AVIATION HEADSET CONNECTORS

Dual Male Plugs - Fixed Wing

For most of the fixed wing (airplane) crowd, you'll be best served with the standard dual male plugs. These are known as the PJ-055 (.25 inch / 6.35mm) and PJ-068 (.206 inch / 5.25mm) plugs. The PJ-055 provides audio to the ear cups and the PJ-068 is for your microphone. These plugs will work in almost all civilian and commercial airplanes, even when other options might work as well. If you're in doubt, these are generally a safe bet. The PJ-055 is also known as the M642/4-1 and the PJ-068 is also known as the M642/5-1.

Single Male Plug - Helicopter

If you fly helicopters you'll most likely be looking for a headset with a single plug. It's slightly shorter and fatter than either of the fixed wing plugs. This single plug (7.1 mm / 0.281 inch diameter) provides both microphone and audio to the ear cups. It's generally known as a U-174/U plug or the U-93A/U plug (Nexus TP120).

Panel Powered / Redel / LEMO Connector Plug

If you own an aircraft, or you fly something like a Cirrus or a newer Beechcraft, you might find a 6-pin circular type jack in your panel. This panel power plug is called a LEMO or Redel connector and is also referred to as a "Bose Style connector". This will allow you to plug any Redel equipped ANR (Active Noise Reduction) headset directly into the panel. This single 6-pin jack will provide audio, microphone, as well as power for the ANR in the headset so you can skip the batteries. If you own an aircraft that isn't setup with a panel powered option, you can purchase the panel power headset install kit and have your avionics shop install the jack in about an hour of shop time.

Airline / Corporate

Most airline and corporate pilots will still use the standard dual male plugs shown above.

If you are flying an Airbus or select ATR aircraft you might find a single 5 pin XLR connector. This XLR connector provides power, microphone and audio to a 5-pin XLR equipped headset. We have a variety of Airbus Headsets.

You might find yourself flying aircraft that can supply power through the microphone tip in which case you could use either a standard dual plug headset or something like the Sennheiser HMEC-26-KP or the Telex Airman 850 to eliminate the battery requirements. Because the options for Airline and Corporate pilots can get a little more involved, we recommend that you call us at 480-556-0500 for additional questions.