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Review: Thrustmaster T-Flight HeadsetUSAF EditionBy Tony Vallillo /images/reviews/usafedit/t/36953867_956616201184412_6592187960798478336_n.jpgBack in the days of my youth there wasan aphorism to the effect that "we all know the sound of one handclapping." Today as I write this, I know well the sound of one handtyping. For indeed I am preparing this report under a handicap; towit, one arm has been rendered hors de combat due to shouldersurgery. And so here I sit struggling to master the microphone on myiPhone as a writing tool. It may be astonishing to many of you thatsomeone could have existed for so long in the computer age withouthaving used the speech to text option, but so it is. In any event, itis one of the minor miracles of our modern age that we can "type"without using our fingers! Even so, my feeble efforts are bringingforth such malformed fruit that I am spending so much time correctingthings that I may as well just type it in with one finger and thespell checker! This whole evolution began back in July at Airventure Oshkosh. Fordecades flight simulation has been a significant presence at the bigshow; indeed, Microsoft was once a major exhibitor. This traditioncontinues today; and this year in addition to the "real" certificatedproducts likeRedbirdand Frasca, one of the long-time hardware manufacturers to the hobbywas present at the show with a big exhibit:Thrustmaster. Thrustmaster has been around for a long time, and I don't think onewould stray too far from the truth to assert that most flight simmershave, at one time or another, used a Thrustmaster product, most likelya control device like a stick. I myself am currently a satisfiedowner of a T-Flight HOTAS Onestick and throttle. So naturally, I gravitated to the largeThrustmaster display area, located, ironically enough, exactly whereMicrosoft once flogged various versions of Flight Simulator. Over the years, although I have always jumped to the latest andgreatest software (the flight sim programs themselves, at leastwhenever I was in possession of a computer that could handle the newiterations), I have been much slower to chase hardware, especiallyspecialized use peripherals like controllers. I typically keep astick until it wears out, which in my experience has been around 5-8years, so I have not been on the leading edge of the hardware side ofthings, and often I have been only dimly aware of new and improvedproducts from such suppliers as Thrustmaster, Saitek, CH Products, andthe like. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/img_9615.jpgThis year, Thrustmaster had what appeared to be their entireproduct line on display for all and sundry to experience firsthand.Their display area was as jammed as Microsoft's used to be, with boys,girls and children of all ages (many in second childhood, like me!)whipping a number of high-end flight sim computer rigs throughimaginary skies, usually chasing and shooting at something out in thedigital blue yonder. Since I now occupy just about all of my time atAirventure volunteering at various venues, and have little time anymore for mere roaming around and immersing myself in things I cannotafford, I never did get to try out any of the glittering toys thatwere on offer at the Thrustmaster booth. But I did strike up aconversation with one of their representatives, who recognized me frommy efforts as an amateur author for this web site, and eventually theconversation came around to the subject of whether or not I might beinterested in actually getting my hands on and reviewing some of theirhardware. Now my qualifications as a reviewer, at least in the sense of thefine reviews that appear here and elsewhere on the internet, aresomewhat limited. Although I am a real world pilot of longexperience, I am an absolute tyro when it comes to doing much ofanything with a computer or other modern digital device other thangetting it out of the box and turning it on. Judging from the look ofmany of the reviews now online, there is much more to it thanthat! On the other hand, I can indeed offer a specific set ofobservations related to how hardware and software create an experiencethat relates to flying. Having familiarized the Thrustmasterrepresentatives with the advantages and limitations of my abilities,they decided to run a few of their products by me (things that I didnot already have) so that I could write about them here. And so itwas that two boxes, one of them fairly large, arrived on my frontporch just a week and a half before I was to become handicapped. Notthe best timing, perhaps, but at least I would have a lot of free timeto play with them, and time was not of the essence. The products in question are the Thrustmaster T-Flight Headset (USAF Edition)and theThrustmaster Pendular Rudder System.Since both required a bit of assembly, I decided to unbox and set themup in the last few days prior to my surgery, since it looked likesetup was not going to be a one handed affair. I thus had a few hoursof use on both of them while I still had two arms, and plenty of timelater in single-handed mode to dive more deeply into theoperation. