Thursday at 1400 my little Bebe gets the official look-see from the FAA man.
I am positively vibrating with anticipation.
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Thursday at 1400 my little Bebe gets the official look-see from the FAA man.
I am positively vibrating with anticipation.
Frank,
please stop vibrating.... You are causing my coffee cup to rumble off my desk. Oh wait that is me vibrating for you as I am truly excited to see you bird take flight. Hope it goes well!
Rick
And....she's an airplane!
Zero real gigs on the inspection. He wants me to put some slip paint on the nuts on the engine case bolts, which is really minor (and something I had no control over, as I didn't assemble the engine), and I'm more than happy to oblige.
Still, I got the pink slip and certified as the official repairman for the aircraft in one swoop.
The FAA man was very professional, asked some good questions, and gave her a close examination. It was an exercise in being quiet on my part - one should never talk themselves out of a passing score, after all.
Of course it's windy season here, so I'll have to be patient before I can put her to flight.
Congrats to you Frank's!
Congratulations! I was hoping to see a post reporting the certificate and the first flight, but you certainly don't want to take any chances on the first flight, best to wait for the right day.
It's a plane! It's a plane! Congrats and all the best on the first flight. Of course we all want pics and video. Fly safe.
Hi again Frank. Really great that you are the proud owner of a real airplane. One of these weekends, I need to hop in one of the club planes and come visit.
Dale
So my holes are all patched and waiting for paint,* the nuts have slip marks on them, and the Hobbs meter is installed onto the firewall. I could have gotten sexy and wired it to where it only ticked over when the engine was running, but that's a complication I didn't want to introduce - so it really tracks how long the master switch has been on.
The FAA man called and said I have to re-do my repairman's application. I didn't spell out BROWN for eye and hair color, and under "Make of aircraft" put my name down as it asked for on the form (first, middle, last), but not as it is in the other forms, last, first, middle initial. Fussy old things, government agencies, if one asks me.
Not one to complain, I downloaded and properly filled it out, will sign and scan and email it to him.
The worst part is that here I am with an airplane and the winds are 10 kts gusting to 15, and had been that way since sunrise. One of my EAA brothers was out at the field and came over with a minor look of concern in his eye. "Whatcha doing?" "Little stuff until the [expletive] winds die down so I can take her out." "Good." Bah and humbug on this time of year - I need zero gusting to one.
* In order to fit all the bolts, clevisi (?), nuts, and cotter pins into the interplane struts and the lift tangs, I had to cut holes in the wing around the attach points. My frustration level can be seen by the size of the holes. The inspector asked me about them, and I told the truth - I wanted to leave them open like that so he could see they were properly fastened, but had planned on patching them up as soon as he stopped goofing around and handed me the pink slip, so get on with it, government man. Okay, I didn't actually say that last part. But I did grin as I didn't say it.
Oh, the evils of Fast Taxi!
So the day was perfect and so I donned my flying cap, cinched up the straps, hollered Clear Prop and went on my way.
The plan, as I agreed to, was to slowly increase the throttle down the runway, bringing her up to flying speed gently. That way I'd know for sure she'd fly true before taking her into the air.
I'm not a big Fast Taxi fan. My only other experience with it lead to a great tale involving grass, a broken landing light, and a very nice first landing in a tailwheel - one of my best three pointers, to be honest.
Anyhow, I got on the runway and advanced the throttle. Wowsers, she's got loads of power right away. I was between a quarter and a half of throttle and she was starting to get light.
So I pushed it forward before things got squirrelly, got the tail up, popped up into ground effect, built up speed, and took off cleanly.
Hahahaha - no I didn't.
She started to drift a bit left off the center line and with the tailwheel down on the pavement I gave her just a smidge too much right rudder to put me back on proper track. Now that whole directional control thing is getting iffy, so I chop the throttle.
A perfect - and I mean perfect - three hundred sixty degree ground loop!
I was so good that the lower wings barely kissed the pavement, and only that because the left wheel became a taco at the side stress.
