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Even though there are a lot of girl pilots at my school, where I would say at least one quarter of students are women and there are lots of female flight instructors, aviation still is very male dominated.   I was ready to buy a headset, which my instructor encouraged me to do so sooner rather than later.  Buying a headset should be your first purchase as a pilot, and it is your most important purchase.

Flying with my pink ANR headset from Powder Puff Pilot.

Flying with my pink ANR headset from Powder Puff Pilot.

Your ears are very important and you have to take steps to protect your hearing – small propeller driven planes are very loud and over time exposure to these loud noises can damage your hearing. As well, you need to be comfortable and not strain your hearing when talking to your instructor, ATC, or other pilots.
I found an ad for a store that sells pilot stuff for girls, and I was impressed by the uniqueness of the concept.  When I saw a headset that was pink, and even though I’m a complete tomboy I liked the idea of having something “girly” in the male-dominated flying world.  So I went for it. The headset is actually very good quality, which was my number one criteria. The fact that it was girly was an added bonus.
The headsets come with two options, either passive noise reduction (PNR) or active noise reduction (ANR).  The PNR only reduces noise using the insulated gel cups while the ANR actually uses attenuation to actively reduce noise, and requires a battery. I chose the ANR model for maximum noise reduction.
I am very happy with the products I’ve purchased and whenever I have had an issue, they have excellent service and get back to me right away. They stand behind their products.
Flight bag and seat cushion

Flight bag and seat cushion

They also sell lots of other gear, such as flight bags, clothing, accessories, watches and they also have a seat cushion which is my absolute favorite item.  I check back regularly to see if anything new is added. My seat cushion gets a lot of comments! It is bright pink, memory foam and very comfortable.  It has two non-slip strips on one side so it doesn’t slide around in the airplane seat.
My current instructor (a guy!) teases me to no end about my girly pilot gear. Is some of the stuff is cheesy? Maybe. Cute? Definitely.  Check them out, great gifts for female aviators, aspiring aviators, and young aviators.
These products are available for purchase in our store.
 

Alicja Gados

I was born in Europe (Poland) and moved to Calgary as a young kid and grew up in Canada. I began graduate school in Edmonton, Alberta where I also began ground school and my private pilot’s license training at Edmonton city centre, the now closed, Blatchford field, CYXD (most operators have moved a short way west to Villeneuve). I moved to the rocky mountains, I transferred flight schools to very busy, and windy Springbank airport – CYBW near Calgary. This move was overwhelming, at best. This is a blog about my experience learning to fly, acquiring more flight experience and ratings but also about general aviation topics, news and gear reviews. I’ve discovered that flying takes a lot of studying, work and dedication, but is very rewarding! I started flying just out of graduate school, so I have struggled with paying for my lessons, and as a result, I have to take many breaks, which means that getting licensed has taken many more hours than normal. I am a commercial and multi IFR rated licensed pilot. I completed my PPL and CPL in Calgary-Springbank and multi IFR (group one) ratings in Abbotsford, BC at Chinook Helicopters. If you are learning to fly, interested in learning to fly or just interested in aviation, please join us. I trained as an economist before becoming a pilot and switching to aviation full time. I enjoy climbing, mountaineering, hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. It’s a great time to be in aviation. The industry is growing.

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