Sennheiser HMEC300 ANR Headset
Sennheiser recently introduced a new line of headsets for general aviation airplanes and helicopters called the Sound of Silence series. We tested the top-of-the-line $599 HMEC300, which features the company's NoiseGard active noise canceling.
The headsets have a conservative appearance with dark royal blue earcups and a black leather headband cover. If you are drawn to bold colors and starship-type styling, this is not your headset. It comes with a carrying case, cable clip, mic muff, and an adapter to hardwire the unit to the aircraft.
Clamping pressure was enough to provide excellent passive noise canceling. More importantly, the set was still comfortable three hours into a trip. Part of the comfort equation is the fact that the headset is very light, weighing only 13.1 ounces, not including the cord.
The microphone is attached to the end of a flexible metal boom and can be positioned exactly as needed. Microphone gain is adjustable using a very small screwdriver to match radio impedance, if needed. The entire boom rotates for storage, and there is a boom friction adjustment on one ear cup. The volume control is on the other ear cup.
A single cord goes from one ear cup to a small switchbox. One slide switch activates the noise-canceling circuitry, and the other allows selection of stereo or monaural input. Sennheiser offers this same headset (the 12.4-ounce $249 HMEC100) without the ANR circuitry and it is more than adequate, but fire up the electronics in the HMEC300 and the rumble of the engine all but disappears. It was so quiet that the volume on the aircraft radios, set for another passive headset, had to be lowered significantly. Sennheiser claims that the 100 and 300 headsets each provide 24 decibels of passive noise reduction. The HMEC300 takes away another 16 dB when its electronics are on. Power comes from the aircraft's cigarette lighter or from an optional rechargeable battery pack. We did not test the battery pack.
There are some minor complaints. The cord from the switchbox to the power source is not of the same high quality as the rest of the unit. It is also a bit short if the cigarette lighter is on the opposite side of the panel. The other cords appear to be durable with good strain relief for the plugs.
Overall, the comfort and performance significantly outweigh the few negatives we observed. The HMEC-300 is a high-quality headset and well worth a look. For more information, contact Sennheiser at 860/434-9190; or visit the Web site (www.sennheiserusa.com).
Bruce Landsberg
Flight Training Handbook Rewritten, Renamed
The best-selling Advisory Circular (AC) 61-21A, better known as the Flight Training Handbook, has been rewritten and renamed to reflect changes in flight training. The new book FAA-H-8083-3, called the Airplane Flying Handbook, updates and expands on existing material while adding new information about transitioning to different airplanes, such as multiengine and tailwheel airplanes.
The new book includes chapters on preflight, postflight, ground operations, takeoffs and climbs, basic flight maneuvers, slow flight, stalls, spins, ground reference maneuvers, performance maneuvers, airport traffic patterns, approaches and landings, instrument flight, night operations, navigation systems, emergency operations, and aeronautical decision making. The Airplane Flying Handbook takes the place of the old Flight Training Handbook as the official FAA source for flight training information.
The Airplane Flying Handbook is available through Aviation Supplies and Academics for $16.95. For more information or to order, contact ASA at 7005 132nd Place Southeast, Newcastle, Washington 98059; telephone 800/ASA-2-FLY; Web site (www.asa2fly.com).
E. Tennyson
Jeppesen's Aviation History
For those like me who had great difficulty staying awake in high school or college history classes, the notion of getting excited about a history book seems highly improbable. But now there is an exception. Jeppesen Sanderson has just released Aviation History, a 636-page, large-format, textbook by Anne Millbrooke that is guaranteed to satisfy anyone with a passionate appetite for flight.
Aviation History is not a typical history textbook that consists of endless pages of punishing text interrupted only occasionally by a dull black-and-white photograph. It is graphically driven, chock-full of colorful photographs (where possible) and beautiful illustrations.
All 10 chapters (from Greek mythology to futuristic designs and concepts) begin with graphic timelines of notable events. They also contain hundreds-if not substantially more than a thousand-colorful sidebars. Some offer bite-sized historical notes that provide insight into certain events, and others provide first-hand accounts by those who were there. More sidebars describe historical events that lend perspective to aeronautical progress, and others contain personal profiles of those who made history. And finally, some boxes contain fascinating bits and pieces of evidence to validate or dispute certain events from a historian's perspective. Each chapter also includes question-and-answer boxes to help prime you for whatever aviation quizzes that you might encounter.
Even the appendices are fascinating and contain, for example, 10 pages dedicated to reproducing the Wright Brothers' original patent for a flying machine. My favorite appendix is a comprehensive list of aviation firsts. It begins with the first aircraft flight (June 4, 1783) and ends 12 pages later with the first woman to command a space shuttle (Eileen Collins on July 23, 1999).
Millbrooke, a professional historian and fine writer, and the editorial staff at Jeppesen have outdone themselves. Even if you chose not to read the main text and perused only the captions and sidebars, you would still finish the book with a broad and insightful understanding of how aviation got to be where it is today. Simply stated, Aviation History is without peer or competition. Any book that can bring aviation history to life the way this one does deserves to be described with superlatives.
Aviation History lists for $68. For additional information, contact Jeppesen Sanderson at 800/621-5377.
Barry Schiff
The Cellular Pilot
Pilots now have their own compact telephone directory with virtually every number they could need. The pocket-sized book includes telephone numbers for Customs, flight service stations, airport reservations, towers, ground transportation, ATIS, approach controls, centers, and fixed-base operators. The Cellular Pilot is designed to help pilots save time and get the information they need by helping them reach exactly who they need to talk to, without waiting on hold or being transferred from facility to facility. The book is available through Sporty's Pilot Shop for $16.95. Sporty's customers who have an instrument chart subscription will receive The Cellular Pilot and future updates at no charge. For more information or to order, contact Sporty's at Clermont County Airport, Batavia, Ohio 45103; telephone 800/LIFT-OFF; fax 513/735-9200.
E. Tennyson
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