I took a look at the wheel and decided she'd be good enough to get me off the runway under the plane's power, and once there shut it all down. A moving dolly under the bent wheel and we pushed her back into the hangar.
The supra crappy tailwheel Robert issues out got a flat spot on it, too, but I didn't expect it to last past today regardless.
So no flight today. The upsides:
1) I know she'll track true up to flight speeds, so forget any more fast taxi nonsense. Next time it's advance the throttle and go.
2) No real damage. The hub on the wheel is fine, so I'll take it to our local bike shop and have them replace the rim and spokes. That's super good, as my brake drum is welded to the hub. We had to look hard to find any scrub marks on the lower wings.
3) I get to exercise my rights as an official FAA aircraft repairman!
4) I've had my ground loop. They say there are two types of tail dragger pilots - those who've ground looped and those who will. I may just make myself a decoration for it.
5) Absolute sheer joy with the aircraft. She's a honey, I can feel it. I have to admit to chuckling as I got out of the plane rather than cursing up a storm or being downhearted. Hell, even the KC Dawn Patrol guys have taco'd and shattered main wheels (including Tom's famous Oshkosh incident).
Frank,
glad all is ok in the end. I love your attitude about all of your adventures...... A lot of people could learn from you. Now get back to work....
Rick
Well, I'm early on in my inevitable march to becoming a true hero:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...1bd71c8eb6.jpg
-Frank "But I don't want to be an EAA technical advisor" Giger
In the Fly Baby world, I recommend that pilots don't attempt high-speed ground runs. On the Fly Baby, at least, there's a zone of....hmmmm, "less stability".... around 35-40 MPH. The airplane on takeoff powers through it quickly, and on landing, slows quickly past it. Assuming your taildragger current, I'd just power past it and take off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Just checking, but you DO have the Starks/Glaser mod that moved the main gear back a bit, right?
Ron Wanttaja
Oh, yes. Robert Baslee, guru of all things tube and gusset, put it this way when we built the gear and fuselage: We can move the gear back four inches and give you some ground handling or put it straight down like the originals and maybe put some skid plates under the lower wings. I may be embellishing a bit, but he didn't mince words on what his suggestion was.
And oddly enough, when I glanced at the ASI just as the world went around it was just past 40mph.
I talked to Robert today about a new wheel and he was both amused and sympathetic. He reckons I was transitioning to flight and once I chopped the throttle she was going to loop.
I am very, very, very hesitant to say the advice I was given by a whole host of sources (including you, FAA Test Flight Pamphlet) should have been ignored in favor of my gut feeling on the hazards of fast taxi procedures. But in reality I weighed it all out and made the decision to put it as the first part of real flight testing and then followed the plan. The "Education" part of "Education and Recreation" doesn't stop when the pink slip is handed over, after all.
I'm actually kind of pleased. Chalk it up as the rehearsal of the first flight, and a bad rehearsal makes for a great show.
Doesn't really reflect the "Hero's Journey" of the Frank Giger we all know....Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
http://www.wanttaja.com/frank.wmv
Ron Wanttaja
Awesome!
Thanks for making my last look at the web today one that made me laugh!
Frank, Try this next time. As you advance the throttle when you feel you have positive rudder control relax the stick forward and let the tail come up to a tail low attitude and hold it there about halfway between three point and level. It will lift off when its ready. Level off in ground effect and let it accelerate a bit check your airspeed, feel out the controls and climb out. On test flights I climb up 2-3000' over the airport and orbit for 30 min to an hour if everything is looking good. Before descending slow it down and do a power off stall. With a lightweight high drag biplane you will want to use more than 1.3 VSO for approach more like 1.6 as when you pull the power off and start your flare the speed will come off very rapidly. It will slow down twice as fast as something like a Champ.
What happened to you is when you shoved the stick forward and raised the tail rapidly you got lots of gyroscopic precession and when you chopped the throttle old Newton took over and you got lots of precession the other way and away you went. Get it fixed and have another go and have fun. There is nothing else like taking an airplane you built aloft for the first time. Don
Yesterday was a maintenance day at the aircraft, and I got a lot done.
