For those of you flying tandem seating aircraft, what is the best location you've found for placing the pilot's headset jacks? I have not been able to find a spot that I really like and I'm wondering what has worked for others and why.
Here are my criteria for the location:
Need to be easy to reach to plug in or remove. I want to avoid circus contortions when reaching for them when the airplane is on the ground.
The cords have to be out of the way for both the passenger's legs and the pilot's arms. It seems no matter where I put them they either hang in the way of the passenger's shoes so they snag them when entering or exiting the rear seat, OR they are in the way of the stick and shoulder harness.
I am really open to the creative ways that others have solved this problem.
Here is where I put mine on my 6 - at the back of the left and right arm rests in small Radioshack hobby boxes.
I haven't flown yet but hope they will be accessible in flight - and from the wing walk - and that the cords will be tucked behind and away from the controls when in use
By the tone of your query, I suspect that you have considered all possible physical locations for the headphone jacks and have concluded that one way or another, every potential location includes some undesirable downside.
What works for one flyer may not be the best choice for another. Any location is going to be a compromise. I just know what works best for me. To avoid visual and physical clutter, I prefer headset wires out of my view and behind me. I installed the pilot (and passenger) jacks on the starboard side as shown. The plugs are accessable in flight and the pilot headsets can be stowed across the weldment without conflicting with the slider canopy operation. Since we normally enter and egress from the port side, this arrangement presents no obstruction for the solo pilot at any time but when carrying a passenger, the wires may have to be shifted until the rear seat passenger is settled in. Not a perfect arrangement, but it works for me.
Randy,
I see Rick Galati's locations are close to mine. I used the pilot's position in my last sailplane and liked it a lot; I cut the headset cord to be pretty short so it never hung-up on anything and left me with full head motion. The only difference from Rick's install was to orient the jacks near vertical. My thinking is that if I ever have to jump (I wear a chute all the time) I don't need to think about the headset - just jump and the headphone plugs will simply unplug. As a second datapoint; I shortened the headset cords I use in my Super Decathlon to about 18"; the plugs are above and behind the pilot's left shoulder. This makes for no cords around the PAX legs and leaves me with full head motion. I like it too.
I placed mine on the right side of the cockpit just under the canopy railing frame where I ran all my wiring that went aft. This way it averts bumping when entering/exiting the aircraft and is generally out of the way. See pics below. I am using the hard wired Bose plugs.
Mount position for front seat (white wire is the voice output from my Garmin 496)
FWIW, my locations are similar to others already mentioned. The front seat jacks are on the mid-cabin structure facing forward behind my right shoulder. They are hard to see while sitting in the seat, but I rarely unplug the headset and anyway I'm usually the only pilot and I know where they are. The cord hangs behind my right shoulder out of the way.
For the back seater I felt it was important to have the jacks well labeled and in plain sight. I frequently carry passengers who are pilots and have their own headsets. When they sit down, the jacks are on the right, facing aft and clearly labeled, along with a "radio xmit" switch.
This way, all the wiring is together and straightforward.
BTW, I also added "LEMO" a.k.a Bose jacks paralleled with the standard plugs wired to ship's power. This lets me use almost any headset (other than military stuff) anybody might have in either seat. It's also a convenient source for ship's power for a small accessory like a gps for the back seat.
