not just the cord). I had the Telex--that thing killed ALL the noise; but it was HEAVY, ugly, uncomfortable, and sucked 9V like crazy.

 

I always used to order DC headsets from Marv Golden. They always had the lowest prices and would throw in a free storage bag.

 

Good luck!

 

PS: Forget about the flightsuit......They're not cool. The only good thing about them is the pockets. LOTS of pockets that you can actually get to while you're flying. However, wearing mine to/from work has gotten me out of several traffic tickets.

[Gomer Pylot]

The ENC system does a good job of getting rid of the MR noise, but it's basically useless for the high frequency noise from the turbine and transmission. In fact, if it doesn't have excellent passive noise suppression capability, it's far worse than a passive headset in a helicopter. I spend a lot of time outside the helicopter while it's running, loading and unloading passengers and baggage, and the ENC headsets don't cut it for that. I used a custom passive headset for years, and it worked OK, but now I'm using a lightweight in-the-ear headset, which uses foam earplugs, and it works very well. It's comfortable, and I get excellent noise suppression. Probably a passive headset with earplugs underneath would work better, but that's far less comfortable. The AuriComm headset works for me.

 

The ENC headsets simply can't do the job for high-frequency noise, although they do fine for lower frequencies. Plus, they dont' provide nearly enough room in the domes for my ears. I tried a drop-in kit from Headsets, Inc, and while it did work, I couldn't stand the pain from the pressure on my ears. This may not be a factor for others with smaller ears, however.

[Witch]

PS: Forget about the flightsuit......They're not cool. The only good thing about them is the pockets. LOTS of pockets that you can actually get to while you're flying. However, wearing mine to/from work has gotten me out of several traffic tickets.

 

I wonder how a flight suit would look while riding a motorcycle?

 

I find that my old H10-30 works fine. Does one really need noise cancelling? WHAT???

 

I wonder if that Bose headphone in the commercial would... never mind, wrong impedance. But if the same circuitry used in the headphone was adapted for GA use with GA speakers... Might Bose have something like that? Might be worth looking into? I don't know, it' late.

 

Later

[West Coaster]

I agree with Gomer, that kind of gear works best with low to mid range noises.

 

I wear a HGU-56 with ANR installed. When flying a piston machine, turning the ANR on is like hitting the Mute button on the TV remote. That low drone of a Robinson goes down to almost nothing and is quite nice. But in a turbine the effect is barely noticable, if at all depending on what type it is. In something like a JetRanger you might not hear the difference, but in mediums and heavy machines it's nice.

 

From what I've heard, that Bose X headset is supposed to be the shizzle... whether that's a good thing or not I have no clue.

[500E]

We tried 1 Pilot PA 17-79 DNC XL in the 500 and bought 3 more the next day you realy notice the DNC, it still lets you hear the mech noise at a level that is not obtrusive + the controler is crystal clear

It has a rechargable built in Aprox 30 hours on one charge, + plug in cord so twin plug or Nato is no problem, damage to cord again no problem you can even get the dreaded telephone conection if required