First, here's a picture of the wheel after the loop event:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/loop.jpg
So the first thing to work on is tightening the bungees. I guess they'd shifted or something to loosen over time, and I hadn't really noticed. The axel was floating in the slot nearly halfway on the right and a quarter the way on the left.
When I put a jack under the gear to lift there wasn't any tension at all! The bolt there is to show how much slack was under the bungee and not forced at all:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/bungee001.jpg
In re-tightening the cords I got a real insight as to what Robert was doing with the zip ties - they're an extra thumb. As one tightens they sort of hold things in place to help keep the tension as one wraps.
So now she won't be all loosey-goosey in ground handling.
Oh, how tight did I make them? As tight as I could. I figured the same loosening process where some places are tighter than others and it all equals out will unfold to give a little.
On to the tail wheel. The Airdrome Airplanes bog standard solid rubber tire gave its all in the loop (and wasn't looking all that great to begin with) and had to go.
I opted for another solid rubber tire that I made a bushing for.
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/loop02.jpg
And now she's back down and moving freely.
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/loop03.jpg
I also have a much better idea on what happened in the loop. When I was moving the one good wheel from side to side to check my bungee tension something just screamed at me.
Pulling the wheel from the right, the drum came right out of the brake strap with no problem. In both putting it on and taking it off from the left it was tight.
Basically the left brake was rubbing the whole time. No wonder I was turning left.
:rollseyes:
Once I started correcting to the right, the loose bungees over-reacted (one can note that the paint all the way to the top of the slot has been scraped in the above picture), and when she went up the slot on the left the drum moved forward and grabbed the strap even more.
So a rapid pull to the left, lateral stress on the wheel which caused it to bend, and a full stop on that side.
That makes me an idiot for a whole different set of reasons - hurray!
Anyhow, all fixed and now I have a technique to check brake tension. Just jack each side up and spin.
Great job with the diagnosis, I am willing to bet you have just saved future Baslee builders from a similar fate.
Well the whole purpose of this thread is to show the not-so-great of the build to serve as a way for folks to jump in and say "oh no, don't do that!" and to get a chuckle at my long way around to solving simple problems.
With new wheels on the way, I'm faced with an old problem again. My brake drums don't match the wheel in a way that makes attaching them nearly impossible. Last time my father-in-law and I found some old bushings from a bit of farm machinery and welded it to both wheel and drum. It worked great with one problem - it's very permanent. I need to develop a mount adapter that can be moved from wheel to wheel in case this ever happens again (and in talking to the KC Dawn Patrol guys, bending a wheel is uncommon but not unusual).
My first idea was to put in some dog ears on the drum (the inner diameter of the hole of the drum bisects the bolt holes for the wheel), make a wooden spacer, and bolt the drum to the wheel through it and then the drum to the spacer. A fine idea with a flaw - getting the drum center to the wheel is such a fussy affair that it comes down to luck, and I wasn't sure it'd stay true when tightened down. I'd like to say that I figured out this was the wrong road to take pretty quickly, but I'm hard headed and spent two days trying to make it work.
The answer is to weld a strip of steel to the drum, covering the hole in the center, and going from there. Now comes the second problem - centering all the holes perfectly on the drums. One would think that finding the center of a circle and then measuring out three holes at an equal distance from the center that match the ones on the wheel would just be a matter of geometry, a ruler, compass, and a sharp pencil. But my drill press is dead (casualty of my leaky tent workshop) and to be honest my confidence in getting it right is just about nil.
The obvious answer is a lathe. Throw the drum in there and center becomes easy. One can measure and mark for the holes, and even make the hole in the center that fits over the axle (right now the plate goes over it). But hell, if I don't have a working drill press the odds of me having a lathe are about the same as having a trim lever in the cockpit. Enter the brother-in-law who came to see the welding of the drums out of idle curiosity and a series of incredulous looks at my plans for how to handle it.
"You do know I work in a machine shop, right?" he drawled, "I reckon that's a half hour for both of them. Won't you just leave them with me and I'll do them up during lunch one day this week."
