dkkim73

So, I flew my commute with the DC One-XP and the Lightspeed Zulu. They are both excellent headsets, with a doubt. My observations: -the build quality of the Zulu 3's is impressive. The light Kevlar-armored cable seems trivial but is nice and very practical. No ding on the DC's but the LS are well-conceived in terms of materials. -the DCs felt lighter and are definitely smaller and sleeker. -DCs seemed louder to me for comms -Bluetooth performance was comparable. I think one of them stayed muted with the BT input longer (I think the LS?) when comms came through. -agree the LS is a bit more bass-y, but audio in both was really nice (I used Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" which has highs, lows, and quiet spells, and is particularly nice flying over the beautiful, mountainous Western US at 14k) -I realize both have a subtle high freq whine in the quiet with ANC turned off. I think this is probably table stakes. -both usable with ANC off in the plane, though oddly I think the DC seemed quieter, though others say the LS. Both are solid. -I didn't ask center to compare my transmissions; the other reports out there say that the DC has a better mic and clarity. No issues with intelligibility with either. -my wife liked the comfort of the LS Zulu 3 on the ground better. When it comes to it, I'll see she can trial them in the air. I've been mostly flying alone. Appreciate the great PIREPs. I'm going to defer the DZ given the issues I've heard from multiple sources. The new digital rigs (A30 and DZ) would presumably benefit from future firmware upgrades and continue to improve, but I do like the robustness of analog, and both of the above are certainly solid. Kind of goes back to the Tesla thread. Also, since I don't have an objective audiographic cut, the value of the EQ function is still hypothetical for me. David PS. Does anyone here still wear foam plugs under their headsets? And how does it work with the newer sets. I used to do this early on, and when I still had a Class I (or II-variant) medical.

Wondering how The Junkman got a visual ID on me from so far away... All nice-looking solutions. I got a set of the docklines @Z W recommended as an inexpensive, versatile start. The Tie Boss shows out of stock currently. I think you could probable extend them easily with a few lengths of line and figure-8 follow-through knots on the end. Or match the original line and thread in a longer version. Nothing exceeds like elegance and excess, so I think at some point I will have to get The Big Screw solution for grass tie-downs. Haven't been anywhere more sporting than a 4000 ft paved runway so far. D

Hi All, I'm looking to put together (or buy) a tie-down kit for my Mooney. I'm hangared at both ends of my main route, and haven't stayed very long elsewhere. I see some pre-cut kits online with sliders, etc, and some anchor devices. I would imagine not using screw anchors except at a grass strip. Some of the fields I've passed through have bolts in the ramp. So I'm thinking to get some rope from a HW store and make some convenient lengths, with the idea to do sailing-type hitches to secure the plane (have to recall from muscle memory how to do that from training days). OTOH I might imagine occasionally finding other situations. What kinds of simple, light "kits" have you guys found useful? Thanks, David PS. I was visiting a shop on my home field recently and saw planes tied down with cargo straps (flat webbing and ratchets). It's a windy place. So that's food for thought.

That's interesting. I would have assumed the WSOs would always fly in Aft Initiate. Even as a flight doc, once the pilot would get to know you enough to trust you're not constantly trying to kill them, they would do the same in the D model. One of the edge-case nightmares in Normal mode would be punching out and leaving the pilot to die in a situation like that if things got rushed or jumbled and you didn't turn the selector valve. I always assumed a duck would be a bigger liability to the front seat, but now I wonder if that would've been true in the -B and -D as well... PS. insert fowl joke (snort).

