Headset Jacks

One of the thigns I do when I'm sitting in the cockpit making airplane noises is try to figure out where to install stuff. One of my many beefs with the Pipers, Cessnas, Bellancas, etc. that I've flown is that I don't like to have a lapful of cables. The headset jacks for most airplanes are in the panel. That pretty much condemns you to having bunch of cables lying around. After much thought and mocking up of various alternatives, I decided to put them behind the crew's outboard elbows, on the armrests. They're far enough aft that you can't possibly hit them with your elbow. You can't reach them in flight, either, but that's a small price to pay for having them out of the way. I figure either the headsets will stay with the airplane (a painful choice in winter...those earpieces get cold...and turn to stone) or they can be plugged in before boarding.

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I also took the time to paint the cabin. I'm not sure which parts will be covered with insulation, but this seemed a good time to do it. Apologies to the purists...Rustoleum rattle can for me! That's the headset jack panel waaaay back there.

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The other reason to put them out of the way is that my current headset, like that of many of my future passengers, has a battery and electronics module that needs a home. It's part of the noise-cancelling system. I figure with this location for that jack, it can go on the floor outboard of the seat without getting in the way.

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Of course the rudder cable is there...I'll need to make sure the headset cords don't get tangled in them.

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The higher-end intercoms or audio panels do an automatic stereo/mono detect. The lower end ones don't, and this switch is there because I have not yet chosen my intercom. When set to MONO, it simply connects both earpieces to the same left channel. The STEREO position is there to remind me of one of the many interesting jobs I've had

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This shows that the headset jacks are almost in the baggage compartment. Eventually, I'll place the intercom cable a bit more thoughfully. Right now it's just roughly routed so that I could cut it to the right lenght.