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What year did in-cabin Intercom became common?


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I wore a coat and tie at my last job in college in the 80s. My first "real" job I wore jeans, then hit the Fortune 500 and had to go khaki at two of them before going small company again, still in kahki.. Now I'm back in the Big Leagues and back in jeans. Business Casual is a wonderful thing! Don't want to go back . . . .

My first flight lessons in the 90s were in jeans, but I don't remember if we wore headsets in the Beech Skipper or not. I do remember the handheld mic, and dad's advice to not drop the plane and fly the microphone. I also remember having mic fright . . . . Makes me think "no headsets or intercom," but I could be wrong.

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I remember late 80s early 90s no intercoms, my dad was with me and asked if I was going to use the headset on the whole trip?  All 8 hours?   I was told, you won’t be able to hear the engines.   He was a pilot also.   I have from 68 when dad began flying until then without headsets.  No hearing damage at all.  
 

 

 

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Headsets were not very good until the 21st century.  I can’t exactly remember when I transitioned but started flying 88 and we never used head sets (nor did I know anyone who uses them).  I can’t hear anymore (more due to John Deere then Al Mooney). 

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I learned to fly in 1989/90. Nobody wore headsets. 

I was stationed in Korea 1990/91. 

When I started instrument training in 1992, my instructor told me I either had to buy a headset or find a different flight school. 

So my answer to the OP is sometime in 1991.

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2 hours ago, EricJ said:

I suspect I owe my tinnitus to too many hours flying with no headsets back in the day.   

What?

 

I'm wondering the same thing. I flew my first 300 hours without a headset and I developed tinnitus about 7 years ago which is unbearable at times. I walk around 24 hour a day with loud hissing emanating from somewhere in my head.

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My hearing sucks, along with my eyesight.

I think the wind noise from riding a motorcycle for 400000 miles without a helmet did more to my hearing than flying.

Or maybe it was the rock concerts, or my time as an engineer in the car stereo industry?

So many things to choose from. Or maybe I’m just getting old?

huh?  What did you say? 

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In 2005 I took a new corporate job, they were flying a Old falcon 10(very loud aircraft with lots of wind noise) without headsets, yelling back and forth and radio over the speaker , After first flight I told them this is not going to work for me and maybe we should use headsets and the intercom that was installed in the aircraft, they were surprised that the aircraft had an intercom they had been flying this aircraft for 10+ years and never knew. I am sure the passengers were relived not to hear all of the yelling from the cockpit anymore haha.

 

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Interesting topic.  I started flying in the mid 80s and never flew an airplane without using a headset until two weeks ago when I flew in a J3 cub with no electrical system.  I guess the 152/172s I rented in the 80s were ahead of their time.

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Hearing loss reasons have always been a mystery to me. All of my 74 years have been in noisy airplanes. Backseat of the Stinson, DC-3, DC-6 Boeing jets, walk-arounds on ramps, etc.  First 40 years mostly minimally protected. So I should be deaf, but my hearing is pretty normal. Go figure. When I noticed ears ringing I just got unlisted ears.

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I remember as a kid going flying with my Dad in 1980 (I was 11 years old) when he first got his license.  The Cherokee's he trained in had no intercom.  No headsets.  A single microphone and the overhead speaker.  Even when he got his multi in a Seminole there were no headsets and no intercom. But back then there was a lot less communication with ATC as I recall.  When he bought his first airplane which was a Baron, the pilot and co-pilot had headsets but nothing for the passengers.  I remember having to yell quite a bit to be heard.  When he moved up to the Cessna 340 there were headsets for every seat.

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I learned in 1988 and the standard in the 152 and 172's was speaker and microphone.  My father quickly bought 4 Sigtronics headsets and the 4 place portable intercom + PTT switch.     I believe one of the earliest upgrades in the 172 he bought was a SPA-400 4 place intercom... and 4 headsets were kept in it for lease back, under the idea that it would rent out more often if they were included.   So I would say that personal headset ownership was rare until the mid 90's. 

My friend was given a David Clark setup for Christmas of 1987 in expectation that he was attending Embry-Riddle the next year and would need it.  

We bought one of the early analog ANR headsets, and they worked but drained the battery quickly, and at that cost was only for the pilot to hear ATC better..    

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I have to move the clock back a bit.  I learned to fly in 1985 in Portland, OR.  I do not think I few any more than a few months without a headset.  

I know that in the 1985-1988 time frame portable battery powered intercoms were available and were being used.  I got my first one in 1989.  Still have it.

John Breda

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I started in 1986 in Germany, we had battery powered, came back to US in 1988 for flight school, it was all self supplied battery operated, if you were wealthy you had a 4 place and not a splitter wire on the 2 place. I think I had a sigtronics!  

Oh and a nice pair of David Clamps, painful but reliable. 

And a old school flight case!! And nos charts in a cardboard box, rich folks had Jepps. I couldnt wait to get to do Jepp updates until I had to do them! Oh those were the good old days.

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15 minutes ago, Shiny moose said:

I started in 1986 in Germany, we had battery powered, came back to US in 1988 for flight school, it was all self supplied battery operated, if you were wealthy you had a 4 place and not a splitter wire on the 2 place. I think I had a sigtronics!  

Oh and a nice pair of David Clamps, painful but reliable. 

And a old school flight case!! And nos charts in a cardboard box, rich folks had Jepps. I couldnt wait to get to do Jepp updates until I had to do them! Oh those were the good old days.

If you double dog dared me I bet I could I could find unopened jepp update envelopes somewhere in the house or hangar...

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