Same thought crossed my mind... if you're planning on a non-turbo retract anyway. If you're really agnostic to the model and looking at #s, you might consider letting it be driven by the quality of the specific airplanes you find. That would make your search more complex, though. And those models mentioned above would be pretty agile and sporty vs. an Archer. Heck, you could look for a Cardinal RG and get a lot of IFR chops in that for little fuel. D

Though mentioned above, I'll reiterate: I was surprised during my initial researches last year that total cost of ownership of a Cirrus was not necessarily favorable vs. a comparable Mooney (I'd naïvely assumed it was because, you know, plastic and all ). Insurance was brutal for me the first year. Hull value is a key input regardless. Annual cost is something I'm trying to get a guesstimate on for the next few years. I think Don Kaye's conservative estimates above are good for the level of complexity of the M20M or later. Something discussed only obliquely above; is a turbo a must-have or a might-want-someday? That would change the cost and complexity equation a bit. E.g. look at Ovation or J. PP thoughts only, not an accountant.

I wonder if anyone has tried the wrist mounted version? Longer battery life, it looks like... Sensor still wraps on the finger.

FL240? LOL, I'm not in any hurry to go there myself without backup O2 and some continuous monitoring. The area to get there and back requires above 13k or 15k along some segments IFR. I feel things these days above 10-12K, so being conservative re: animals. Alternative, with good weather, is "IFR" (I Follow Roads) to stay lower. Just found out the problem is going to be sidestepped by my wife with a road trip... At some point I will probably have to get a dog mask, though, but that's a more common problem.

Just when you thought everything had been asked before! Has anyone come across an existing solution, or built one, for transporting small animals (e.g. rats in this case) with supplemental oxygen? I would think some kind of simple oxygen tent would be feasible, but unsure if any appropriate turn-key solutions exist and how to approach the flow rate and concentration question (if trying to do with any precision). Sticking a regular cannula into a small pet tent seems reasonable, but with such small animals I am doubtful of getting SaO2 data and so it would be pretty empiric. Any tent would probably help with noise and stress, too. Oddly, there are tents for "oxygen therapy" out there. Any thoughts appreciated. David

I went to a local avionics shop yesterday (they do a lot of really interesting custom panel work, experimental etc, but also do bread-and-butter and are very approachable). They let me play with the A30, DC One-X and Zulu 3 (no DZ's in stock) and offered to let me borrow sets to try. I did notice a very faint high-frequency hiss with the DC One-X, which was a surprise. One gent thought it was due to noise from the flourescents. Just curious if anyone here @NotarPilot has had that problem, or maybe it was a one-off? Thanks!

You mean you're spoiled by an FO who calls out gear checks and gets you coffee? *Just kidding!* My comments from a human factors standpoint are very general. There are clearly a lot of other things, including cultural, procedural and environmental controls, that play a huge role. And the level of training and habit you have is beyond what I am accustomed to in my own flying. I try to take some of my prior military and 141-trained instructor exposure to inform my own personal flying, but that's secondary. I can feel the protective effects of the Law of Primacy in my own experience, and the level of conditioning that professional stick actuators get is beyond that for sure. I do think we tend to "fall to the level of our training" (or I might say experience and currency) so it's worth thinking about what is helpful to the GA community more broadly, average and median. PP thoughts only, not an airline pilot... (I've been waiting to say that; hat tip Signore Caruso)

Well, I would guess the charge/discharge profile of a marine battery might be different. I think it might actually be worse in some cases (anchoring overnight). But, at least @GeeBee's post explains all the fires I see flying over marinas...

Ah, rubbing it in, are we, that I bought Continental's high-performance Rube Goldberg/ Wile E. Coyote device, which I now love and can't abandon? Seriously, though, that is a great point! David

I believe, from a general human factors standpoint, people tend to tune out routine stimuli, particularly automated. OTOH if you are expecting height callouts and it tells you instead "checking landing gear", that would stick out more. At the very least, it's true for me. The FO (or involved personnel on the ground, not just calling "check gear down" routinely) could challenge you if you aren't verifying the gear or they don't see it. An automated system not connected to the indicator would however be more like an audio checklist. D

Thank you, that is very helpful indeed. The prices all seem to have increased since even a few months ago, but that seems to be inflation, as the offsets are again similar ($1300 bose, $1200 lightspeed, about $1065 DC). I actually emailed Sporty's back-and-forth, and they seem sincere about try it for 30 days and then try another if you don't like it. David