The wife's family isn't very demonstrative, so with great effort I suppressed the urge to hug him and weep with joy and relief onto his shoulder.
Meanwhile I made a call to Worksman Wheels to see the status of the new wheels. They said three weeks and this is week four. The fellow on the other end agreed that it's taking too long and asked that I call back today after he did the research on it. Sounds like a good opportunity to ask for a discount due to my inconvenience.
So hopefully next week, weather permitting, I'll have a fresh opportunity to break something else on the aircraft. :P
Wheels should be here tomorrow!
Either Thursday or Friday I'll be up to the airport to mount the brake drum and maybe cover them, too.
Drums worked a treat! New wheels and brakes installed, but I held off on covering them.
The reason is that I also laced the new rim on the old hub, an exercise in extreme trial and error. Even with an identical wheel to use an example, it took me four complete re-do tries to figure out the right angle to the first spoke. From there I worked fairly quickly, but the afternoon was spent.
The allen wrench for the cable catch on the brakes is normally in my airplane "quick kit" that has the most common tools needed to work on stuff. I guess gnomes must have come in the night and taken it, though, as it was nowhere to be found. I played the long odds that maybe I put a tool back where it belongs with the others, but no dice. My allen set was all there except the one I needed.
My diagnosis on what went wrong on the fast taxi attempt was validated. The left brake is tight - it's a wonder it wasn't pulling me left at slower speeds.
With no way to adjust it, I packed everything up and headed home. There was no point in even a slow taxi; I'll go back tomorrow with a wrench that fits to fix it.
Saturday the weather looks amiable and I may try for an early morning try.
For those who didn't peek, there's a post in the "First Flight" section of the forums!
A few pictures of some kinds of craftsmanship which has become somewhat standard on my beautiful aircraft:
First up is the new improved brake drums:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/brake012.jpg
This actually is a huge improvement, as they can now be moved from wheel to wheel if I have another unfortunate event. With the welded plate machined out to a perfect center hole and the bolt holes drilled expertly (by someone else, of course) now the drums are dead center.
I did have to put a high spot on one of the drums to the sander. It's a machining error on the manufacturer's part, as one section was thicker than the others, making it less than perfectly round.
Tail wheels. Ug.
Okay, backing up a bit, my Aerodrome Airplanes tail wheel took a helluva beating in the loop, so I replaced it with a solid rubber one from Harbor Freight:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/tw005.jpg
It looked okay mounted to the aircraft, and turned freely.
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/tw006.jpg
However, under load it didn't fare as well!
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/tw007.jpg
We found this at the edge of the runway about 30 feet from the turn-off to the taxiway. I reckon the core went to little pieces and I rode the steel down to the bushing in about 40 feet.
Because the airport is all IFR ready, the pavement is grooved - we figure that's why I lost so much steel in such a short distance.
Time for some professional parts. One of my EAA brothers donated an actual aviation tail wheel and worked up a mount to fit it, as it's wider than the old one(s).
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/tw008.jpg
It's a smaller gauge steel than what was originally there and proved to show some flex. I figured the mount would work well until it didn't....and it wasn't something I'd like to explore again, so another one of my EAA brothers donated a piece of steel channel that's just a tad thicker than what I had before and we chopped and drilled it.
I still have to re-cover those wheels. In giving the plane a complete look-over I couldn't help frowning at what a sad rush job I did on them.
One of the things I'm going to need to tackle is the radio (an Icom IC-A6) issue.
Right now I'm just laying it down on the seat next to me, which means it's antenna is horizontal; my seat is aluminum and has a high edge around it, meaning I'm probably masking it regardless of orientation.
The ugly solution is to bungee it to the rear cabane that hold the upper wing, and naturally I think that's not so great. It may wind up there anyway as there isn't a lot of room to put it where I could actually do more than flip frequencies. The more elegant solution is an antenna, but that means having to learn about radio frequencies, resistance, and a bunch of other things that relate to antenna length. I always got glassy eyed in those classes back when I was in uniform, to be honest.
