UflyMic for bose QC2 headphones

Owenrg

Owenrg

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Owenrg
I've been looking at getting another headset (i currently have the bose X) and i was looking at getting the ufly mike (http://uflymike.com/). I'm wondering how well these would work in something like a C152 for flight training? Does anyone have any experience with them?

Thanks for the help.
 
Owenrg said:
I've been looking at getting another headset (i currently have the bose X) and i was looking at getting the ufly mike (http://uflymike.com/). I'm wondering how well these would work in something like a C152 for flight training? Does anyone have any experience with them?
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One of my flying buddies has this setup and seems to really like it. I would say the one main drawback is that when the battery runs out there is not only no ANR, you can't hear anything at all.
 
Everskyward: Does you buddy fly single engine stuff or jets? i'm just nervous that smaller aircraft might be too loud for the QC2's to handle.

Thanks for the reply though.
 
Owenrg said:
Everskyward: Does you buddy fly single engine stuff or jets? i'm just nervous that smaller aircraft might be too loud for the QC2's to handle.
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He flies both. We fly a CE-680 together and he also flies a Bonanza. I'm not sure how the noise level in a Bonanza compares to a C-152 though.

Edit: I called him up and asked him. He said to make sure that the model you buy completely cover your ears. He also said that headsets with bigger ear cups like the regular Bose are probably quieter but these are quiet enough for him even on long Bonanza flights.
 
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The only two Bose models compatible with the UFlyMike are the Quiet Comfort 2 and the newer Quiet Comfort 15. The QC3 that sits on your ears is not compatible according to UFlyMike because of different circuitry/connection.

I started flight training and when looking for a quality headset came across the UFlyMike. It turned out great since I already had a QC2 at home so I got a quality ANR setup when the UFlyMike was a little cheaper than it is today, IIRC.

I trained in 172's and have flown various other common, single-engine trainers. (Arrow, Warrior, Skipper, Cutlass, Champ and one Bonanza ride)

Compared to any passive DC headset, this setup is world's above. I tried my instructor's H10-13.4 and I bought an extra H20-10 on a whim for passengers. I did not like the bulk or clamping that I'm sure any pilot is aware of.

Compared to the Bose X and a Zulu, switching with my instructors, one in an Arrow and another in a new 172, the Bose setup sounded the same to me and my instructors felt the same.

Now, the Zulu has Bluetooth which is awesome for canceling IFR on the ground at non-towered airports and listening to music. With the UFlyMike, you can plug in an audio source but you have to handle the volume yourself as it will not cut out for ATC. I do not require music when flying (the engine noise is soothing) and if I do, I would rather have it plugged into the intercom and will utilize that feature when flying on long, VFR, solo xc's with no one to talk to.

Now there are a few cons as there is with any product.

1. You are limited to a left-side microphone since that is the side of the connection point on the Bose. Not a big deal to me and hasn't caused a problem

2. For those with smaller/shorter heads, the Bose may be too big. My friend's mother that flew with me didn't move the headband up at all but it also didn't slip. Your mileage may vary.

3. The Battery Issue - Personally, I do not think this is a problem at all. The headset gets really annoying when the battery runs low, cutting out audio and in general, just sounding terrible. If you are paranoid, you can change the battery when the light starts blinking as they claimed to do in the recent AOPA article but you will run through batteries have life left. I would never do this and just change it when it starts cutting out. Also, you can plug in any set of earbuds and place these in your ear for audio backup from the UFlyMike. The Bose are not technically necessary except to hold the mic.

But, I do change the battery when I know it's low if I'm going out IFR with low ceilings or in other possible high-workload situations so it's not something I have to worry about in a potentially stressful situation.

It's not hard to keep batteries relatively accessible in any airplane, IMO and the setup only requires one AAA battery that lasts for quite a long time.

From what I've heard, the Bose X is just about worthless when it's batteries die, at least in a single engine Cirrus or Cessna, as my current instructor told me. He would rather have his old pair of DCs in this situation. But, that opinion is not mine as I have not experienced it but have heard it from two other people as well.

I now have two of these setups - one with a QC15 and one with my older QC2 and I love them. I use the QC15 as it is newer and my old one's ear cups were a little deformed from age. I also have another QC2 ready for a UFlymike when I feel a need to have a third, nice headset.

If you are looking to purchase used, there is nothing wrong with the QC2 and very little difference with the updated model - Bose claims better noise canceling ability due to more advanced technology with its sound waves. I picked the older model up on eBay earlier this year for a little over $100 in great condition.

