Headset?
 

Starting training at the end of the month and was curious if a TSO'd headset is required/ company headsets are provided. Thanks!

The norm on the UAL side was to buy a molded ear piece in Denver when you are in training. There is a gentleman who comes twice a week and makes the mold then delivers the ear piece within a day or two. Ask anyone in Denver and they will give you details. UAL side used the headbands and microphones provided in the plane.

The norm on the CAL side is to buy or "keep" one's own headband and microphone, and there are far more pilots on the CAL side who own headsets rather than earpieces.

Personally, I tried the earpiece for the first couple years, but just never got used to it. I then switched to company provided "ear dicks" (little plastic ear inserts provided for free in every flight office) for about a decade.

When I switched from 76T to 756 I was surprised that sometimes there would be no microphone or headband available because all the CAL guys brought their own. After a while of calling maintenance the microphones started showing up in all the planes (I guess as more UAL guys came over to the 756 and kept calling).

After a year on the 756 fleet I decided the CAL way was better and bought my own headset. That was one of the best purchases I made in over a decade. My headset is far more comfortable and adjustable than the ear dicks I had been using for years and the microphone sound quality is much better than that of the company provided mic (I asked a friend for a sound check one day on the ramp)

Anyways thats way more than you asked so here's the synopsis:



The company provides all that you need if you want so no need to buy anything.


Most UAL types buy and use a personally molded earpiece.


Most CAL types buy either an earpiece and microphone or an headset.



Here's what I bought and again it is unbelievably comfortable and adjustable . . .

Telex ANR 850
http://www.sportys.com/media/catalog.../2/12562_3.jpg

Molded ear buds were also the norm on the CAL side, while the company issued everyone a headband and mic in training. Don't know if they still do it.

I am so used to the mold, I forget it is there.

Head sets are okay, like the one Sunvox showed however, if you get your own, please do not get one with TWO ear pads and try to wear only the one side. You will end up covering both ears eventually because it does not fit correctly with only one. Then you will not hear when you captains says" flaps five" or something else- causing him to have to repeat himself. That is annoying.

If you get noise reduction, the FAA wants it turned off for take off as well. There used to be a pilot bulletin about that as well.

Yes/and yes.

Only one ear muff (and I guess only one ear bud) so as to hear the Capt.? Don't you use and interphone?

No interphone.

Coming from the RJ world, I can't wait to ditch the dual ear headset!

I had a molded earpiece made and it broke after one use. I've been using ear "richards" with the company supplied headsets. Works great. For all you guys and gals out there using your own personal head sets, please have the common courtesy to RE- PLUG BACK IN THE SHIPS HEADSET! It is very annoying to have to plug the ship's headset in because you usually find out when ground calls and you can't talk back to them.

I bet you want me to put the toilet seat down also.😀

I disagree.

Get the Bose setup with the Uflymike.

Works great and you can use it in the back while deadheading.

I use the David Clark DC ProX and love it. If you end up on the 737, it is loud especially the 700's. It is noise cancelling and if both pilots have headsets you can use the intercom. If the other guy does not then you partially cover the left ear and it works fine, never have anyone repeating themselves. You will find when flying in Latin America as well as when doing position reports over the Pacific, the aircraft speaker or molded ear piece can't hold a candle to a noise cancelling headset. Welcome!

I just ordered a DC Pro X after trying one out on my last trip. I've been using a the UflyMic setup for the last year, and the Telex 850 for years before that. The DC blows them all away, especially on the uberguppy.

+1 for this. After 20 years using the molded earpiece on the A320 and 76T, the uberguppy rocked my world.... and not in a good way. Couldn't hear a thing. Bought the Telex 850 and hated it. Returned. Inquired about the Uflymike and was told the new one that is UAL TSO'ed is months away. Bought the DC's and can finally hear. About 50% of the FO's don't have headsets so I just ride around with my right ear off. I guess that doesn't work for some people but it works fine for me.

To the OP you will find the following: if you end up on the A320, 99% of the pilots will just use the company supplies ear s&erm or the rapid mold (recommended). On the 76T fleet it was about 90%, but it sounds like that's changing as they meld with the 756 fleet. On the 737 more and more people will get their own headsets because it's LOOOUUUDDDD in there. Sorry to the RJ guys and gals who thought they could ditch the headsets!!!!!

Good point about having to move back one earcup back to hear the other guy. Much easier to do with the DC cause it doesn't cover the ear completely like the Bose. I ride a lot on SW and Alaska where it is much more the norm for both guys to wear ANR headsets. I'd like the MEC to pressure the Company to refit the guppy audio panels to have a locking IC/MIC rocker switch like Alaska has to make it easier to run in a hot mic mode, when appropriate.