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/wae_douglas_m-4.jpgThe early leather helmets were more for protection against cold and noise than anything else, although when airborne radio was developed they incorporated crude headphones. I will look at the T-Flight Headset first, since I spent more timewith it early on. At the same time, we can take a look at headsets inreal world aviation and the role they have played over time, thusallowing us to gain insight into what advantages the T-Flightoffers. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/flight-instructions-1942.jpgAn instructor debriefs his student, after having explained it all on the Gosport tube during the flight. The first things that pilots wore over their ears were the leatherhelmets that were used for protection against cold and noise. Theydid poorly against both. The first time that anything like a headsetwas used (that being defined as a device that produced audio for theears) was a gadget called the Gosport tube, invented by a flightinstructor from - wait for it - Gosport, in England. This was anacoustic tube, not electrical, and until the advent of airborne radiowas the only "headset" around, and for all practical purposes was usedonly in training airplanes. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/headsettrimmbrass1.jpgThe old Bakelite headset - uncomfortable to wear and of limited use in the high noise environment of the early cockpits. With the advent of radio for both communications and navigation,headsets more like those we have today came into common use, both incommercial and military aviation. These were most often made from anearly form of plastic called Bakelite, and were likely borrowed withlittle or no modification from the radio industry. You can seepictures of the early airline pilots in the cockpits with thesemedieval looking devices clamped firmly on their heads over theircompany hats. This fashion statement originated in the early pilots'almost universal nostalgia for the old leather helmets they worecontinuously in the open cockpit days - they literally felt nakedwithout something on their heads! /images/reviews/usafedit/t/4course_pilot.jpgA Captain using the old Bakelite to monitor the 4 course range, with the inside earpiece moved to make for better in-cockpit communication with the FO These early headphones did nothing to attenuate the often hellishlevels of noise that existed even in the closed cockpits of the DC-2'sand DC-3's, but they were sufficient to deliver the voice and Morsecode that constituted both the ATC and the navigation of the era.Sometimes the pilots would push the inside earpiece off to the side ofthe ear, the better to hear their companion across the throttlequadrant. These old headsets were front line equipment right up untilthe post-war period, and a slightly more refined version (made from amore modern concoction than Bakelite) survived into the 1970's andbeyond at the airline, in the form of the "spare" headsets that allairliners were equipped with in the early days of my career. Iactually used them a good bit at the FE panel, until my increasingseniority and financial stability made it possible to purchase acustom ear-set in the early 1980's. Throughout the 50's and into the 60's, just about all talking onthe radio was done using a hand microphone, although there may havebeen a few airplanes equipped for a true headset with attached boommic. By the 1950's that sort of thing was common on the ground, fortelephone operators and the like, but not in the air. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/image11646.jpgThe grey headsets that were standard USAF issue when I started flying C-141's in 1972. Meanwhile, the military had transitioned from the leatherhelmet-with-headset to the more modern "fighter pilot" helmet, whichalso of course contained earphones and a mic built into the oxygenmask. This was what I wore throughout USAF pilot training, and had Ihad more of the "right stuff" and become a fighter or bomber pilot Iwould have worn it for my entire career. But I never had any interestin anything other than getting an airline job, and so I flewtransports, in which we wore a headset affair that was modern when Istarted in 1972 but had lost its luster by the mid 1980's. It was agrey metal and plastic affair, with somewhat crude ear seals and anarticulated boom mic, and it was standard USAF issue in airplanes thatdid not accommodate helmets. A few C-141 pilots actually had a helmetof sorts, that looked like an old fashioned bicycle helmet, from thesides of which the ear pieces were suspended. But only a few usedthis, since it was, for most of us, less comfortable than the greyaffair and took up more room in the kitbag. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/image7003.jpgBy the time of Desert Storm the USAF had re-equipped us with David Clark headsets. During my tenure flying the C-5 in the 1980's and early 1990's theUSAF had been persuaded to provide the crews of transport airplaneswith the more modernDavid Clarkheadsets that had become ubiquitous in the general aviation world.These had large green plastic ear cups with fluid filled seals thatdid a great deal to silence the high levels of cockpit noise thatpersisted in all of the military transports I ever flew in, and were awelcome relief to the aircrews. Sadly, I did not get to keep minewhen I left flying for a reserve desk job in the early 1990's (I hadbeen allowed to keep my original gray headset, since these would havebeen scrapped anyway, and I still have it in a bookcase in my officethat serves as my personal air museum). /images/reviews/usafedit/t/image11115.jpg /images/reviews/usafedit/t/t-38-04.jpgIn pilot training we wore helmets similar to this one (from Air Combat USA in Fullerton CA), except that instead of a boom we had an oxygen mask with a built in mike. Fighter pilots, as it turned out, eventually came to wear helmetsthat look like something out of Star Wars, with huge wide-angle visualdisplays and high tech attachments. For all I know they may havestereo or even surround sound, which might be a useful addition tosituational awareness. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/img_2342.jpgIn the 1980's these lightweight earpiece/boom mike units were popular in the quieter airline cockpits. They often featured a custom molded earpiece such as mine has. At the airline, where Boeings and, to a slightly lesser extentAirbuses got very quiet up front over the years, we often dispensedwith headsets altogether, using the overhead speaker for sound,especially above 10,000 feet. As transport category airplanes came tofeature curved windshields up front, it got to be quiet enough tospeak in a normal tone of voice at all speeds (it turned out that theflat window panes and the angles that these created were responsiblefor just about all of the interior noise up front). Boeing, Douglasand Lockheed went to curved windshields starting with the wide bodies,and pilots were able to get new lightweight earpieces with a boom mikeattached. This was the ultimate in comfort and efficiency, andprobably still is today. We typically used the earpiece and boom mikebelow around 10,000 feet, switching to the overhead speakers and handmikes above that altitude. General aviation, sad to say, has never gotten quiet except at thegazillion dollar bizjet level, and so high technology turned itsattention to alleviating the noise problem in the cockpits. Mereattenuation turned out to be not enough, with or without things likegel-filled ear seals. Beginning with Bose a few decades ago, specialheadsets were developed that actually cancelled out noise bygenerating, within the ear cup, a countervailing sound wave thatimmolated itself against the opposite waves coming into the cup fromthe outside. These noise cancelling headsets are more or less therage today, and I finally got one after years of complaining about theexpense (the Bose examples start at around $1000 and go up fromthere!). They have the advantage of being somewhat lighter than aregular headset, which must achieve its noise reduction from anabundance of insulation. So throughout aviation history, headsets have served to conveyaudio information to the pilot, and nowadays to also mitigate thenoise exposure issues, which might otherwise lead to a reduced need tospend a lot of money on audio systems later in life (I know - I havesaved many thousands of dollars due to the fact that my hearing, whilecertainly good enough to pass a class I FAA physical, is also suchthat a $400 audio system sounds just like a $40,000 system!) They must also be comfortable over medium to long periods of time,although in small airplanes the endurance factor is limited more bybladder range than by fatigue due to noise. Headsets have gottenlighter in weight over the years as materials have improved - I wellremember the high end Bose audio headphones from the 1970's, whichwere outstanding in performance but quite heavy. Of course all of mymuscles, including those in my neck, were in better shape in my youththan they are these days, but it was a good thing that most of mylistening back then was done recumbent in a bean bag chair! The use of headsets in flight simulation is a much more recentdevelopment, at least for me, and it all started with the advent oflive online ATC services (and for some, the enforced need to keep ahome from sounding like the tarmac of an international airport!). Thefirst headsets I used, once I discovered VATSIM and Pilot Edge, weresimple and cheap plastic affairs that looked like de-minimis editionsof those single ear things that football coaches are seen sporting onthe sidelines. The quality of these humble units was minimal, butsufficient to