Expensive Week!

This was certainly an expensive week,, but I'm really impressed with what I got!

I ordered and received the Compression Leak Down Gauges from Aircraft Tool Supply. Yes, they were a little more expensive than eBay, Amazon or Harbor Freight, but the tool really seems to be pretty nice quality. The gauges are "certified", the hose is good quality and it came in a nice hard plastic case. I also like the fact that he has an extra valve that allows you to shut off pressure to the tool rather than having to disconnect the air hose.

I also bought the Lightspeed Zulu 3 headset straight from Lightspeed. Everything about that headset seems to scream quality. I had never held or seen one in person, before I got mine. It's really comfortable! It was also nice that I didn't pay any sales tax, got free shipping and their promotional gifts are pretty cool too. I got a collapsible backpack, 6000 mAh power bank (lithium rechargeable), bluetooth ear buds that are rechargeable and come with a rechargeable charging case too. The Zulu 3 feel really comfortable and it will be my first time flying with an ANR headset. I paired the Zulu 3 to my cell phone and was amazed and how clearly I could hear the phone and how clear the transmitted mic audio was on the message I left on my answering machine. I put on the headset in my living room and happened to have the air conditioning running. As soon as I pushed the power button everything went silent and I couldn't hear the air coming through the air vents. Really looking forward to my next flight! It will be nice to be able to easily make phone calls from the airplane while the engine is running. I tried it before and I couldn't hear and the person on the other end couldn't hear me over the noise in the cockpit..

I also purchased the Carbmate tool with the Rotax hoses from Leading Edge. I'm really impressed with everything that came with that too, except for one issue. Seems ridiculous they don't provide vacuum fittings to attach the Rotax hoses to the Carbmate hoses.. I know it's only a quick trip to the auto parts store, but if I wanted to spend time going to the auto parts store, I could have cobbled together hoses and fittings to attach the Carbmate to my Rotax engine without buying the Rotax hoses..

Oshkosh was paid for this week too..

There were other goodies too, but those four were the highlights! So yeah, it was expensive, but you only live once, right?

Nice stuff! Curious what you think of that compression tester when you finally use it. Something I'd like to add to my took kit.

On expenses- I hear you too! After vacillating for literally months I ordered and Avidyen IFD540 knowing I'll need it in the next 3-6 months (post phase 1) and I am afraid that the global IC/chip shortage may start to impact avionics soon too.

Oh.. paid my first annual premium on my plane too, but somehow that felt good given I get to fly it now

I think you'll love the headset. I have about 40 hours with its low-rent sibling (Sierra ANR) and it really does work. You don't notice how fatiguing noise can be until it's not there.

I've got about 4500 hours on my Zulu.2 headset. Absolutely fantastic. Sure there's been wear and tear, but thats expected. Lightspeed rebuilt it for free at about 4 years old under warranty. Then about 3 years ago I had it rebuilt again and upgraded to Zulu.3 hardware. It was about 7 years old then, so well out of warranty. That cost me a couple hundred dollars and was well worth it. Customer service was phenomenal with every encounter and I certainly intend to stay a Lightspeed user/customer.