Building a Nieuport 11...

[Dana]

Well, now that I'm home, I see that's not the case. The A6 uses a different style headset adaptor. It's a two-jack system, and (nicely) the headset jack seems to be a standard 1/8 jack. However, I notice my A14 (which uses the same adaptor as the A6) only gives me right channel output. Not sure why, but it would be easy to fix and/or do a work-around.

The music earbuds are stereo, but the Icom puts out mono, so it's only connecting to one side. I simply wired the adapter to drive both sides; I don't plug the earbuds directly into the radio. Actually I made my own plug for the radio, with an 1/8 and a 3/32 plug mounted together in an aluminum plate, and epoxy potted the back side. Two jacks hang off that, one for the earbuds and one for the mike, and a wire to the PTT switch.

I'm half surprised this worked, as the standard for an aviation microphone is a bit goofy; it needs to emulate an old carbon mike. However, Icom sells the same basic radio to a variety of markets; it's likely that its designed to work with a straight electret mike.

The other drawback is that the computer microphone won't be the noise-cancelling type. Depending on the environment, that may not matter. Depending on how drafty the cockpit is, one might need a foam muff, too.

Well, people say they can hear me with no problem. Most modern handhelds can use an electret mike. I used the plastic shell from the computer headset, too, and put a foam muff over it.

Dana

[Frank Giger]

When one thinks about it, handhelds having "normal" input and outputs for speakers and microphones makes sense; the electronics for them drive a standard speaker and mic as part of the unit. One doesn't see the typical TSO/non-TSO ratings on them as one does with every other piece of aviation equipment, probably because they're not meant for mounting permanently as part of an aircraft.

The mono-vs-stereo explains why a lot of the ICOM headsets have only one ear piece - they just avoided having to adjust the wiring to drive two speakers:



Granted, the example is for the non-aviation radio set that ICOM manufactures, but I'd bet a dollar to a donut they're standard across their line.

I also suspect the GA headset to radio adapter is stuffed with gizmoes, which is why they're about as round as a small pill bottle.

Wife says to not "screw around" and spend the 30 bucks on the windshield antenna and buy a flying helmet to fit the headset - after giving me the "oh, c'mon" look when I say that combined they'd be less than a hundred bucks. She may not know much about aviation, but she knows that anything with the "A" word attached to it is usually priced in units of 100 dollars.

I need a range of about 15 miles when in the air - enough to get the weather at the airport and report in at 10 miles (and hear anyone incoming). My particular concern for having a radio at all is IFR pilots.

I really like the idea of noise reducing ear plugs with a speaker in them, though. Many years ago it was unfashionable to wear hearing protection for those in uniform, and I took some minor abuse for being a stickler on wearing it, something I'm glad I did today. Granted, often I wore ear plugs just so that I could hear the radio handset via direct connection from the speaker to my ear (trying to call for fire while some joker is firing a machinegun close by can be difficult), but my hearing loss is a lot less than most of my peers.

I may take to wearing ear plugs under the headset, though the noise of the aircraft seemed a lot less than I thought it would be. The natural caveat is that when I fly things like noise, heat, cold, etc., seem to evaporate. I can't say I've ever been uncomfortable behind the stick of an aircraft - my mind is on other things.

[Dana]

...when I fly things like noise, heat, cold, etc., seem to evaporate. I can't say I've ever been uncomfortable behind the stick of an aircraft - my mind is on other things.

That's because you live in Alabama. Believe me, I've flown in conditions where I got so cold it was hard to keep my mind on flying the aircraft... when I landed my fingers were so numb it took five minutes to unbuckle my helmet.

I wish I'd used ear protection in my early days. I'm paying the price now.

Dana

[rwanttaja]

Granted, the example is for the non-aviation radio set that ICOM manufactures, but I'd bet a dollar to a donut they're standard across their line.

I also suspect the GA headset to radio adapter is stuffed with gizmoes, which is why they're about as round as a small pill bottle.

The one for my Icom IC-A5 isn't; it's just short wires to two larger jacks leading from the 4-conductor 1/8" plug that goes into the top of the radio.

I like the one in the A6; it looks like you can just use a 3 mm and a 2.5 mm plug to hook up the speakers and microphone. My A14 looks like it uses the same connector.

Aircraft headset standard were established in the 1930s, and are based on the carbon-centered components of that era. That's why GA radios have 300-ohm earphone outputs. The 1/4" plug for the earpieces and the 0.20" plug for the mike comes right from the switchboards of the day.