@aviatoreb You will, of course, need the gear wiring in place. The warning per se is, IIRC, a setting in the system which is easily accessed via WiFi in the first few minutes after power-up. The documentation is in the installation and operation manual, on the website if you don't already have it. Of course, be careful changing things and verifying it does what you think before relying on it (e.g. I checked the "gear still up" warning with a safety pilot and brief during transition training). It's a pretty nice, friendly, user-tweakable product. I'm really happy I added it. D

@Wing Nut Based on my experience last year, I would say things to consider include 1. time to source a good airplane, not trivial, and 2. time to green it up. Even buying a plane that I think was in good shape, there are little bits and thistles to iron out that come up (valve issues, weird idle problems, etc) until you "know it". I would also 2nd that the first annual might be more expensive than anticipated. I was able to lead-turn some of this, and work with the seller/broker, but other stuff simply came up later, or was stuff I wanted to do. I was new to airplane ownership, you are not, so forgive me if all this is obvious and/or factored into your assessment. HTH, D

Very cool. I'll bet the Stearman guys enjoyed that, too.. esp if you guys were in burner for the climb. And yes that looks like Meigs. D

@Rick Junkin Junkman, Are you still liking that installation arrangement? Now that I've had the plane a bit and have gone through the schematics, I'm circling back to this task. Thinking that the best mix of cost-effective, clean, and good prevention is to start with one BatteryMinder, 2 certified install kits, and the manufacturer's Y-connector (looks like it limits cross-current IIUC). Then can charge/condition each battery and then Y them together for maintenance with the S5 connector. Post-flight, as long as the cross-battery trickle charge is working, I am thinking can go directly to the Y-connector. Unfortunately don't have my own hangar, but boarding at 2 very reasonable places, so I think they will help me with occasional hook-ups. There is some clause in one contract about not leaving things plugged in, but at some point I could get a SwitcheOn and use it to run the minder and the pre-heat separately. @Brandt Brandt, similar question. I know you kept your install more "central" in the tail. Are you still happy with the trade-off of pulling the side panel to hook up or maintain batteries? And do you do it every time you park? @donkaye's setup is very elegant as well. He has inline fuses so I am thinking it is as safe as the certified setup, and all the non-aircraft parts are transient and outside the airframe to boot. Thanks, David

This might be a dumb question, but is something causing the batteries to be abused? E.g. the trickle-charge fuses blown, regulator off, etc?

So, after nearly joining in, then dropping out, I find myself in a position to want Bluetooth, LEMO, and an additional headset. Calling for clearance in the sticks with variable radio reception suddenly make BT seem like less of a luxury. Looked at further modding my old DC 10-13.4 by adding a LEMO plug and BT box, but at this point getting an additional headset makes more sense. --> So... how do you guys like your Delta Zulu's? I've looked at a few reviews incl. that, the A30, and the DC One-XP. It sounds like the strengths of the DZ are - passive attenuation - warranty - extra features (the audio EQ seems most interesting to me). (BTW I think the "buy n+1, get a better deal" offer is no longer active, so mostly just trying to buy smart for the next many years) Thanks, David

Yes, to clarify I am trying to understand if I should consistently always lean it a lot further out. Someone mentioned adjusting MP to further affect FF. It isn't clear what the relationship would be to TIT LOP; is the higher mass flow cooling in it's effects? Or is it going to lean it further despite the mechanical mixture. And then since FF determines energy flow LOP, one could adjust MP and RPM for whatever gives the best mechanical efficiency. Eg use the POH or do test runs to fill in a matrix of TAS. (I am) Overcomplicating this for sure. But ty for verifying the concern re < 1600F. D

Great PIREP. I am seeing old Bob Stevens cartoons in my head as a result of reading your description. That's high praise in aviation humor!

Do it! I've only flown into Pal-waukee, so I'm living vicariously through you guys. Missed Meigs by not very much time. Of course, I could've been grounded when the Pharoah of Chicago closed the airport overnight...