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Bonehead Composites Helmets

TXFlyGuy

Well Known Member
Anyone here wearing a helmet from Bonehead? Like, or dislike?
There are many options, especially with the headset.

What say you?
 
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Bonehead

I've been using their helmets for years in the skydiving world and can't speak highly enough about their helmets and support.

I don't have any experience with their aviation helmets but I highly doubt you could go wrong.
 
Good service

I am having good luck with a PilotX model from Boneheads. They steered me away from a more expensive model when I mentioned it was for an RV8 and I am 6'-3". The lack of a 'knob' on top could make a difference on scratching the canopy. The ANR is the way I went and works well. Very personable and efficient business. :)
 
I am having good luck with a PilotX model from Boneheads. They steered me away from a more expensive model when I mentioned it was for an RV8 and I am 6'-3". The lack of a 'knob' on top could make a difference on scratching the canopy. The ANR is the way I went and works well. Very personable and efficient business. :)

Thanks! My cockpit is extremely noisy (think P-51), and a friend who owns a real Mustang told me that ANR headsets are pretty much useless with that much ambient noise.

I have noticed that even with a good set of David Clark headsets, the engine and exhaust noise is so loud that it is picked up over the intercom system and you hear it in your ears.
 
I have a bonehead pilotx headset I used in a very loud biplane for 3 years.

With the CEP ear buds and ear muffs the helmet made the sound reasonable. It is very comfortable and light so it does well with aerobatics. I did my own CEP installation as I wanted a stereo setup.

I tried Clarity aloft and that was the best headset. The helmet was quieter. I preferred it and the extra protection it offered.

I'd recommend the PilotX and would buy it again.
 
Thanks! My cockpit is extremely noisy (think P-51), and a friend who owns a real Mustang told me that ANR headsets are pretty much useless with that much ambient noise.

All true.
I have two HGU-55 helmets. One has ANR and the other has CEP.
In a loud warbird I also find the ANR can be overwhelmed. I notice it at take off power but once you reduce to climb or cruise it works fine. The aircraft has to be pretty darn loud for that to happen though. I have not experienced that in quieter warbirds (T-6) and I suspect in the RV it would work just fine. If I am alone in the aircraft I will wear foam ear plugs and then the ANR helmet. If there are two of you, you either have to both wear foam plugs or neither. You can't mix because the intercom/radios need to be turned up loud enough that it is annoying for the non-plug wearer.
The CEP is an in ear plug just like the Clarity Aloft set up and works well. You have the in ear plug plus the passive reduction of the helmet itself.
 
ANR

I was an early adopter of ANR in my helmet. Flying very noisy helicopters like an S64 Skycrane. The ANR system was not up to the task then, got better over the years. I have moved to the CEP system for the last 4 or 5 thousand hours and would never go back. I suspect that a current top-of-the-line ANR system would work in most any RV, however. Note that I have never used a headset with either system, only helmets.
 
I've been using a Gunar helmet with a Halo headset underneath for several years and like it a lot. I have tried to build a mic & speakers into the helmet using motorcycle components with an adaptor to aircraft headset specs, so far without much success. Bonehead now provide a kit, but it is quite expensive.
Pete
 
So the CEP is a good option, an "in ear" plug?
Bonehead says these are good, but I have no experience with them. Are they comfortable, for extended wear...3 to 4 hours?

I might like the foam EAR plugs with a standard headset along with the helmet.
 
I have two HGU-55 helmets. One has ANR and the other has CEP.

I went the alternate route; had my HGU-55 modified with both ANR cups and CEP plugs. Best of both worlds, works really well in the noisy stuff, aka, T-28s. I've worn the CEP plugs for several hours at a time, no problem with comfort, just like having a set of Halos plugged in.

I have not experienced that in quieter warbirds (T-6)...

T-6, quiet? Daaaang, what's the really noisy stuff you fly? Mustangs? Last year I was flying a B-17 northbound out of Sun n Fun, had a P-51 beating us up a bit. That Merlin was so loud that on one of his passes I could hear his noise over the sound of 4 R-1820's and my ANR headset. And I'm kinda sorta deaf!
 
TXFlyGuy

The CEP system uses replaceable foam earplug tips, threaded onto a small audio transducer (speaker). I find them comfortable for all day use. You may have a bit of a "comfort" curve, but when you get used to them they are great. Used in conjunction with a helmet they are very nearly as good as an ANR system, without the hassle of batteries and such. The ear tips (foam) are good for multiple uses, and when they need replacing it takes all of two minutes to do so.

They are effective, and you will end up using the lowest of volume levels on a typical audio panel. In an aircraft that you fly all the time it is not an issue, but you will very quickly learn to initially turn the audio down in unfamiliar aircraft. I guess this is because we do not recognize how much volume we use to overcome the ambient noise with "normal" headsets.

While I cannot comment on your question concerning this particular helmet, I heartily commend the CEP to your use. It is good stuff.
 
Sure.

We are using an GUH-68P without ANR. In our 8A if you push the throttle up full the sound will overload the mice and the audio. What we did was get the Hush kits from Gibson & Barns and install them with a new noise canceling mice. This makes for a better sound reduction inside the helmet shell. I now fine that it is when I make a high speed run that the wind noise is great enough to trip the mice and feed back into the audio. It only lasts as long as I hold the throttle up full and the air speed up high. When we drop the throttle bellow 80% and the speed bleeds back off a little the audio goes back below the squelch limit. I talked to the guy from up at Flight Helmets.com this year up at OSKH and he is retrofitting helmets with the Boase X system. I do not know how well this works and his price is almost the cost of a new GHU-55 by itself. For us we do not have any sound proofing in the 8, so over time I know that this will get better as we install panels and felt seals. I fly it both ways, with the helmet and with standard head sets of a few brand names. I think the helmet is a better sound deadener, but it does get hot in the summer time when you are down low or on the ramp. The good mil. spect. Skull Caps help, but you need two or three so you can wash one as you rotate to another fresh one. Hope this helps. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888
 
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