I somehow lost the little clip that screws into the back of the battery; if I got a new one I might be able to just clip it to the side of the seat, meaning it would be above the railing and pointed up and down. It might be the ten dollar (plus ten in shipping, no doubt) solution. Or I could build a box to hold it on the seat, which is probably a better solution. That way I could pull it out and look at it if my blind stabbing at buttons leads to confusion.
But that leads back to making an antenna. Depending on how long it would have to be, I could run it along the cabane and it would be pretty discrete. A quick check of Aircraft Spruce and they have a "windshield mount" antenna for Icom radios for 29 bucks. I'd probably come out ahead to buy one.
Next issue up is putting a bog standard headset over a leather helmet. Um, it doesn't work. So I need to either get Ron to write in even smaller words on how he got the plugphones to work under his headset or buy a flying helmet made for headsets. I may need to enlist my wife's help in measuring my head and plunk down an order with Pop's Leather (I've heard good things about them). In the meantime I'll probably dig out my beret and wear it instead - it will keep my bald head from sunburn and won't fly off in the wind.
While it's a WWI looking aircraft, I'm not into re-enactments. I don't really care if I ruin someone's immersion by wearing a headset.
And last is my press-to-talk switch. It's a HUGE button with velcro straps to it. I can't put it on top of the control stick because I won't have enough clearance for full movement. I could fabricate a new control stick, but that's out. The interim solution is to put the velcro straps around the first two fingers of my left hand with the button on the side. That way I just press it with my thumb. I like this because it keeps all the wires away from the controls. I may carve up a throttle knob to replace the ball I have now and put it on top.
Tomorrow morning looks like a good opportunity to give her another go around the patch.
.
Frank, I'm currently traveling with limited online access. Getting home Wednesday, and I'll try post more stuff then.
if you go to the Fly Baby home page, click the "Index" button and scroll down to "Avionics". Youll see an entry on under-helmet headsets. That's got most of the information you'll need, although I've developed an simpler mike boom. I'll post about it here in a day or so.
Check the spec sheet for the Icom, but it almost probably has an 8 ohm speaker output. Regular aviation headset are 300 ohm, but modern ones usually work fine with the 8 ohm systems. My Flightcom Denali ANR headset works ok, but i do run the volume at max and sometimes wish my volume control went to eleven.
They do make ANR ear buds. I like my plugfones for comfort, though a Dutch Fly Baby driver swears by his ANR units.
Helmet-wise, I am still using the same helmet as for my first Fly Baby flight almost 30 years ago...but Banana Republic doesn't sell them any more. Go to the index on the Fly Baby page and look under "Comfort"...you'll find my thoughts on helmets, goggles, scarves, and flying jackets.
I'll post more when I have access to a real keyboard.
Ron Wanttaja
Frank, I have an Icom A24 (same as the A6 with added VOR, which I never use). It works just fine with ordinary earbuds. I use Audio Technica noise canceling earbuds under my leather helmet and a homemade boom mike (with an electret microphone element from an old computer headset) that clips to my shoulder strap, and I put the PTT switch into the end of my control stick where I push it with my thumb. (I flew a plane the other day with the stupid velcroed on PTT switch on the stick, and boy was it annoying!)
As for the antenna, get a piece of coax cable with BNC ends and a female-female BNC connector (I got them at Radio Shack). You can use your original rubber duck antenna. The cable connects to the radio, and the connector goes between the other cable end and the antenna, which you can put anywhere you want (on my Kolb it was under my knees, pointing straight down). I made a simple plastic block to hold the connector.
LOL, I never tried normal hooking a computer headset to the radio, or normal ear buds.
Frank, no need to worry about making an antenna when you can buy a 1/4 wave stainless whip for less than $25. Here is one on the bottom of my Fokker:Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
http://eaaforums.org/attachment.php?...tid=5541&stc=1
Search the Wag-Aero online catalog for antennas, part # C-170-000. You need coax (any length will work) with a connector to fit your radio. If your plane has a metal belly pan that will be the best location so the antenna has a good ground plane. A 1/4 wave whip will have much greater range than the rubber ducky.