I never agreed with spending upwards of $600 on a aviation headset. Again, that's a frequent argument/caveat for us "Aviation=$$$"

I apologize for the length of this but I felt like I needed to present my experience and to help keep UFlyMike in business. They seem to be a great, American family business that has had some trouble regarding the Giant, Bose, and the FAA hurdles for TSO status.

EDIT: If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer them. Disclaimer: I am only a user of these products and have no affiliation with Bose or UFlyMike other than as a customer.
 
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I use the Uflymic, and the QC-15. Great combo, and it's STC'd. I carry extra batteries, and fly with the setup internationally. A set of batteries will last most of the way around the world, and will easily do several oceanic crossings. The little green light above the power switch begins to flash hours before the battery goes down, so there's plenty of time to change batteries; worrying about the headset going dead is a non-issue.

What I like about the headset, other than the sound quality (which is great), is that it folds into a compact, small container. The uflymic goes in there too, taking up very little room in the flight bag. I was dragging a Bose X around with me prior to that, and while that's a fine headset, the uflymic with the QC-15 is the same technology as the new Bose A20, for less money, takes up less room, and has the added advantage of being available to use while commercialing somewhere.

I've used the Uflymic/QC-15 combo all over the world in turbine equipment and in piston equipment, and it works just fine. It makes communications a lot easier, especially when working with HF radios over the ocean, and when dealing with foreign accents and difficult-to-understand radio situations.

I'm getting set to order a second one to throw in my bag as a backup. Well worth the cost, in my opinion.
 
I'm reviving this thread.

I will travel this summer and will do some flying during my stay in the US. however, I will try not to overload my luggage with my usual ANR headsets.
As I will use my QC15 in airlines flight I am thinking to buy the Uflymike system to transform this headset into aviation ANR

My problem is that I don't know any possibility to test such system in Europe before buying. I've read many good things about the Uflymike but a good part were written some months or years ago. Besides that, I haven't found any recent report about reliability of this system after some months of use in GA airplanes.

If it's only a nice gadget, I'd rather spend 225 bucks in flight time.

Any feedback from one of you?

Thanks
 
Everskyward said:
One of my flying buddies has this setup and seems to really like it. I would say the one main drawback is that when the battery runs out there is not only no ANR, you can't hear anything at all.
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Literally the only issue. I have a UFlyMike and QC15 as a backup to my A20 and it is a fantastic headset. ANR is really quite good, clamps less than the A20. I think the cost was around 500 for everything brand new which is a fantastic price for a high quality setup. You can listen to music through the audio in plug, and when you aren't flying, you have high quality headphones to listen to your favorite audio.

The headset gives you plenty of warning when the battery is going to run out and it has never been an issue for me.
 
french22 said:
I'm reviving this thread.

I will travel this summer and will do some flying during my stay in the US. however, I will try not to overload my luggage with my usual ANR headsets.
As I will use my QC15 in airlines flight I am thinking to buy the Uflymike system to transform this headset into aviation ANR

My problem is that I don't know any possibility to test such system in Europe before buying. I've read many good things about the Uflymike but a good part were written some months or years ago. Besides that, I haven't found any recent report about reliability of this system after some months of use in GA airplanes.

If it's only a nice gadget, I'd rather spend 225 bucks in flight time.

Any feedback from one of you?

Thanks
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Do it without hesitation because it works fantastic. Mic and audio quality are great in the cockpit. I have used mine in a wide variety of aircraft. Really loud aircraft can overpower the ANR but even in large piston twins they worked fantastic for me.
 
Inverted said:
The headset gives you plenty of warning when the battery is going to run out and it has never been an issue for me.
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Since I'm not the one using the headset I don't know what kind of warning it gives you. However, on a variety of occasions I have wondered why he is not answering a call or is trying to talk over the controllers and it has been because of a dead battery.
 
The flashing light blinks when there is like 10 hours left. I never operate the headset if it is flashing, don't tempt fate on a headset that becomes completely useless when the battery dumps.
 
Inverted said:
The flashing light blinks when there is like 10 hours left. I never operate the headset if it is flashing, don't tempt fate on a headset that becomes completely useless when the battery dumps.
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I was under the impression that the TSO'd version, with earplugs, was for that reason, in case it stops working. Do you not have that version? Curious only.

David
 
Actually I'm not concerned at all by the battery operation of the Bose: I've been using it during the last 5 months as a frequent flyer and it's true that you get blinking led, then some cuts before loosing completely audio. At worse it takes just a few seconds to change the battery, I can do it while flying: I'm not a high performance jet pilot.

My main issue is the efficiency of this device in a c172, Cub or equivalent and the reliability of mike plugging system compared with medium range headsets. I currently use a Dre6000 ANR when piloting and I'm happy with it, but it would be extra weight to carry when travelling overseas.
 
