I have the old stand by David and Clark’s I’ve been wearing at work because my Bose set is wasted. The David and Clark’s are supposed to be my GA headset for short flights. Not comfy for 6hr flights. I’ve decided to take the plunge and get the Clarity Aloft. Super excited to use them. What do you guys think - did I make a mistake vs going with a more popular set like the Bose A30 or ProFlite?
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I used the Clarity Aloft’s when I was banner towing. They were the only headset that could handle the noise levels of those super cubs.
They are a little frustrating to put on every time compared to a traditional headset, but once they are on I really like them!
I still use my Bose as well, you can get refurbish kits that make them nice again.
I use the Clarity’s either when its super hot out, when I don’t want to mess up my hair or when my wife is using the Bose… Otherwise I usually use the Bose.
You having your own airplane that nobody else is flying will take much of the pain of getting them setup away. You can just leave them hanging from one of the bars and its minimal setup. I would do that when I knew I would be flying the same plane the next day.
My Bose was actually refurbished by the factory once already. The cord wore through/broke again in the same spot. I’m ready to try something totally new for my long-haul work headset. The David and Clark’s will be for my GA flight kit when flying with someone and I’m not just wearing ear plugs. If you remember, I got a refurbish kit for the David and Clark’s as well with leather ear seal pads and a new head pad. The leather barely looks worn after plenty of use. I was really happy with those upgrades.
So I had my first couple flights with the Clarity Aloft - about 5hrs of flying. I’m adapting to the fit and feel and I know that will take time but the ear tips(think like an ear plug where you pinch them down to insert) start to cause some pressure after an hour or so. Also, the metal frame that kind of loops over the top of your ear also starts to dig in. I’m going to give it some time, but the Clarity aloft may not be the answer for me.
It should have come with different size earplugs. Try different sizes, those are not universal.
I had the same problem with the frame digging into the tops of my ears.
My solution was little foam piping from a hardware store that I found. Don’t know where they went (or I would upload a photo), but I remember that is what fixed that when I was towing banner.
Yeah, I tried all the tips. I’m on the best fitting ones, which fit good, but do cause pressure in my ear canal after an hour or so. I may look into something as a form of sleeve over the metal frame. We’ll see.
I just ordered a Telex Airman 8+. Should be here in time for me to take to work next weekend. I’m pretty excited about it!
https://products.telex.com/na/en/airman8plus/
For some reason I didn’t think airline pilots used headsets.
Do they make them in yellow?
They do make them in Yellow, but I opted for Pink.
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At my carrier, we HAVE to use headsets below FL180. We usually leave them on the whole time though. Except while eating or something.
Okey… Thats a fun fact that I didn’t know.
What is it about Class A that makes headsets unnecessary?
I think it’s just the amount of radio calls, and clarity of communication being more imperative. The amount of radio calls drops off pretty drastically once we’re kinda headed up and out.
One of the guys at my work as custom made earplugs for his QT Halo (similar to Clarity Aloft). I think they’re the same style musicians use?
If want to offload your old Bose, I could be interested…
I’m going to try to get it refurbished one more time and keep it for my wife. If that doesn’t pan out, I’ll keep you posted. Its just an old A10.
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Finally went flying for work and had an opportunity to try both headsets back to back for some semi-imperical data. I first tried the Clarity Alofts as they were a known quantity for noise reduction for the loudness of the engines and wind noise accelerating to 280+ knots out of 10,000ft. Once we got up to cruise I got out the Telex Airman 8+ to try out with the lower ambient noise levels of cruise(going slower and engines not screaming). Although the Telex has active noise reduction, it wasn’t nearly as quiet as the Clarity Alofts. It’s super light, but overall gives you some of the inescapable and familiar pressure points of any on-ear or over-ear headset. It did fine subduing a lot of the frequencies, the ones that were still getting through were of the higher pitch wind noise etc which I find to be some of the most annoying and potentially damaging. It did come with two different types of pads for the over the head frame and I tried them both for at least 10 minutes at a time(I started a timer), several times each. Ultimately giving me a similar amount of discomfort, just in a different form. Don’t get me wrong, the reason I sought out the Telex was because the Clarity Aloft’s earplug style headphone can cause some pretty serious pressure in the ear canal and the thin metal frame can start to dig in after a couple hours. I think I’m going to have to do this whole experiment again to form any firm conclusions. I wanted so badly to love the Telex but for now, the Clarity Aloft is in the lead.
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I looked for the little foam pipping both in my flight bag/storage tub and at Home d’Pot last week and couldn’t find what I had used on the clarity’s. It’s worth the search though, because it makes them comfy for 4+ hours instead of the 1 hour I get out of them before discomfort sets in.