Assuming your A6 is the same as my A5, there are two ways to work the interface. You can buy Icom's headset adaptor, or you can build your own.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
If you use the commercial adaptor, you'll need a 1/4" plug to a 1/8" plug adaptor.
Consumer headsets often come with them, but they're available for a couple bucks.
Aircraft Spruce sells a complete mike boom assembly for that side of it.
For the DIY solution, see the avionics solution section on the Fly Baby page, and click the panel-mounted handheld article.
Ron Wanttaja
I didn't directly hook it up. I made an adapter harness to plug into the Icom, connecting to the PTT on the stick, with two jacks, one for the microphone (just the microphone element came from the computer headset, but it's a standard electret mike), and one for the earbuds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by rwanttaja
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dana
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.
This is a picture of the latest microphone boom I built:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/h_headset_new.jpg
(This photo was taken without the mike muff, to show the parts better).
The microphone element is a Pilot PA-7X from ACS ($60), and I used a U-173/U connector (ACS, $4) to mount the microphone. The connector is only $2, but buy a batch since the small pins can wander.
The "Flex boom" is from a "USB lamp"...Amazon has them for $2 to $10, there's enough flex material for two headsets. The flex boom jams inside the connector and gets epoxied from both sides prior to wiring the unit.
The main structure is 14-gauge ROMEX cable. It's designed to go over the top of the ears and dip BELOW the main part of the head, just above the neck.
The wiring from the U-173 Connector to the other end of the ROMEX was thin stranded wire taken from an Ethernet cable. It's probably about 28 gauge...it's small enough to fit inside the flex tube. The flex tube does come with wire, but it won't be long enough to go all the way around the frame. You can run the main cable nearer the ear, if you wish. Cover the whole thing with shrink tube.
For the main cable I used...two-conductor shielded RCA cable, like you use to connect your speakers to your home stereo. It's cheap...bought 24 feet for about $10.
The connector at the end might throw some people...it's not a standard mike plug, it's a 1/8" JACK. One of my goals was to don the microphone (and ear buds) outside the cockpit, don my helmet, and THEN climb in. But a standard headset cord can trip you up, climbing onto the wing and into the cockpit.
So I rig my headset mike cable and the ear bud cable to only hang to just above my waist. The airplane has an extension cable plugged into the radio; it ends in a 1/8" jack (for the plug from the ear buds) and a 1/8" plug (to plug into the microphone). Since the mike and the ear buds connect to opposite genders, there's no danger of plugging in the wrong way.
The plug and socket on the end of the extension are tie-wrapped to a precision plastic clamp that clips to my shoulder harness. Oh, all right, it's one of those bag clips for keeping your Fritos from going stale....
Anyway, it works pretty well. Don the headset and helmet, climb in, and plug into the extension cable. Just like an F-15 pilot.
Again, most of the technical details can be found at:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/h_headset.html
Ron Wanttaja
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by rwanttaja
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.Quote:
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.
Dana
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:
http://www.planetheadset.com/images/agent-icom.jpg
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
I wish I'd used ear protection in my early days. I'm paying the price now.
Dana
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
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
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."Quote:
Originally Posted by Dana
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
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.
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.
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...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lA3...ature=youtu.be
:P
A few "hero" shots of the plane I took today:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/Hero002.jpg
This one looks like a screen shot from Rise of Flight:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/Hero003.jpg
Now it looks like someone trying to make a screenshot of Rise of Flight look real:
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nie...Hero003 bw.jpg
I like this one the best, though it's not great at actually showing the aircraft.
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nieuport/Hero004.jpg
Ready to keep the Hun at bay in May of 1916, er, um, 2016.
http://www.darts-page.com/images/Nie...Hero004 bw.jpg
I'm going to have to start thinking seriously about how to do the gun mount!
It's a lot funnier in one of Dick Starks' books than it is in real life, ain't it? :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Giger
Nice video!
Ron Wanttaja