Everskyward said:
.... when the battery runs out there is not only no ANR, you can't hear anything at all.
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Well that would be a huge deal breaker for me!

Imagine flying IFR and your headset batt dies, you'd be squaking 7600 if you couldn't find a spare batterie, or god forbid drop the batterie into the abyss that is know as the floor of a aircraft!

As someone who makes a living flying and can't afford a violation or safety hit on my file, that's not nearly worth the risk just to save a few hundred bucks.
 
Everskyward said:
If you realized it, there's always the speaker in the airplane.
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Yea, just don't want to play that game, my Zulu sucks royally when it dies but still works.

Murphys law, when your fiddling around after that thing dies, that's the time ATC is going to amend something or give you some important bit of info.

Besides those speakers are even worse then my headset when the batt dies.
 
I'm neither endorsing nor criticizing the UflyMic. I'm just relating what I have observed about someone else using one.
 
I've used mine since I started flying. When it cuts out, change the battery. Or, like I said, change it before a high-workload flight when you don't chance things.
 
flhrci said:
I was under the impression that the TSO'd version, with earplugs, was for that reason, in case it stops working. Do you not have that version? Curious only.

David
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That is exactly what it is for. I don't have it because I am not required to have a TSO headset. It costs more to TSO the headset.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
Well that would be a huge deal breaker for me!

Imagine flying IFR and your headset batt dies, you'd be squaking 7600 if you couldn't find a spare batterie,

As someone who makes a living flying and can't afford a violation or safety hit on my file, that's not nearly worth the risk just to save a few hundred bucks.
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I fly for a living, if you consider yourself at all professional, you wouldn't leave the house without extra batteries. Just as you wouldn't fly without a license.
 
french22 said:
Actually I'm not concerned at all by the battery operation of the Bose: I've been using it during the last 5 months as a frequent flyer and it's true that you get blinking led, then some cuts before loosing completely audio. At worse it takes just a few seconds to change the battery, I can do it while flying: I'm not a high performance jet pilot.

My main issue is the efficiency of this device in a c172, Cub or equivalent and the reliability of mike plugging system compared with medium range headsets. I currently use a Dre6000 ANR when piloting and I'm happy with it, but it would be extra weight to carry when travelling overseas.
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The quality of the mic is that of the A20 or Zulu.2. The mic combined with the QC15 is 90% of an A20 for 50% of the price.
 
Inverted said:
I fly for a living, if you consider yourself at all professional, you wouldn't leave the house without extra batteries. Just as you wouldn't fly without a license.
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Duh, that being said, Murphy will always win, ever drop a pen in the plane and have it absorbed into god knows where, spare batteries arnt immune to that phenomenon.

Flying a headset, which, when it fails, fails in a "turned off" setting seems like bad policy even if you had the damn energizer bunny himself riding right seat.
 
I tried it using the QC2 in a 172 during my training. I really didn't like it very much. I felt it was much louder than the Halo's I was using at the time. That said it is perfect for my son who is used to using those headphones with his IPad.
 
Thanks for your comments guys, it helps a lot.

When you say "louder than Halo", do you mean the Halo has a greater noise reduction than the Uflymike-QC2 ?

For me the equation terms are: buying a Uflymike or not? I already have the Qc15 so the investment will be limited to the Uflymike. I think I'm going to offer me a nice, and non essential, gift.

Talking about Halo / Clarity: they are nice devices but I'm not considering investing now in another headsets. In the other hands, I was considering the option of going DIY on such type of light headsets: I have some in-ear phones and an aviation mic.
 
french22 said:
Thanks for your comments guys, it helps a lot.

When you say "louder than Halo", do you mean the Halo has a greater noise reduction than the Uflymike-QC2 ?

For me the equation terms are: buying a Uflymike or not? I already have the Qc15 so the investment will be limited to the Uflymike. I think I'm going to offer me a nice, and non essential, gift.

Talking about Halo / Clarity: they are nice devices but I'm not considering investing now in another headsets. In the other hands, I was considering the option of going DIY on such type of light headsets: I have some in-ear phones and an aviation mic.
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The Halo uses pure passive noise reduction. They are foam ear plugs with sound tubes in them. People who use them say they produce as much noise reduction as ANR headsets. The problem with using something like a QC15 is that they are designed with less passive noise reduction (clamping effect and cushioning on the ear muffs) than aviation ANR models (I have tried my QC15 in a prop plane). In other words, they will be louder than an aviation model.
 
Hi

I have a uflymic and the Bose Q15 for sale.
The original price:
uflymic--------$225
Bose Q15-----$280
Total----------$505

They are about a year old, work great.
Willing to sell for $250 shipped......
IM for any details.......
 
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