Most 300-ohm aviation headsets will work with an 8-ohm output like the ICOM, but with a slight loss of efficiency. The problem is, the handhelds typically have low audio power to start with. So having to push that low power into a high impedance will reduce the amount of energy that actually gets turned into speaker-cone wiggling. My Flightcomm Denali ANLs work good enough to hear the radio in the Fly Baby, but I'm really wishing for a bit more volume. On less-noisy airplanes, it really wouldn't matter.

The OTHER way is more of a problem, as anyone who has tried a consumer-grade headset into a traditional aircraft radio will attest. The radio is expecting 150-300 ohms of speaker impedance, so the 4-8 ohms of the consumer headset seems nearly like a dead short. Again, it's possible that more-modern radios will be designed to accommodate it.

Comfort-wise, my leather helmet is a bit "poochy" on the sides, and scoops in a bit of air in flight. Not really a problem in the Fly Baby, as the cockpit is relatively draft-free. In the summer, this is great, as the ear buds don't clamp down and the bit of airflow is comfortable. In the winter, the traditional-type headset is better, as it clamps down on the sides of the helmet and keeps the wind out.

BTW, one warning on the Icom: If you use the push-to-talk switch on the radio itself, it will use both the plugged-in mike AND the built-in mike. Using a separate PTT switch with my A5 cuts out the built-in mike.

Ron Wanttaja

[rwanttaja]

That's because you live in Alabama. Believe me, I've flown in conditions where I got so cold it was hard to keep my mind on flying the aircraft... when I landed my fingers were so numb it took five minutes to unbuckle my helmet.

Here's my guide to figuring out to wear when going flying. Note that this also depends on how long a flight I intend to make...going out for the day, I generally go one step "colder."

75+ degrees: Street clothes
65-75: Light jacket over street clothes
55-65: light jacket, long-sleeve shirt or thin sweater underneath, light gloves, light scarf
45-55: A2 flight jacket, flannel shirt, light gloves, light scarf
40-45: A2 flight jacket, light turtleneck sweater under flannel shirt, heavy gloves, heavy scarf.
32-40: As above, with Spandex ski mask
32 and below: Replace A2 jacket with B3.
20 and below: add thermal underwear.

Note that my Fly Baby cockpit is relatively draft-free; those with most-exposed piloting positions may want to stage down a step or two.

The big thing is to cover up exposed skin...it gives the cold a boost.

Ron Wanttaja

[Frank Giger]

On Alabama cold - it has to be experienced to be appreciated.

I did my Montana time, and it actually feels colder here - until it gets below freezing. The humidity just cuts through one to where I'd rather it be 20 degrees as opposed to 40. And it does get below freezing in the winter time (okay, about three months of the year).

I'm a firm believer in trigger mittens, Danner boots, woolen pants, and sweater under a leather coat. Wool scarfs are God's own gift, IMHO.

But we're almost into the full bite of summer, meaning that it'll be 90 degrees at 8:00 a.m. and thanks to it and the humidity my 200 foot elevation will be closer to 1,200.

I'll have to see if there's enough volume coming through the speakers on a conventional headset to hear clearly. The cheapo solution is to get some plastic ear plugs and trim them to where the stem just touches the speaker; then the sound has a direct connection to the ear canal. It's the trick I used in the Army to hear from their crappy handsets when there was a lot of background noise.

[griffin800]

Try your local Harley dealer for cold weather clothing. Motorcycle riders have a similar problem, have to be able to work the controls when it's cold outside. I do both btw.Yes there are less expensive clothing items, Harley stuff is very high quality and will last for years (if the dogs don't eat it).Bill H.

[Frank Giger]

So on my first flight I advanced the throttle too slowly, got squirrelly, and took off. For my second flight I decided to just firewall it.

I think the answer is somewhere in between...

[Frank Giger]

A few "hero" shots of the plane I took today:



This one looks like a screen shot from Rise of Flight:



Now it looks like someone trying to make a screenshot of Rise of Flight look real:



I like this one the best, though it's not great at actually showing the aircraft.



Ready to keep the Hun at bay in May of 1916, er, um, 2016.



I'm going to have to start thinking seriously about how to do the gun mount!

[rwanttaja]

So on my first flight I advanced the throttle too slowly, got squirrelly, and took off. For my second flight I decided to just firewall it.

I think the answer is somewhere in between...

It's a lot funnier in one of Dick Starks' books than it is in real life, ain't it? :-)

Nice video!

Ron Wanttaja