Do you listen to music while flying ?
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know my opinion about distractions in cockpits (if not, read this post on clean cockpit and that one about safety-pilots). On the other hand, I know how cool it can be to listen to your favorite music in flight. There are a couple of options, and I’d like to have your feed-back about that.
The first way to listen to music in flight is to tune an AM station in your ADF receiver, and turn up the volume. I know, ADF receivers are not so frequent nowadays, nor are AM stations, at least in Europe. By the way, if you fly in Switzerland, try 765kHz…
If you fly without headset (yes, that is possible, speaker and hand-mike), you can simply take your portable stereo with you, and pump-up the volume to MAX. There are also some pilots who slip a mini ear-phone below their aviation headset.
There is a clear drawback to all these methods: you could miss an ATC message. If you use the portable stereo and the hand mike, you will also broadcast your music when transmitting… Not exactly the best way to impress a controller…
Some other options allow a better integration of music. At first, some intercoms have a music input, usually mini-jack plugs. You can connect your favorite MP3 player (or walkman if you’re old-school), and get your favorite songs directly in your headset.
With this solution you can switch music off at any time via the intercom panel, and moreover the intercom itself turns it off each time a squelch is triggered. So when ATC transmits, or when a passenger want to talk to you, the music automatically fades out.
If your favorite aircraft is not equipped with such an intercom, you can buy a portable adapter. Plug the adapter the headset jacks, and your headset in the adapter. There is an additional input in the adapter for a music source, which then goes in the headset as well. This system also automatically stop the music when someone talks to you. The only drawback when compared to the intercom is that music is not brodcasted to all on board.
As I said earlier, I do understand the reason why one would like to have music on board, and proper integration in the audio system is probably not a problem. What is much more arguable is that portable adapters are now available for cell-phones.
This not only raises the issue of VHF disturbance, but also of being a much more serious distraction than music. Why create a clean cockpit, and open the way to incoming phone calls ? Adapters manufacturers say it makes easier to get a clearance on the phone before departure. Correct and fine, as long as the phone is then disconnected.
I have no personal experience with music in flight (except the ADF way a couple of times…), so if you have some and want to share… the floor is yours !
If you enjoyed this post, don't keep it secret !
6 Comments, Comment or Ping
Jason
I never listened to much music in flight until I started taking longer trips. I’ve used an iPod hooked into the intercom as well as XM radio in the Cirrus. I really enjoy it - if I am experienced in the airplane I will even leave it on through out the landing assuming my workload is not too high ( I usually turn it down a bit).
Only once have I listened to music with a system that didn’t auto-mute it for radio traffic. In that case I just kept the music volume nice and low.
I also used to avoid music with much spoken word in it, but eventually found it was easy to recognize ATC voices vs. voices on the music.
I am the kind of person that actually tends to think better with music in the background (maybe I’m weird) so I’ve never had an issue with it being distracting, but other’s mileage may vary.
May 1st, 2008
Matthew Stibbe
When I flew PA28s I sometimes listened to Radio 4 on the ADF and the Cirrus I fly now has a line in. I haven’t used it myself because a friend flew with his iPod plugged in and it was a bit disconcerting to be on short finals with Dire Straits playing (his choice of music, not mine!) However, on a long solo flight I’d seriously consider taking one along simply to pass the time. However, my wife LOVES listening to her iPod in flight. She sings along to it really loudly while she enjoys the view!
May 1st, 2008
Jess Sightler
I haven’t listened to music, but my headset does have a nice adapter for music input or a cell phone. The cell interface has only been used before departure to open a flight plan once (short leg into a towered field, but flight school rules required a flight plan… easiest way to open was on the ground before departure via phone).
I tend to agree about the distractions, but some of the music interfaces work well enough to where they may actually help rather than distract, IMO.
May 2nd, 2008
Julien
I think the reason manufacturers say the sole purpose of adapters is to make it easier to get a clearance on the phone before departure is to avoid liability if it is ever proven that using a mobile phone in flight was a contributing factor to an accident.
In countries where XM weather is not available (read: outside North America), being able to call an automatic weather station on the phone can come in handy, especially when the weather is closing in and a decision needs to be made as to where to divert. This is also possible using short text messages. Of course you can also ask a controller for the same information, but that depends on the controller’s workload.
Phone comes in handy also for ringing small airfields and asking the local lineman to get into his car and drive to the airfield because you’re on your way and need fuel.
So that was my take on placing calls from the cockpit in flight. I cannot see any good reason for receiving calls in-flight though.
May 2nd, 2008
PlasticPilot
Four comments in two days - wow ! It seems that in-flight music is a hot topic.
@Jason: the “no spoken words” points is a good one. I missed it, thank you for that.
@Matthew: if I may ask, does your wife have a mute function ? Mine does not ;-).
@Jason & Jess: interesting that you both think that music actually help to IMPROVE your flying. I know that for day work in the office. In silent environments, I tend to focus on “trying” to catch a sound.
@Julien: in Europe you can use the VOLMET frequencies to get information on a wide area (at light aircraft range). Typically, the Geneva VOLMET broadcasts metars of Geneva, Zurich, Basle, Milano, Nice, Paris, and so on. This is more than enough. I never tried to place a call in-flight, but under some circumstances my passengers tried to do it.
May 2nd, 2008
Reply to “Do you listen to music while flying ?”