I have the DC Pro-X, love it. No complaints.

Ok. Lerxst and FLyboy sold me on the DC Pro-X, but $695 at Marv Golden. Dang. I guess I've been out of the loop for a while. That's a lot more cheddar than my 10-40s ran me in the 80's. Where is the cheapest place to get them and what is the price?

Sled

I couldn't find any price breaks anywhere, 695 it is. So I went with the one place that had free 2 day shipping and no tax.

Are you gonna bump to the guppy?

Prolly, unless I go EWR 756....which would be crazy., right? But the old 757s have LOUD pneumatic noise, and my hearing ain't what it used to be...too many Texas Jams and ACDC concerts back in the day I guess. So, M Golden has free shipping and no taxes outside of Cali. Is that who you used?

Sled

I went with Pilotmall for free 2 day air shipping instead of ground with Marv Golden.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

I've used the single earmold with plantronics headset in all versions of 737 300-900, 757, 767, 777
It works fine unless the other guy has his speaker on and jacked way up.

No... he simply wants:
-A FUNCTIONING headset when he gets in the airplane. Not one with bent plugs or sliced wires after getting caught dangling across the window slides then smashed at the bottom when the window was opened.

-Not to have to scour the entire cockpit to find what is required and supplied by the company.

Thanks Boxer for feeling my pain.

Next time you find three headsets in the cockpit (yes, it will eventually happen), give the third one a thorough cleaning and put it in your flight bag with your other FOM-required equipment like your iPad. Now you'll always have a headset with the added bonus of not sucking in other pilots' germs and chewed food. And no more pain.

But that's stealing.

I don't see it that way. The company is required to supply us with FAA-approved headsets. This haphazard way of tossing the cheapest possible solution at us is their choice. We are simply attempting to comply with this requirement by predictably having one available to us to perform our duties. The company's own HR dignity and respect policy requires they provide a healthy environment to work in. A boom mic that gathers germs and spraying food from uncountable pilots is not healthy.

So you don't don the O2 mask above FL250? Because it's also a disgusting vat of germs and moist and misted saliva?

I can't carry an O2 mask around with me. There are some things that can be mitigated, like the headset. Some cannot be.

Is there something wrong with the forum? I see a conversation being carried out between apc225 and himself.

It's all-at-once frightening and awesome

He used to seem like one of the few people that stayed civil, and now he's finally snapped.

How long did it take to get the TSO process done? Would you recommend getting the molded earbud as a backup?

Don't get caught with that company headset in your bag. Flight attendants have been fired over food, drinks, and a lot less. Yes, it is stealing. Not worth it.

Just remember the ridiculousness of the bottled water stealing caper...

When I called last month they said it would probably be around 6 months for the TSO process.

The ear pieces aren't a backup; they're required for the TSO. If you order the headset with the mic, it can be ordered TSO's with the stickers and document. If you already have a headset and just order the Uflymic, you need to send everything to uflymic to get the TSO stickers.

I had the mic and the headset before the TSO was offered: I sent everything back to uflymic and had the TSO applied. They didn't have it for long, and it returned with a paper describing the TSO, and stickers on the mic and headset.

Technically the earbuds are required to be used for the headset to be fully TSO'd, as they're part of the TSO because the headset goes dead when the battery dies. I found that the battery would last about 50 hours of flying, and I had ten hours of time or so with a flashing light advising the battery needed changing; I always changed it preemptively and carried extra batteries, so it was never an issue.

That is to say it's not commonly used? Suppose your FO/Captain is using an old DC headset with two ear muffs...

Jsled,
I bought mine at Oshkosh when they first came out. At that time they were $627 (everywhere…the airshow, Sportys, Gulf Coast Avionics, Aircraft Spruce, etc.). There was no price differentiation anywhere then, and probably not now, unless you can find a shipping savings.
BTW, if it matters to you, these are already TSO'd, right out of the box.
They work great in the 756….even in Newark ;)
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On a related note....Mark Sebby, the flight manager known as the Waterboy, has recently retired.

If both pilots have a headset, the interphone is used. If one doesn't have a headset, then no interphone. In that case I just fly with my right earcup off. Not at all uncomfortable with the DC. Even when both pilots have a headset I tend to fly the approach with one earcup pulled back because I like to hear the engines a bit. That and I know it's time to flare when I hear the FO suck in his/her breath, which is vital because I can't figure out how to land this POS uberguppy. :)

Yeah? What years? I was there in '84 and '85 (I think)...