January 2004
Cessna 140
Subscribers Only Cheap to buy, cheap to fly and the panache of a taildragger in one affordable package.
You Could Eat Off It
Subscribers Only Our shiny gray hangar floor, that is. But getting there isn’t easy. Descend with us into the dark vortex of epoxy hell.
Which Back-Up Is Best?
Subscribers Only Precise Flight’s SVS and the dual-chamber vacuum pump with a second vacuum gyro are top-value options.
Bendix/King KMD250
Subscribers Only A new, affordable multi-function display that does all the tricks, including traffic, weather and terrain. It looks promising.
Aviation Battery Shootout
Subscribers Only AGM technology is the way to go, in our view. For equivalent applications, Concordes outperform Gills.
Who’s Selling Twins?
Subscribers Only Piper and Beechcraft, with Diamond in the wings. There are buyers out there; maybe Cirrus and Adam should talk.
Adam’s A500 Twin
Subscribers Only The first new piston twin in years aims to take on Beech and Piper in a narrow market niche.
Letters: 01/04
WAAS Worries I enjoyed your article on the status of GPS WAAS in the November, 2003 issue. On page 18, you used the example of the GPS 32 approach at Gaithersburg, Maryland, my home base. While this demonstrates the potential benefits of WAAS, this particular approach is totally useless to civilians. That’s because you need to enter the FREEZE zone surrounding DCA VOR. My guess is that only when hell freezes over will civilian aircraft be able to enter that zone. The approach is not available at night. Look at the weird wording they use to say that on the chart: “No straight-in or circling at night.” (What else is there?) The new GPS 14 approach also uses the FREEZE...