Noise Reduction

For those that have been in a small airplane know how noisy it can be. There is very little in the way of reducing the noise in the cockpit from the plane itself. Can you believe that when I started flying, I didn't use a headset? There is lots of yelling and making calls on the airplane microphone and struggling to listen to the return calls over the weak airplane speaker in the cabin.

I eventually got a cheap headset, which is still useable. It really just uses clamping force to passively reduce the drone of small plane noises. For short durations, this headset is adequate and gets the job done. However, on longer flights, the headset becomes a little uncomfortable. I'll apologize in advance to my future passengers...you get to use my old headset.

With my re-introduction back into flying, I wanted something that actively reduced the mind-numbing whoosh and hum of small airplane flying. That meant I wanted an active noise reduction (ANR) headset. There are many to choose from. Of course I did my homework and sought review after review on the latest and greatest ANR headsets. One thing I learned with my musical endeavour was to buy the best you could afford. If you don't, you'll always want the next model up. So, I went for the top of the line.



Bose A20. It is expensive, but it has remarkable noise reduction capabilities. It was amazing how 'quiet' the cabin was after activating the noise cancellation. My instructor's voice came in crystal clear and any calls that came in were crystal clear as well. Amazing! This headset also has an external input for music or GPS. This headset also comes with bluetooth for a connection to the cell phone. And another positive is that this headset has 1/3 the clamping force as other passive headsets. In other words, they are very comfortable. If it weren't for the remarkable noise cancellation, you would forget you were wearing them. I haven't tried out the music input or the bluetooth functionality yet, but the active noise cancellation is worth the price. After all, how much is your hearing worth?

If you are in the market for a new headset, I highly recommend the Bose A20s.

A 'Newish" Blog

I realize that it's been some time since I've been here. I promise you that I'm not bearing sad news. In fact, there is some exciting news that I'd like to share. It's no secret that I have a love for human spaceflight. I was, and still am, enamored by the early years of human spaceflight. My path to take part in this exciting endeavour (yes, I purposefully spelled it that way) was aviation. My path would be to become a naval aviator and then become an astronaut. This cockamamie scheme came to my young mind in and around the 3rd/4th grade. It was about that same time (4th) grade that my vision began to go blurry.

It wasn't until high school that I realized that flying for the Navy wasn't going to work out (due to my vision). That's when I decided that I could start flying now, instead of waiting until graduation. That's when I asked for flying lessons for my 16th birthday.

In August of '93, I got my private pilot's license. Unfortunately, college put a stranglehold on my flying escapades. Essentially, life happened. I was able to pick up flying for a brief time in 2001/2002. And then life happened again.

Now, here we are in 2012. A recent conversation about flying has rekindled my passion. It's time to stretch my wings again. So, I got my medical and found an instructor. A little over 2 hrs of flight time and I was signed off as a legal private pilot again.

So, I have new life for my blog. I'll blog about my flying escapades and the places I go.

I have some big plans for the very near future. I'll bring those adventures here...and of course, pictures too.

I'll start you with some gems from the past. The first one is a picture of me and the plane I used to get my private pilot's license on the day I got my license.



The second picture is with me and my best bud prior to a little cross country flight to visit the Lone Star Flight Museum down on Galveston island.