John Bosch

Wow! This is a blast from the past. I haven't flown since about this time in 2012 unfortunately (10 years already) as the costs got too high. From memory though, I sold the PA18-50's and went back to a non-ANR set (trusty old David Clark H10-13.4). I don't exactly remember why though, but do recall I was having issue with them that frustrated both my instructor and me.

A small world isn't it! I worked for BAE SYSTEMS here in Australia then ... and still do \.

Done ... just bought the Pilot PA18-50's from the downunder pilot shop. The Zulu will have to wait for the dollar to recover or me to really fly regularly at some later stage in life.

Yeah, the music doesn't particularly interest me. Some say it's handy for keeping you focused while on along nav but I would hope that doing what you're supposed to be doing (like watching instruments, watching the terrain, your possition on your map etc.) would could you focused enough. The phone, as you say, is only for emergencies and those safety calls if there's concerns about the weather ahead. I'm now having second thoughts on the Zulu though simply because in the time it has taken me to decide most places have sold their old stock and the new stock has increased almost by the price of the Pilot headset simply because of the fall in the dollar! Grumble, grumble, grumble So I too may get the Pilot set for now and upgrade to something better once I have my PPL and am starting to need a second set for passengers.

My wife's support has been pretty amazing! She's a little worried about my safety (ungrounded I say, but the media does like to focus on air accidents) but she's behind me 100%, which makes things just that bit better.

I think I've made my decision. I was torn between the cheaper Pilot ANR set and the Zulu. A non-aviation friend of mine started to sway me by saying "the sound quality is neither here nor there. Both are going to sound much better than anything else you have used. The price difference over the 20 years you use them is something like $20 a year. So it comes down to features and reviews." I haven't really found a bad Zulu review, I've had about 70/30 good v bad on the Pilot. On the feature front I think I'm sold by the following line from this website. It's indicative of several I've read elsewhere ... "I was wearing the Lightspeed Zulu’s with the Bluetooth function doing a superb job of connecting my mobile phone. This turned out be a fantastic addition to my flying safety with the capacity to phone ahead to the AWIS at the airports ahead." When I put the dilema to the wife she said "Do you want me to talk you in or out of the expensive set?". So I guess that means she wants me to make the decision So ... it looks like I'm about to spend another grand or so on those little accessories to flying .

I am kind of in the same boat. Although I have the money, it could be spent elsewhere. That makes the decision even harder! If I just couldn't plain afford them it would be easier.

I might just take you up on that Vincent! It would be a bonus to try them first. I feel I may just be setting myself up for one of those discussions with the missus though \

Hmm ... thanks all. There's some food for thought there. I looked at the Pilot PA18-50's. There seems to be a couple of bad reviews out there in internet land on them and I must say their cheapness compared to everything else ANR put me off. But, hearing something from the horse's mouth makes me reconsider. We're the bad reviews from the usual people that only ever right bad reviews?? The Altronics look interesting too ... I'll have to have a look when I'm not too tired to read any more. One thing I did find interesting! I googled for pilot shops in Canberra and got two hits. The first is on a road that's near the airport but only inhabited by market gardens and garden nurseries. The second is in Parliment House?? Hmm ...

Hah! Pilot shop ... this is Canberra, the backwater of general aviation. As far as I know there is no such thing as a pilot shop here! The lightspeed zulu is the exact unit the friend of mine bought and he swears by it. I tried it on but didn't fly with it. It is incredibly light and felt great!

OK ... I think I need to bite the bullet and buy myself a headset. The one I used yesterday was horrid, making me sound like I was talking down a drain pipe to both myself (which makes you stumble over words) and to ATC. So, from the real world pilots out there can I get some advice on what I should be looking for in a decent headset or even some recomendations. A friend of mine, and fellow learner, just spent $1000 on a new set. That's, like, four lessons!! (I see every expense, flying and household, in 'lesson' terms at the moment ). I'm not quite that crazy though and would prefer something more middle of the road. At least for now! Maybe later, I'll look into something smiffy if my flying really takes off (no pun intended).

Real Name: John From: Canberra Origin of nickname: Well ... I just like the plane. It's an aboriginal word for "challenge" too. Something I can be at times according to my wife About Me: Born and bred in Broken Hill. Moved to Sydney to study electrical engineering. Then to Canberra to become the systems engineer at the Deep Space Tracking station. However for the last 10 years I've written software for a major defence company. Flight Simmed since they made planes out of rocks, but only with Microsoft about a year. Here's me at Temora doing my best to convince the ground crew that I really don't know how to start it ... The guts a little smaller now though thanks to Mount Ainslie and a push bike!