I'm going to be starting flight training soon and plan to buy a decent set of headphones. What brands/models do you guys prefer? Can they be plugged into my sound card and used for FSX too?krswen

Actually this is a good question but why do you limit it to RW pilots? I am a RW pilot and would never base my criteria of choosing headsets for FSX on my RW experience - what counts is whether the headset is affordable and made well. The realism of sounds will have little to do with the headset you get, it is primarily dependent on the simulation itself and how you tweak individual sound amplitudes.EDIT: I am beginning to think you are asking about real aviation headsets. I don't think any aviation headset can work with a PC. Sorry for misunderstanding your question. For real aviation headsets you should search this forum and/or go to other forums - this topic has been discussed many times - unfortunately there are as many opinions as pilots and the answer heavily depends what your budget is, often the more expensive the better. You may also check on the upcoming Ascend headsets from Telex which may offer interoperability you are looking for, they will probably be quite expensive however.

Actually this is a good question but why do you limit it to RW pilots? I am a RW pilot and would never base my criteria of choosing headsets for FSX on my RW experience - what counts is whether the headset is affordable and made well. The realism of sounds will have little to do with the headset you get, it is primarily dependent on the simulation itself and how you tweak individual sound amplitudes.EDIT: I am beginning to think you are asking about real aviation headsets. I don't think any aviation headset can work with a PC. Sorry for misunderstanding your question. For real aviation headsets you should search this forum and/or go to other forums - this topic has been discussed many times - unfortunately there are as many opinions as pilots and the answer heavily depends what your budget is, often the more expensive the better. You may also check on the upcoming Ascend headsets from Telex which may offer interoperability you are looking for, they will probably be quite expensive however.

There is an adaptor made called the "audiopilot adaptor" that sells for about $50 and lets you use your headset with the sim. I know nothing about it other than it exists. Google "audiopilot adaptor".I would recommend any noise cancelling set-I am partial to Lightspeed not only because I like the sets but they have a great upgrade policy every time a new model comes out. There are many good makes and models and as Michal said price will probably determine your choice. Best thing is to go to Oshkosh in the summer and go to each manufacturer booth and try, and see what you end up liking.