I use “magic” button on audio panel. I simply inform my passengers that I won’t be able to hear them for certain period of time and I disconnect myself during takeoff (until the moment I decide it’s ok to return) and during the approach and landing (usually I return after exiting runway once I get taxi instructions). The exception is when I fly with my wife, not because she’s my wife 
but because she knows the drill.
I tend to forget to turn off the ISOLATE or PILOT mode. So it is sometimes well into the cruise, after the passengers have not dared to interrupt me because of my pax briefing about not disturbing the captain until some time after take-off, that someone will tap me carefully on my shoulder and point to their headset.
Usually my pax are wife, adult sons or pilot friends, and they know the drill (mostly), so no need to isolate them. But with not-so-frequent pax, most recently a trip in a Piper Lance with a full cabin, I use the isolate mode, and then apparently I enjoy the silence too much, and forget it.
My view is that “isolation” is better done by telling people that you won’t be talking to them during these phases, rather than (except for children) switching them off on the intercom
Agree. More social and pleasant.
My view is that “isolation” is better done by telling people that you won’t be talking to them during these phases, rather than (except for children) switching them off on the intercom
Agree. More social and pleasant.
But in that case you require them to be silent and not to communicate between themselves which is neither social nor pleasant. By isolating yourself, after letting them know, they know that they are free to talk without being able to distract you which definitely improves passenger experience. IMO that’s better then requiring them being silent which increases tension in cockpit.
Peter wrote:
My view is that “isolation” is better done by telling people that you won’t be talking to them during these phases, rather than (except for children) switching them off on the intercom
Possible with one pax on board. But not so with children or more than one pax.
