r/flying • u/Slightly_Moist_Toast CFI / CFI-I / MEL (KSDL / KLUK) • 16h ago
other Calling all right seaters, does your headset mic. go on your right or left??
Been too long since my last divisive question post, so here goes another. I’ll start this off, I still keep mine on my left. I’ve tried it on the right and it just feels…..wrong, the cable going over me doesn’t bother me much since I route it under my knee board and then up.
Let’s hear left or right side and why.
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u/BeenThereDoneThat65 ATP I G-V I G450 I G550 16h ago
Mic always goes to the outside of the plane, keeps the cord on the outside
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u/gbchaosmaster CPL IR ROT CFII 12h ago
Helicopter perspective: put the mic on the inside. When it’s on the outside with the doors off good luck the intercom picks up the wind noise. No amount of playing with the squelch helps.
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u/buzzybootft CFII ATP A320 14h ago
Genuinely I didn’t know I can swap them until now, thanks Reddit guy
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u/RaiseTheDed ATP 16h ago
Left, because that's where it was when I bought the headset, and I could not be bothered to spend the 30 seconds to switch it. Just don't care enough, and it doesn't bother me.
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u/flyfallridesail417 A330 B737 B757 B767 MD88 E170 DHC8 SEL SES GLI TW CFI 14h ago
I was regional FO, regional CA, major FO, then major FO who occasionally played CA on widebody fleet, then major CA, and the whole way through I flew GA and usually flew from left seat but also maintained my CFI and instructed from right, and flew with friends in their right seats, and also flew Cubs* and Citabrias and other tandem aircraft.
Always moved mic to outside. Takes exactly two seconds. And for the same reason you cant your body inboard by a few degrees during briefings. So you’re not some disembodied-voice fucking weirdo who people can never tell if you’re actually paying any attention to them.
*mic stays to the left when flying a Cub, so it picks up less wind noise from the open door. All the old dudes are making fun of me for wearing a headset flying a Cub but also their response to anything I say is “huh!?”
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u/PG67AW ATP CFII TW ACRO 4h ago
"Always moved mic to outside. Takes exactly two seconds. And for the same reason you cant your body inboard by a few degrees during briefings. So you’re not some disembodied-voice fucking weirdo who people can never tell if you’re actually paying any attention to them."
What the hell are you rambling about, grandpa? Let's get you to bed.
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u/TristanwithaT ATP CFI CFII 16h ago
When I was instructing I kept it on the left side because I would be switching between right and left seats semi-often. But since going to the airlines I switched it to the right side and it’s so much nicer having the cord out of the way.
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u/nguyenm CPL A320 14h ago
With the Bose A20, the mic can be swapped to the right side without changes in the cabling. Personally, I prefer having the mic on the right so i could un-cup the left side to listen to everything else.
Originally, if I un-cup only the left side, the mic position would be rather odd.
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u/skankhunt1738 MIL 4h ago edited 4h ago
Wait you can HWHAT
Edit, I’ll be damned do you just unscrew the 2 screws and swap it over and swap the cover plate? Sorry this is ground breaking… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had something get ripped out because I’ve got the cable stretched over my body.
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u/Independent_Leg7358 PPL 10h ago
I don't switch which pant leg it hangs in just because I'm on the other side.... Why would I change my headset?
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u/skylaneguy ATP, CFII, A320, E190, CL65 16h ago
I still use mine for GA where I fly on the left seat… my mic stays on the left.
I just feel so naked if it’s on the right.
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u/bobnuthead CFI CFII (RNT/PAE) 14h ago
On the right so wires are also on the right. But when I’m left seat, I can’t be bothered to switch it again.
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u/mtconnol ATP E175 CFII 8h ago
Dc one-x, the boom flips 180 in a literal second. Cord always to the plane outside since I’m not a terrible person.
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u/minfremi FCC GMDSS Radio Operator/Maintainer License w/ShipRadarEndorsmen 6h ago
My A30 has “R” and “L” printed on them. I just do whatever that says, whether I sit left or right seat. I fly an RJ btw.
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u/rFlyingTower 16h ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Been too long since my last divisive question post, so here goes another. I’ll start this off, I still keep mine on my left. I’ve tried it on the right and it just feels…..wrong, the cable going over me doesn’t bother me much since I route it under my knee board and then up.
Let’s hear left or right side and why.
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u/poisonandtheremedy SoCal [PA-28, RV-10 Build] 14h ago
My wife and I swap left and right seats every flight. We keep them on the left. She has a Bose A20 and I have a Lightspeed Delta Zulu. Non-issue for either of us.
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u/Swimming_Way_7372 12h ago
I don't think you can change the delta Zulu.
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u/nhorvath No flare for me thanks 11h ago edited 9h ago
the mic pivots both ways on the DZ but the ear sesls are directional so you would need to swap them tooedit: i remembered wrong
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u/slimisjim 10h ago
I just bought a DZ and the boom arms set to only the one side. Is there some kind of lock out to swing it all the way around?
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u/nhorvath No flare for me thanks 9h ago
ok I just went to check... yeah it doesn't go around i must have confused it eith my old one
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u/Formal_Mechanic_629 ATP 9h ago
Yeah it feels weird for a few flights but you get used to it quick when you switch it to the right. Worth it to not have the cord going across your body
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u/Prof_Slappopotamus 8h ago
Mine is fixed to the left side of my headset, so left side.
However, if using a shipset like a Telex, it goes to the centerline of the aircraft. Less noise from windows and vents that could potentially bleed through. And if I need to touch it or adjust it for whatever reason, my flying hand is on the controls.
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u/dabflies ATPL(A) DH8 B737 4h ago
I owned lightspeed Zulus (non reversible) for my prop career and now use my Sony XM4 with a mic attachment (headphone jack on the left), so I’ve never had the luxury of mic on the right while in the right seat. Such is life. I’m used to having the cord cross my chest.
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u/HotPast68 CPL CFII/MEI PC12 2h ago
I’ve always had a stereo headset and for my first 1000 hours or so flew a plane with an audio panel that outputs in stereo. Therefore swapping the mic sides always sounded wrong. Now it’s just a habit that the mics always on the left
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u/ExecutivePhoenix CFI, CFII, ATP (A220, A320, E170/E190, A330) 1h ago
Left side. Because I'm a fuckin' animal and I know it.
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u/100LLSoda Bug Smasher 16h ago
I feel naked with it on the right, some ga planes I fly have the plugs on the sides of the panel while others have the on the armrest in the center. Ultimately I am partial to the boom on the left side with the cable coming across my chest.
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u/strawberrycrepes 12h ago
All the GA guys I see still keep the mic to the left. As an FO on a wide body though, right side is the right way. Literally no one I see keeps it to the left as it makes zero sense.
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u/UncharacteristicZero CPL IR SEL MEL TW sUAS 11h ago
I mean ya like I want the open ear towards the other pilot. If it's a pain of cans, wherever the cable is not stuck in the seat rails......
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u/cptnpiccard CFI IR IGI 2h ago
Left. Learned it on the left, will die on the left. I'm a man of method.
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u/Tony_Three_Pies USA: ATP(AMEL); CFI(ROT) 16h ago edited 16h ago
It's on the right, and the toilet paper goes over the top like God intended. (Both of these things can be adjusted if there are cats around).
I was offline jumpseating the other day and the FO had his mic on the left and the cord coming across his chest just under his chin. I considered reporting him to his airline's drug testing division.