Has anyone tried it?
Obviously instructors and students have been doing it, in many cases.
I tried it today, solo, and an FFP3 mask pretty well blocks the sound. It does work but only just.
The “silly” masks work fine but they provide the wearer with no inhalation protection. They just keep down the droplet emission.
A regular surgical mask works fine but the mic needs to be inside the mask.
I have instructed with a normal surgical mask and the mike of my Clarity Aloft was perfectly readable outside of the mask. No problems at all.
One of the trainees had a FFP3 and he was very understandable, too. He used a DC passive headset.
It is done a lot in clubs here.
I was mostly worried by the fog on my glasses but didn’t have any.
Mike is out of the mask but we were in uncontrolled airspace and we had little radio interactions.
I wore an FFP2 mask on a flight with an FI back in April. The only problem was getting foggy glasses initially, but this resolved itself after readjusting the mask.
Disagree about the mic. You can use a mic normally with the mask on. The FI wore a cloth mask and was perfectly understandable as well.
My glasses fog up immediately when I wear a mask. Fortunately I have not yet been required to wear one when instructing. Before I can fly with a mask I have to find a solution to the foggy glasses, maybe some contraption resembling a nose clamp or a special type of mask. “Readjusting” has not done it for me.
My glasses fog up with any mask – even the FFP3 one but that’s because it doesn’t fit properly and leaks around the nose 
I haven’t yet been able to solve the FFP3 mask leaks; I think the 3 types I bought a few of each all need modding.
If you can get a proper seal around the nose it won’t steam up glasses.
Same problem when skiing with a buff; glasses steam up badly until one gets some forward motion.
In our club we have been flying with masks since mid-March and there are zero issues. Most of us use the ordinary surgical ones (I do). Just do three things:
- clamp the metal strip as closely to your nose as possible
- wear your glasses on top of said strip
- aim the cabin vent at your face to keep the glasses from fogging
I have the mic on top of the mask, again, zero issues and that’s in L.A. airspace where you do more talking to ATC than actually flying the airplane ;-))
Surgical teams have been wearing masks for decades – and they manage to still see what they are doing and communicate heavily with each other. It’s all a question of getting used to.
We sure have to get used to it (but at least in Germany one gets practice as one has to wear the mask in any enclosed public place anyways) especially those of us with glasses – but flying with a surgical mask in general is not an issue at all.
