People: Bright idea

Ryan O’Toole had flown in a Cirrus and floatplanes, but riding along on a cross-country flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Truckee, California, in a Cessna 206 that his father had just purchased opened a new passion for aviation to the then-15-year-old. During the flight, O’Toole observed a common problem that most pilots face: headset cords that get caught, stepped on, and shut in the door or battery packs that fall and bang around inside the cockpit. “My dad was frustrated by the lack of a holder and he looked online for one after we got back from our trip from Wichita,” O’Toole said. “When he said there wasn’t anything available, I offered to build them for him.”

Using his father’s 3-D printer, O’Toole created a holder for the headset battery pack and attached it with adhesive to the Cessna 206’s cockpit. His father loved it and shared the product with Mark Patey from Best Tugs, who reviewed the product in a social media video. Pilots started contacting O’Toole, asking him to make holders for them. When he could no longer keep up with demand by printing one holder at a time, O’Toole used his earnings to buy an industrial 3-D printer that allows him to complete 10 holders every 24 hours in his parents’ garage—while he’s at school, studying for SATs, taking flying lessons, or sleeping. Although the 3-D printing is relatively hands-off (it takes 30 minutes a day to clean and prepare the printer for the next batch), O’Toole said he spends time “managing the website, acknowledging the orders, packing, shipping, ordering supplies, etc.” He prints 300 to 310 holders per month and supplies them to Sporty’s Pilot Shop, Aviat Husky, and CubCrafters. The holders fit external battery packs for the Bose A20, Bose X, Lightspeed Zulu/Sierra, Lightspeed PFX, and David Clark DC Pro-X/DC ONE-X headsets, as well as the Pilot BluLink headset adapter. When O’Toole receives a new headset model, he spends about a week designing a holder to ensure a secure fit.

The black holders, sold at $40 apiece, are becoming so popular that O’Toole said he “might have to get a second printer to keep up with demand.”

Currently, O’Toole is using the profits from his business to pay for flight training, and he said he plans to earn his private pilot certificate this year—he turned 17 in June. In addition to learning to fly, O’Toole said he’s developed an interest in aerospace engineering and business, two areas he plans to pursue degrees in at college. Looks like he’s already off to a pretty good start.

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