EyeInTheSky
Veteran
Posted on Mon, Jan. 05, 2004
FARE GUY
Charlotte inventor eases troubled ears
Plane Quiet headphones electronically block noise
TED REED
Troubled by noise on airplanes? A Charlotte entrepreneur has developed a solution.
Plane Quiet headphones don't just block sounds by muffling the ears; they also electronically create an anti-sound wave that blocks noise. They are the creation of Dave Dillinger, a laid-off US Airways pilot who lives in Fort Mill.
"Noise is the single most fatiguing thing that can happen to you on an airplane," said Dillinger, who has sold about 6,000 headphones at $79.99 each since he began producing them in May.
The airline industry's increasing reliance on regional jets also has helped sales, since small jets are typically nosier than late-model large ones.
Dillinger was laid off from US Airways in November 2002 after 15 years as a pilot. With a degree in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, he went to work full-time at Outside The Box, the Pineville-based company he had set up a year earlier to find opportunities in the personal travel business. Its Web site is outsidetheboxgroup.com.
Headphones were among his first ideas. Massachusetts-based audio company Bose Corp. also makes noise-reduction headphones, but its newest model is priced at $299.
"We designed ours to compete against the high-end product," Dillinger said. His headsets, which have the fit of high-quality audio headsets, are designed in the United States and made in China.
A side benefit to noise reduction headphones is that they can be used on airplanes to access the sound systems for music and movies. The Bose headsets are superior to Plane Quiet's when it comes to audio fidelity but probably not worth the $220 difference, said Anita Dunham-Potter, a former US Airways flight attendant who edits travel newsletter AnitaVacation.com. and who tried both products.
Noise-reduction headsets "won't block out conversation, phone or keyboard strokes, (but) it will block out the fan, air conditioning and lawn mower noise," Dunham-Potter said.
"Noise has always been a problem on airplanes, but until you put these headphones on, you don't realize how bad it is," she added.
Most of Dillinger's headphones are sold online, but Charlotte-based Sharon Luggage sells them at its shops, primarily the one in Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.
"I tried (Plane Quiet) out on one of my trips, and it did reduce the amount of noise in the cabin (and) make it more enjoyable to travel," said Logan Howe, a buyer for Sharon Luggage.
Since early summer, Sharon Luggage has sold 30 to 40 of the headsets. Outside The Box had 2003 revenues of about $500,000, Dillinger said.
In fact, headphones were Dillinger's second idea. His first was a germ-resistant airplane blanket. The fiber in the blanket has a texture so smooth that bacteria fungus can't bond with it. About a half dozen small airlines have bought blankets, but the major airlines don't seem interested, perhaps because they are cutting back on blanket stocks and haven't been ordering new ones.
Ted Reed
FARE GUY
Charlotte inventor eases troubled ears
Plane Quiet headphones electronically block noise
TED REED
Troubled by noise on airplanes? A Charlotte entrepreneur has developed a solution.
Plane Quiet headphones don't just block sounds by muffling the ears; they also electronically create an anti-sound wave that blocks noise. They are the creation of Dave Dillinger, a laid-off US Airways pilot who lives in Fort Mill.
"Noise is the single most fatiguing thing that can happen to you on an airplane," said Dillinger, who has sold about 6,000 headphones at $79.99 each since he began producing them in May.
The airline industry's increasing reliance on regional jets also has helped sales, since small jets are typically nosier than late-model large ones.
Dillinger was laid off from US Airways in November 2002 after 15 years as a pilot. With a degree in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, he went to work full-time at Outside The Box, the Pineville-based company he had set up a year earlier to find opportunities in the personal travel business. Its Web site is outsidetheboxgroup.com.
Headphones were among his first ideas. Massachusetts-based audio company Bose Corp. also makes noise-reduction headphones, but its newest model is priced at $299.
"We designed ours to compete against the high-end product," Dillinger said. His headsets, which have the fit of high-quality audio headsets, are designed in the United States and made in China.
A side benefit to noise reduction headphones is that they can be used on airplanes to access the sound systems for music and movies. The Bose headsets are superior to Plane Quiet's when it comes to audio fidelity but probably not worth the $220 difference, said Anita Dunham-Potter, a former US Airways flight attendant who edits travel newsletter AnitaVacation.com. and who tried both products.
Noise-reduction headsets "won't block out conversation, phone or keyboard strokes, (but) it will block out the fan, air conditioning and lawn mower noise," Dunham-Potter said.
"Noise has always been a problem on airplanes, but until you put these headphones on, you don't realize how bad it is," she added.
Most of Dillinger's headphones are sold online, but Charlotte-based Sharon Luggage sells them at its shops, primarily the one in Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.
"I tried (Plane Quiet) out on one of my trips, and it did reduce the amount of noise in the cabin (and) make it more enjoyable to travel," said Logan Howe, a buyer for Sharon Luggage.
Since early summer, Sharon Luggage has sold 30 to 40 of the headsets. Outside The Box had 2003 revenues of about $500,000, Dillinger said.
In fact, headphones were Dillinger's second idea. His first was a germ-resistant airplane blanket. The fiber in the blanket has a texture so smooth that bacteria fungus can't bond with it. About a half dozen small airlines have bought blankets, but the major airlines don't seem interested, perhaps because they are cutting back on blanket stocks and haven't been ordering new ones.
Ted Reed
