In some recent photos of the team...from their Facebook posts...I've noticed the pilots have headphones in their ears.
What's the reason for this? Don't they use the headphones in their helmets?
At first I thought it was for the solos. But I've seen pics of the diamond pilots with the same headphones.
Well...off to the braintrust of the Thunderbirds knowledge base!
Thanks guys...
Pilots wearing headphones
Not uncommon for AF pilots, crew members what have you to wear ear plugs under their helmets / headsets because flying in a military aircraft is typically very loud since there isn't any sound proofing for ride comfort like on airliners and things. I have flown on RC/KC-135s, C-17s, C-5s, C-130s, none of which have I been able to carry a conversation with the guy sitting next to me without either yelling at the top of my lungs or being plugged in to comm.
Something like this:
Something like this:
The molds Capt. Riley is seen using don't look all that different from my own that I use when flying with one exception; mine are the kind mucisians use for feedback during live performances (and custom molded). The difference (assuming the ones in the photo are earplugs) would be that while they're sealing, mine have the earphones attached to the ear mold feeding sound through a small "tunnel".
I do know many pilots who use the Telex 750 lightweight headsets also use earplugs underneath, then crank the volume up so it isolates everything but the intercom and radios. I'm sure it would be very similar with a helmet.