Lightspeed Introduces Tango, Its New Wireless Headset

Aircraft-headset maker Lightspeed introduced Tango, a wireless, active-noise-reducing (ANR) headset, to the rotorcraft industry on Tuesday at Heli-Expo 2016.

Tango uses a proprietary wireless connection developed by Lightspeed engineers. Called Lightspeed Link, the technology is neither Bluetooth nor Wi-Fi (although Tango does have Bluetooth to connect with cellphones and tablets). Link uses existing technologies that were chosen for both their signal reliability and their audio quality in the aviation environment. The connection is robust enough to handle six Tango headsets in the same aircraft.

Tango’s rechargeable lithium-ion battery is another Lightspeed first, explained Teresa De Mars, executive v-p of sales and marketing. The batteries can deliver up to 12 hours of continuous operation, and they are recharged with the Tango dual-port charger to 75 percent power in less than an hour and to full charge in two hours.

Following FCC approval of Tango, LightSpeed Aviation (Booth 9233) started shipping the headsets to customers in November; to date the company has sold more than 2,000 of the $800 (retail) headsets.