Aviation Consumer

Cessna 172 Hawk XP

Subscribers Only A bigger engine and more speed make the Hawk XP a favorite among owners bored by the standard 172.

Oshkosh Diary

Subscribers Only Primary flight displays are hot. Cirrus, Lancair and Diamond will soon have all glass cockpits as an option.

DIY Headset Upgrade

Subscribers Only Oregon Aero’s upgrade kits add comfort and better acoustics to an old clunker of a headset.

A Flood of Datalink

Subscribers Only Don’t look now, but there are nearly a dozen systems to pick from. The satellite broadcast options look best to us.

A Bad Start

Subscribers Only A string of accidents has given Cirrus a poor initial safety record. One insurer is balking and others are watching.

Garmin’s GPS 196

Subscribers Only No fancy color this time but this navigator has a flight display page that could bail you out of a no-gyro situation.

Letters: 09/02

Cellular Comments We greatly appreciated your excellent article on satellite and cellular communications for pilots in the June issue of Aviation Consumer. As we prepared for the flight of the New Spirit of St. Louis, we initially planned to use Iridium equipment primarily as a substitute for heavier and less reliable HF communications over the ocean. However, during our domestic test flights and transcontinental flights, we quickly became convinced of the tremendous utility satellite communication offers all pilots. We were so impressed with the Iridium unit and services that we acquired through Blue Sky Network, of LaJolla, California, (