All the gear, and no idea

[flyingluke]

Hi all!

 

I'm a student pilot, aiming for PPL - and now at about 12 hrs. Just a quick question on necessary gear....

 

From what I have read - invest in a good ANR headset, the one that I'm using at the school is pretty uncomfortable after a couple hours. Did you go 2nd hand first, or just splash out up front?

 

A good friend of mine, who's a commercial pilot suggested an iPad mini with OzRunways - given that I want to do a fair few missions around NSW and beyond once I'm able, is this a good investment?

 

Any other kit that's worth splashing out on?

 

I'm a total gadget geek by the way, so I'm really just looking for an excuse...!

 

But at least this way I can blame you all when the Mrs sees (another) flying cost

 

 

[gareth lacey]

Best advice , don,t tell her the cost LOL but new is best if the cost is not too prohibitive for you , good luck

 

Cheers Gareth

 

 

[djpacro]

I have an iPad mini with AvPlan, it works well however your nav training will be to your school's CASA-approved syllabus which will almost certainly require you to buy paper stuff and use pencil and whizzwheel. Talk to your instructor.

 

 

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

I recorded a short video answering that question you might find helpful:

 

 

 

[nathan_c]

I strongly recommend getting yourself a good ANR headset. Not only is it more comfortable and makes flying way more enjoyable, I would argue it is better for your hearing in the long run too. I bought a second hand set of lightspeed zulu, which are great. If I had the money at the time I probably would have considered a new set of Bose A20's but they would have been almost double what I paid for my lightspeeds. New or second hand is up to you, but either will be fine and you'll never go back to non ANR. I tried flying the other day with some cheap DC's and it was awful comparatively.

 

An Ipad with Ozrunways is absolutely a fantastic investment, but I wouldnt bother until you have finished your PPL training. You will need to learn on paper maps anyway (and rightly so), so just concentrate on that and once you get your PPL then purchase ozrunways to supplement your flying from then on.

 

Hope that helps

 

 

[flyingluke]

I recorded a short video answering that question you might find helpful:

 

Thanks for the video - I've checked out quite a few of your vids from your lessons - great resource, thanks for posting these.

 

 

[flyingluke]

I strongly recommend getting yourself a good ANR headset. Not only is it more comfortable and makes flying way more enjoyable, I would argue it is better for your hearing in the long run too. I bought a second hand set of lightspeed zulu, which are great. If I had the money at the time I probably would have considered a new set of Bose A20's but they would have been almost double what I paid for my lightspeeds. New or second hand is up to you, but either will be fine and you'll never go back to non ANR. I tried flying the other day with some cheap DC's and it was awful comparatively.An Ipad with Ozrunways is absolutely a fantastic investment, but I wouldnt bother until you have finished your PPL training. You will need to learn on paper maps anyway (and rightly so), so just concentrate on that and once you get your PPL then purchase ozrunways to supplement your flying from then on.

 

Hope that helps

Thanks Nathan!

 

 

[flyingluke]

Some good advice here:-) Usually money is the deciding factor when it comes to aviation. If money is not an issue then buy the best there is but if you are like most of us that are the drones in life purchase what you need to get by at first, you will always be building on thru stuff needed as you progress thru yr flying especially if you are going to make it a career. I personally use a DC non ANR head set, had several for many many years, they work well, are comfy, keep out noise to an acceptable level, well for me anyway. I've used Bose 20's in a mates plane, didn't much like them, ANR to me doesn't feel right, gave me a headache. Oz Rwy's was never around when I started out nor any GPS's but boy it makes life so much easier these days:-)As mentioned good to learn proper navigation first then the techno stuff:-)

Enjoy the ride, at 12 hrs I assume you have experienced the ultimate pleasure already...............that first scream of WOW with no one beside you to look funny at you:-):-) I remember that very day well:-)

Thanks Capt Wally! I agree that the iPad / Oz Runways makes life a lot easier - I actually spent 12+ years as a Navy Navigator and learnt my trade pre-GPS - just paper charts, 2B pencils, and instructors yelling "LOTFW" (look out the f%&*ing window). I love learning the old-school way, but the new tech these days is just absolute gold for your situational awareness.

No intention to make this a career - I just want to fly for fun, and love small planes. One day, I'd love to give back as an instructor - and put my instructional skills to use again. But until then, I'm firmly in the recreational category!

 

 

[Roscoe]

I recorded a short video answering that question you might find helpful:

 

Hi Rich, what setting do you have on the Gopro lens view?

1080 wide seems to cover too much Cockpit so just asking what you use in your videos, thanks

 

 

[Kununurra]

For me both the Bose A20 ANR & Ipad with OzRunways was a great investment.

 

It is all up to choice and Ask around your flying club I am sure someone there would be more than happy to show you their IPad with whatever programs they are running.

 

✈️ Cheers

 

 

[Romeo Juliet Whiskey]

Hi Rich, what setting do you have on the Gopro lens view?1080 wide seems to cover too much Cockpit so just asking what you use in your videos, thanks

Depends on the plane but typically I use medium FOV. Narrow is sometimes preferable but the video is very grainy.