Hello! I don't know if anyone has brought this up before, but I'll take a stab at it.Do GA pilots listen to music in the cockpit during flight? I figure that, with the workloada pilot deals with in general, listening to music while in flight would be a distraction.But, I really don't know.Thanks!Alan

Hello! I don't know if anyone has brought this up before, but I'll take a stab at it.Do GA pilots listen to music in the cockpit during flight? I figure that, with the workloada pilot deals with in general, listening to music while in flight would be a distraction.But, I really don't know.Thanks!Alan

We have an xm radio subscription, and the intercom can be set up to automatically mute when atc or voice is used. That being said, I don't use it much but one of my partners does.

Hello(!),I'm not a GA pilot but am taking a few lessons hopefully towards my PPL. In the last lesson the instructor had the radio on most of the time. We weren't really up to much, just went flying around and back mainly so there wasn't that much workload. Of course the radio was pretty quiet and he also had the radar controller radio giving traffic advisories.Personally I thought it was pretty nice to listen to.Pierre.

We have an xm radio subscription, and the intercom can be set up to automatically mute when atc or voice is used. That being said, I don't use it much but one of my partners does.

Geoff,Thanks for the reply! You know, it was just one of those things I always wondered about, and wasn't sure if it was acceptable to do or was strictly taboo.Appreciate the hard work you folks put in to make our experience that much more entertaining and meaningful!Alan

Hello(!),I'm not a GA pilot but am taking a few lessons hopefully towards my PPL. In the last lesson the instructor had the radio on most of the time. We weren't really up to much, just went flying around and back mainly so there wasn't that much workload. Of course the radio was pretty quiet and he also had the radar controller radio giving traffic advisories.Personally I thought it was pretty nice to listen to.Pierre.Pierre,Thanks for the reply! I would think listening to some would be relaxing on a x- country to pass the time from one leg to the other.Good luck towards your PPL! Alan

One thing I used to do before we had xm was turn the identifier on the adf and tune to a local radio station-just like having an am radio in your car.

Back when I was crewing helos, I would tune in local SoCal AM stations. Pilots didn't care and could even turn off the radio to their headsets if they wanted (at least 4 separate radio control panels for aircrew and pilots). I could listen to that and the UHF and listen in to what the tower or other controllers were saying. The joys of flying for work. :D

Does the rules that went into effect after the NWA incident overshooting their destination, prohibiting items like laptops that distract from performance of the flight, also affect GA pilots, or is it only the commercial pilots?

I would imagine that people wouldn't do that, however as we have seen, I guess sometimes people will do it.

Folks,Thanks for the replies! I guess it's up to the individual pilots whether or not listening to music in the cockpit is a good thing or not. What those NWA pilots did though was strange, and also a pretty serious breach of procedure.

One thing I used to do before we had xm was turn the identifier on the adf and tune to a local radio station-just like having an am radio in your car.

That's pretty much what my instructors used to do. When I was flying solo, I only tuned in to the station, identified it (which made the station audible), and then I would silence it. It is advisable though, to constantly identify NDB stations (especially on approach) since they don't show a fail flag. Got a story about that, he :( Essentially, you could do it (and quite an amount of people does it!); however, from my own opinion, I do not encourage it. Doesn't matter if you're flying GA, which I actually find a bit challenging, since you don't have as much possibilities as in an airliner (i.e. Pressurization, high thrust/power capabilities). If you're flying a single-engine, and the radio is loud enough and you get distracted, you may not be able to hear that weird engine noise that could give you a hint that something is not working properly. Suddenly, some minutes later, you may find yourself on a 2000-ish lbs glider with a loud station playing music in the background, which will take precious time and focus away from you in the moment you need it the most. Trust me; been there, done that, got the t-shirt.By the way...

Does the rules that went into effect after the NWA incident overshooting their destination, prohibiting items like laptops that distract from performance of the flight, also affect GA pilots, or is it only the commercial pilots?

Legally, AFAIK, it is only for commercial pilots, but in the end, we're all pilots, so why shouldn't we learn from others (stupid, in the NWA case) mistakes?

I listen to my iPod through my aux input on my Lightspeed ZULU headset when I fly cross country.I flew this one Mooney where the owner had a XM receiver built into the panel and tied it in the audio system, it was kind of annoying when you're on the VHF radio though, everytime there was a transmission XM would cut off so you could hear what's being said. Probably better when you are flying at night and less aircraft in the air.

More years ago than I'll admit, I used to tune the ADF to local radio stations and listen to music that way.Bob

Does the rules that went into effect after the NWA incident overshooting their destination, prohibiting items like laptops that distract from performance of the flight, also affect GA pilots, or is it only the commercial pilots?

I have yet to see a FAR that specifically targets laptops as being prohibited from flight ops. That last 121/125/135 modified FAR on portable electronic devices states it is up to the 119 cert holder to make the decision. Other than that it is up to the PIC to determine if something in the cockpit will hinder the safety of flight. All of our crews use a tablet or laptop with JeppView and EFO software during flight. We are pt. 91 but I have seen the same on pt.135 and pt. 125 ops. Can't comment on tablets with pt. 121 since it didn't exist back when. As for the radio, XM/Sirius is a Godsend for long flights but our SOP requires they are off inside the terminal area below 10k and then get shutoff 50nm from the destination. However, for the FAA's rules I can keep the radio on at all times as long as it doesn't impede the safety of flight.I do miss the old AM on the ADF though.