Helicopter Helmets for open frame gyro.

[WEST OZ FLYER]

Does anybody have any experience with this? Pros and cons?I have the Ultracom helmets and intercom that work fine just really loud background noise and they give me a headache after 30-40 mins. They had the old v3 Viking ear muffs that were a bit ordinary. I have fitted Peltor H10p3e ear muffs but are only marginally better. I have had them on with the intercom off and doesn"t make any difference. I am pretty sure that alot of the noise is resonating off the back of my head as the helmet has a high cut and cut outs around the defenders. Was wondering about fitting my speakers and mic into a helicopter helmet? I would consider CEP but not for short flights (up to 30 min)I have looked at Flycom stuff and it is not out of the question. I like the idea of dual visors but not sure whether those helmets are suitable for open cockpit use ( wind directing around visors into your eyes ). Flycom hasn"t put a full visor on for no reason, I am guessing for wind noises.Just chasing some opinions.Matthew

[birdy]

One bloke turned up ere skiten bout his zillion dollar heli helmut, sounded like he,d had his head shuved up a 747s ass.

[blakemorem]

Hey Matt, Birdy it seems al ot of helmets cost a zillion dollars for what they are, I bought my helmet from sky ranch and it"s been good and visor was extra but useful,make sure you locktight the screws. one thing just don"t leave them in the sun seems the outer surface will bubble and a hot helmet on head aint a good start, unless go to 2500 ft to cool it off. I was wondering if you have any mike feedback noise or cutting in and out with wind as i have to adjust the vox setting occasionally. I have minimal noise with this helmet and ear muffs are a good fit too. I agree it"s bloody noisy with the ear muffs open and warm ups at 3500 Rpm the props can make a hell of a noise if the wind is a bit gusty. Sounds good too just noisy...no i don"t ride a Harley...that would be gay.Mike.

[MadMuz]

Helicopter helmets are designed for inside a cabin. After I learned to fly my gyro, I had to have a heli helmet.... mistake

[chook]

Matthew I have done a lot of gyro radio work over here in the west which included marrying helmets to radio systems and gyros. It"s not easy and everyone is different.If you want to get some idea of whats involved have a read of this one http://www.asra.org.au/smf/index.php/topic,4756.0.html.

[WEST OZ FLYER]

Birdy - I thought that might be the case.Mike - My helmet is similar to yours but is at least 200 years older . It didn"t make any difference if the intercom was on or off for the noise.MadMuz - Did you have any problems with wind drying your eyes out or making them water? This might be of interest to you for your motorbike helmet http://www.quietridemuffs.com/ At least motorcycle helmets have decent ventilation.Chook - I have read that topic several times, you know your stuff. I put the Peltor ear cups on before you guys started this topic because I thought they were the best and you have confirmed it for me. Does ANR actually work in open frame gyros? I have used it in plank wings and the work great but if you take the headset off it is still quieter than my gyro with helmets on. I am sure that my intercom doesn"t have noise cancelling but I am no electronics engineer. I reckon Noah used these helmets to hear to the co-pilot on the ark over the animal noises ;D They are that old. My thought was to get a used helmet off the internet (about $100-150) do a refurb and put my electronics in it as they work ok, just the background noises are loud. ( even with the intercom turned off )What are your thoughts on good systems? My original idea based on Adrian"s advice was to buy Flycom stuff. Anything better out there? I would prefer a full brain bucket without cut outs for the ear defenders. Can motorcycle helmets be properly adapted for gyro use with ear defenders?Can you use a large mic muff to eliminate wind noise rather than a full visor?

[chook]

Matthew we have had good results with the Flycom kit.Ok the best that the current noise cancelling technology can do is remove about 60 decibels (dB) of noise (this is both a complex and subjective figure). Anything over that and they just can"t cope and given that the average EA81 (and some Rotax"s) are putting out around the 90dB noise level 400mm behind your helmet it is a big ask.However the improvement is substantial (Ask Tony Denton). So we need to use the helmet and earmuffs to cancel the remaining 30dB.As with all of these installations I really need to have a look at your specific problems and then formulate a solution around efficiency and economics.Are your headaches caused by the earmuff pressure on the side of your head or the actual noise being produced by your engine?of course another option is to use the ear bud method where you get inserts specifically fitted to your ears. I have not personally used these but 2 of the WA guys have them and swear by them. I have used the Bose in ear units and was impressed but I have never connected them into a gyro comms system nor flown a gyro with them. So you do have a lot of choice.Matt where in WA are you located?Regards.......Chook.

[birdy]

My first headset i made meself, couldnt be cheaper and worked a treat (till i used it asa hammer ina hissy fit)Just gutted the handpice, stuck the mic on the chin part of me old full face scooter skidlid with a blob of sillycoon, extended the PTT wires to a switch on the stick, sillycooned a small speaker in the lid n bingo, a workable headset.Seen a few people wast alota good drinkn coin on crap that didnt work.

[tonydenton]

hello matt and g"day again chook, chook is right that , the anr how ever they do it is clever. I can just sit there playing with the switch.

[birdy]

Blue tooth !!!!!Bloodyell, you gota pull it mate, blood poisoning is next if you dont.Just make sure your face down wen you yank it out, that black blood tasts like sh!t and you could choke onit.

[MadMuz]

Back in Canberra some of my shooting mates were having their well earned midlife crisisis and bought those offroad touring bikes.... they had bike to bike and bike to pillion radios in their helmets... the helmets were the full face, but the whole face section could open up, chin part and all. They had the bit that closed off under your chin a bit, which kept the wind out... they had no trouble with mics, hearing the speakers inside the helmet or wind noise..... nearly every big touring bike you see on the road has intercom or radio, bike to bike..... would be interesting to see how they work if the bike (or a gyro) doesn"t have a windshield of some description?

[chook]

Muz you are not reading again.Those motor bikes are running under strict Australian noise laws.Their systems will not run or tolerate the 90decibels of noise that our gyros generate 400 mm behind the helmet.Mind you I have had sheila passengers that generate almost that amount of noise as pillions.The simple engineering the bike intercoms require is the wind noise reduction and that can be done with careful selection of the microphone frequency response and microphone mounting within the helmet.Like it or not your hearing will degrade with age as well as the mis treatment you give it by exposing it to flying noisy machines, shooting, driving machinery or going to rock concerts.......if you don"t believe me just go and get your hearing tested. The human brain has an amazing ability to dismiss the obvious health problems as a survival mechanism.Most of the damage that you do to your hearing is irreversible.Regards....Chook.

[tonydenton]

blue tooth and "3 g" , it makes me wonder where they get the names from sometimes. I always wonder whose job it is and how much some one gets paid to sit and come up with that stuff.

[Des Garvin]

Chooky is right with the hearing loss as I can vouch for that. You will not hear a lot of sounds like your family members or your mates, small children, or a noise in your gyro that is telling you it needs attention now !!!! So look after the hearing with the best protection you can and remember you are looking at $10,000 plus to try to get some hearing technology help each time you have to replace the previously procured devices. And the rebates from the medical insurances is a joke not even a tenth of the cost. I have had mine for 7 years and need replacements as they are not bringing the sounds to my hearing ability now. So I can be referred to the deaf old grumpy bugger now. : ;DThese hearing devices can not be used in your ear muffs or under any hat that sound bounces off as you get those squeals in the ears that drive you nuts.So if you have to pay $2000.00 for a top skidlid with the best hearing protection it is cheaper in the long run. Cheers Des Garvin

[RossM]

1st design change would be an easier rear clip.