U Fly Mike Update

With all of this downtime, it's time to catch up a little. The U Fly Mike has generated a lot of interest here and I've received a bunch of emails with questions about how it has held up over the last 2 1/2 years. So here's what I have to say about the U Fly Mike/QC2 combo since it was purchased...

After about 1200 hours of use, I can say that the QC2/U Fly Mike combination is still performing flawlessly. Both the QC2's and the U Fly Mike have stood up to the rigors of heavy duty part 121 flying. Some days, the set would be put together, taken apart, plugged in and unplugged as many as five times. After a 14 hour duty day, no fatigue from the headset.

Cosmetically, they're a little worse for the wear but that hasn't affected performance whatsoever. Considering the amount of abuse they receive, they look pretty darn good.

Battery life has remained constant. I can usually count on about 22 hours before the indicator light begins flashing. Never once has the battery died while in use.

The only issue I've had was my own fault. One day I was in a hurry to catch a deadhead home. Instead of unplugging by pulling the plugs, I hastily yanked the cord. This was a bad move and caused an intermittent short. After a week of intermittent noise and having the play with the plug to get it "just right", I called U Fly Mike to set up a repair. Unfortunately, they were at Airventure in Oshkosh and wouldn't be back for a week.

It just so happened that I was flying with a captain who has a headset business on the side. He offered to do the repair for me when we got back to base. He replaced the plug set with a set from David Clark. It works great and I have to say that the David Clark cord is much sturdier than the cord that is sourced by U Fly Mike (I think it's Sigtronics). However, the short was my fault and it would probably still be working fine with the original plug had it not been yanked out the way it was.

I've also heard from some people that say the U Fly Mike is not legal to use because it isn't TSO'd. All I will say is that I have had feds on the jumpseat while I was using the combo, one who even had the U Fly Mike, and have never been violated for it. From what I can determine, there is no regulation or requirement under part 91, 135 or 121 or part 25 FAR to use a TSO'd headset in any aircraft, by any crew member.

The best feature? The ability to disconnect the mic and just use the headphones while commuting or deadheading. Even without listening to music, they're great. After hearing "shouldn't you be up front/who's flying the plane?" jokes 1,001 times, it's nice to just put the headphones on and enjoy the silence. Nothing says, "I'm really not interested in talking right now" more than wearing headphones with no wires attached.

So after all is said and done, would I buy the U Fly Mike again? Most definitely. Everyone I've flown with that owns the combo has felt just as strongly.

U-Fly-Mike Review

NOTE: At the end is a link to an update on the U Fly Mike after 30 months of heavy use.

After 25 hours with my new Bose® QuietComfort 2 headphones and U-Fly-Mike adapter, all I can say is, "WOW"!

Comfort: Compared to my David Clark® headset, there is absolutely no comparison. They are much lighter. I have worn them for 4 hours continuously without any discomfort. The mic is extremely easy to position and, unlike other headset mics, doesn't need to be eaten to be effective. It works for me 1/4-1/3" away from my mouth without having to adjust the squelch.

Ease of Use: The QC2's come in a nice case with a space for extra batteries and there's room for the U-Fly-Mike. I never forget to turn them off, because the power light and switch is right in front of you when you put them away. The U-Fly-Mike plugs in easily, yet firmly into the 3.5mm headset receptacle and comes with an extra o-ring to ensure a tight fit for heavy users.

ANC effectiveness: The QC2 headphones are easily quieter than my David Clark® H10-13S at nearly half the weight. I have tried a friend's Aviation X headset and would say that the QC2/U-Fly-Mike combo is about 95% as effective.

Overall: This is an excellent buy. For under $500, you get nearly the same performance as the Aviation X headset, with excellent Bose® ANC. As an added bonus, they are multi purpose. I can take them with me on business trips and use them with my iPod. How cool is that? I got about 15 hours out of the first AAA, which was off-brand and supplied by Bose® . That is a little less than half the advertised battery life when using them strictly as headphones. There is a small mesh pouch that holds 4-5 AAA batteries in the case. I'm sure that the Duracell batteries will last longer and there might be longer life in a quieter, pressurized cockpit.

The only possible down-side I see is that they are not as sturdy as purpose-built aviation headsets. If you put them in the case after every use and don't throw them in a flight bag, it probably won't be an issue.

One more thing: They U-Fly-Mike adapter also has a 3.5mm input jack so you can hook up a portable music device to your headset. I haven't used it yet because I'm either flying with an instructor or through highly congested airspace.

To see how it's held up over the last 2 1/2 years, click on this U Fly Mike Update