Doug Ranly

Flight Gear Drinkware

This collection of doubled walled drinkware features a handy placard for in flight reference. Each piece was selected and used by Sporty’s team of test pilots.

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Posted in PIREPs

PIREP: Flying Eyes Sunglasses

Flying Eyes Sunglasses offer a unique combination of style and practicality. The sleek, flexible frames prioritize comfort during extended wear. Constructed from lightweight, durable materials, these sunglasses ensure you can focus on your journey without the distraction of uncomfortable eyewear. 

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Posted in PIREPs

Stereo vs Mono Headsets - what's the difference?

Buying your first headset can be confusing. There are a lot of things to consider: passive noise reduction (PNR) vs. active noise reduction (ANR), plug types, Bluetooth, aux inputs, ear seals, microphones, and finally mono vs. stereo. While we won’t tackle every subject in one blog, we will attempt to answer that age old question: Do I need a mono or stereo headset?

 

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Posted in PIREPs and Headsets

Top 10 new products of 2023 for pilots

Developing new products is the most exciting part of working at Sporty's. Whether it's something simple like designing a better kneeboard or something complicated like building a new radio, we love to find new ways to make flying safer, easier, and more fun. Our product team was busy in 2023, adding over 300 new products to sportys.com throughout the year. Here are 10 of our favorites.

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Posted in PIREPs

Adapting a LEMO panel-powered headset for use in a PJ plug aircraft

Panel-powered headsets (often called LEMO plug headsets, after the connector used) are a great way to enjoy active noise reduction but without having to worry about batteries—just plug into the panel and go flying. But what if you want to use the headsets outside of a LEMO environment? If you're flying in a plane that doesn't have a LEMO plug, you will need an adapter that could not only go from LEMO to PJ plugs, but also provide power for your ANR. Here's how it works.

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Posted in PIREPs and Headsets

Bluetooth in aviation headsets—frequently asked questions

One of the many features normally found on premium aviation headsets is Bluetooth, a wireless technology that allows two devices to communicate with each other. This is great for listening to music or making a phone call on the ground, but it can also be used to get audio alerts from your favorite electronic flight bag app. Here's how it works.

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Posted in PIREPs and Headsets

Garmin D2 Mach 1 Pro pilot watch - hands-on review

Garmin is well known in the fitness world for creating high end smartwatches for tracking all of your activities: biking, hiking, swimming, running, gym workouts, and more. And of course our favorite activity, flying, can be tracked too, using their line of D2 smartwatches. I've spent the last two weeks testing the latest model, the D2 Mach 1 Pro, and it can do it all.

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Posted in PIREPs

Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset - hands-on review

Lightspeed Aviation is known for thinking outside the box when it comes to headset innovation, and their latest product continues that tradition. The new Delta Zulu headset incorporates their best ANR technology ever, but this platform can do more than traditional aviation headsets. Everything from the ANR box to the integrated CO detector has been reengineered for maximum efficiency in the cockpit. As always, Sporty’s team of expert pilots took the new Delta Zulu for a bunch of test flights. Here's what we found.

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Posted in PIREPs and Headsets

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