AIM 1100 series gyro, left, is better built and ûmore resistant to vibration than the R.C. Allen ûmode, right.

We sometimes chuckle at the amount and kind of redundant systems many owners put into their single-engine aircraft; dual everything but only one engine. We’re often surprised at the logic of the average IFR operator, too.

Worst case scenario: A single-engine airplane equipped with the latest autopilot, multiple GPS map system—plus a portable back-up—launches into the lowest of the low weather and the vacuum pump fails, as does the back-up pump. It happens more than we like to admit.

As one well-equipped Bonanza owner puts it, “If I had $10,000 in my pocket during an in-flight equipment emergency, I’d pay it in a second to bail me out.” …