the needs of the operation. They got relatively littleuse, since I am a real world pilot and get most of my daily dose ofATC interaction from the real thing! I just don't use the onlineservices much. But that may change. What may change it is this new Thrustmaster T-Flight headset (USAFedition, it must be noted, just like me!). This thing stronglyresembles a real aviation headset that has had surgery at the plugend, and is equipped not with the large aviation jack plugs but ratherwith the small versions that accommodate things like iPhones andcomputers. As near as I can tell, that is the essential differencebetween this and something like a non noise-cancelling David Clarkheadset. It was nearly fully assembled out of the box - the onlything I had to do to complete the process was to install the mikeboom, which was simply a matter of snapping it into place on the leftear cup. Nothing to it-- even an airline pilot (!) can do it. The T-Flight Headset looks exactly like a real aviation headset,weighs pretty much the same as my Bose A-20 (leaving aside the ratherheavy battery compartment which makes up nearly a third of the Bose'stotal weight), and is as comfortable as the Bose and more comfortablethan either of the two David Clarks that I also use in theSkySkooter.The ear seals make for a very close and quiet fit, and although thisis not a noise cancelling headset it does a very good job ofattenuating ambient noise. /images/reviews/usafedit/t/tflightusairforce01-800x885.jpgThe sound quality is also very good, although this might matterless in a computer headset than it would in one that would be used forhigh end music listening. I tried it out on some audio recordingsplayed through the computer, and (keeping in mind the limitations ofmy audio acuity these days) the T-Flight performed quite well. It hasbeen decades since I had anything other than earbuds for musiclistening, and I may well utilize the T-Flight on occasion for thatpurpose when it is not engaged in flight simulation. It has a master volume control on the left ear cup, again just likethe real ones, and it also has a mike control unit in-line on the cordgoing to the computer. This allows you to mute the mike, and also tovary the mike volume, which is likely to be a handy feature when youare working with some kind of live ATC service. I used Rip Vinyl tomake a recording using the microphone, and the sound quality going outis very good. The VATSIM and Pilot Edge controllers will have nodifficulty understanding you when you are using this headset. The USAF edition has USAF logos on the ear cups, and the color is amilitary looking blue-ish grey. I have no idea if real USAF issueheadsets have the AF logo on them - they certainly did not back in theday, but then again there was no actual AF logo then. I wonder ifThrustmaster had to pay royalties for the use of the logo - I wouldimagine not, since the government probably has rules against that sortof thing. But overall, the T-Flight Headset looks very official! Thelogo plates are removable, and the unit comes with three sets ofplates - the current USAF logo, a logo that features a fighter pilot(all you can see of the guy or gal is the helmet!) and a third onethat has a P-47 Thunderbolt image. They are easily interchangeable,so if you or your copilot gets bored with one of them, swapping thelogo plate is an easy snap-in affair. They think of everything!(Actually, this same headset is offered in another version, called theFerrari edition, with ticket-me-red ear cups and the Ferrari logo,presumably for auto simulations.) /images/reviews/usafedit/t/th.jpgA quick look at gaming headsets on Amazon showed me that I havebeen out of touch with the goings on in computerland, which shouldsurprise no one! There are literally scores of headsets available,with prices ranging from around $11 to over $350. Capitalism sure isgreat! It would take the better part of an evening just comparing thelooks and specs of all these offerings. Perhaps there is an adapterout there somewhere that would allow me to use my Bose A20 with thecomputer! But that would be overkill on several levels. One thing isimmediately apparent -- none of the other gaming headsets bears muchsimilarity to a real aviation unit. The T Flight is the only thing Isaw that looks exactly like a pilot headset. With a MSRP of around$99 it fits right into the cost spectrum as well - pretty much in themiddle of the range. I have no idea if the other products perform aswell as this does, but the T Flight would certainly be my choice if Iwere going to simulate that aspect of real world aviation. And if youwill be using a headset, why not look for realistic appearance as wellas high quality? Just remember though -- if you are also a real world pilot, becareful that you don't pick up the T Flight instead of your Bose orDavid Clark as you head out the door to the airport! It is thatrealistic. Tony Vallillo Thrustmaster T-Flight Headset (USAF Edition) Thrustmaster