Haha, that's like me and the Comair threads. I'll be reading for a loooooong time.

Why would anyone use the interphone? How about saving your ears with noise attenuating headsets? Why bother shouting at each other on takeoff when you can talk with a normal tone using the interphone? Dehavilland thinks that the interphone is important, that is why you can't MEL it. I guess in "your" cockpit you'll let "your" FO have one good ear.

Now that we've had a good influx of new FOs hopefully those differences will start to fade, I'm all for learning from both sides.

So you dont have to shout over all the noise in the cockpit? So you preserve your hearing for the years to come so you can pass future medicals? So you can comfortably wear your headset the way it was meant to be worn without having one side off?

Most reputable "airlinepilot" headsets have two ear pieces, one for each ear. Or should I buy a pair of 600$ telexs or clarity alofts just to have one side off the whole time and have to scream at eachother anyways? I have my big doofy green DCs and will continue to use them. If anyone would like to paypal me some $$$ for a new headset I can give you my account info :D First year F/O not-breaking-guarentee-on-reserve-pay sucks.

And it would be you having a L O N G day when I would be asking you to repeat everything you say 10 times because I can't hear :D .. Not to mention all the missed radio calls with only one side on, and a bunch of noise on the other.

OK, so some news and rumors then, it is now completely official that we dropped the ball, yet again on getting Horizon's -200's. Don't know how many people outside of PDT have heard. Nobody was expecting them to come anyways. I kinda hoped they would come but I wasn't expecting them too either. In addition I heard we will still be doing seasonal slowdowns come this winter. Just rumors though nothing official.

Oh, and about the headset argument, I agree that I like people who use the interphone, but if they don't I just use the standard headset installed in the aircraft. It works and I find it more comfortable then using my head-clamps.

Where did you hear this about the 200s? Not that I don't believe you. I didnt think we would get them, either. Airways doesnt seem to care about growing PDT, even with how efficient we are compared to the jets. Some more stagnation till the 100s just completely fall apart. You think they would at least invest a couple bucks into renovating to some degree some of the interiors, as some are filthy and falling apart.

I use the interphone because, while I can hear now, I still want to hear when I get to be an "oldtimer." We all receive enough ear damage from everything from APUs to taxiing aircraft. Why make things worse by yelling at a guy two feet away from you? As long as I have a way of preserving my hearing, I'm gonna use it. I would hate to be denied a medical when I'm 55 because I can't hear anymore.

Practicality is another issue. I hate having to try to listen to the other pilot with one ear and atc with the other. I can't tell you how many times I've missed ATC calls because the other guy was talking. And even when ATC isn't talking to us, I still hear every other word of what you're saying because of all the noise.

I also use it because the FAA wants us to. While I hate the FAA as much as the next guy, I think they occasionally have a point. For example, when PDT ripped the interphones out of the ALG planes, the FAA made sure they were put back as soon as they found out.

I think thats a hugely irrational generalization. While I will agree that some people just do what they're told, don't assume that about all MDT crews. Besides, I've met plenty of people outside MDT that use the interphone.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the Dash 8 cockpit was a fashion show for pilots. I'm also sorry I'm not paid enough to look "professional." Yelling at the guy next to you seems pretty professional to me. If I was flying a 737 I might agree with you, but the last time I checked we flew turboPROP aircraft that are a little bit noisier.

Wow you sound like a blast to fly with. A "my way or the highway" kind of guy. Can't wait to fly with you. I'll certainly have a long day and it won't be because of my headset.

The -200's came up in the "ask Piedmont" questions on the website and instead of the usual BS about nothing official, they stated we will not be receiving the -200's. Also saw a memo put out today that we will not be furloughing any pilots. Staff reductions per US Airways will come from attrition and voluntary leave of absence mainly on the ground operations side. Maybe not necessarily good news but at least, as of this minute, we all still have jobs.

my god guys, is the interphone really that big of a deal? i mean, some guys like it some don't, everyone's got their reasons too. Also, who cares what you look like once the door's closed, Southwest guys do it naked, we do it with baseball caps, its just a job guys, a pretty good job overall, why make it harder than it needs to be.

Thinking back to when I was working fast food, I don’t remember reading forums and complaining about that job. Kind of sad that the better jobs people get the more they seem to have to complain about myself included in this.

Maybe I should go back to fast food, better crew meals at least… and competitive pay.