October 2004
Piper PA-28-235/236
Subscribers Only With a Lycoming O-540, the Charger/Pathfinder/Dakota series is an affordable airplane that will carry half a ton of payload.
Paint Scheme Help
Subscribers Only A new online design paint design service offers plenty of choices at affordable prices. Owners can customize or pick from existing schemes.
Canada Trip Kits
Subscribers Only For trips up north, Aero Training Products offers the best deal on one-time trip kits while Sporty’s is a pricier second choice.
Step-Up P-Twins
Subscribers Only Budget and pressurized twin don’t exactly go together, but Cessna’s 337 and 340 and the Beechcraft P-Baron are possibilities.
Datalink Update
Subscribers Only Just as you thought it was safe to buy, more new products arrive. Here’s a snapshot of new developments.
Garmin’s 96 Series
Subscribers Only Given a $200 difference in price, with think the color version 96C is the better choice.
Small, Cheap, Fast
Subscribers Only With turbine engines, those adjectives don’t come to mind. Innodyn’s ambitious light turboprop seeks to rewrite the equation.
Letters: 10/04
Adam and Eclipse I have already placed my bet in the light jet race with Eclipse as a deposit holder from day one. So, that in mind, I would like to comment on Rick Durden’ s article on the Adam 700. I resent the undeserved negative undertones toward the Eclipse and would like to comment as follows. The only technological breakthrough on the Eclipse is friction stir welding, which drastically cuts production costs. This provides an inspectable, repairable, nearly composite smooth aluminum airframe. That technology has already been proven in other arenas and the equipment is installed and operating at Eclipse. By stating that he thinks someone can “make money at $2.5 mill...
First Word: 10/04
Kerosene Dreams If you have any airline pilot friends, you’ve probably had this conversation: “What? You really fly IFR in a single-engine airplane? Are you nuts?” Some airline pilots own little airplanes and don’t think twice about flying IMC in them but many others believe the very notion of it is insane. Without triple-redundant electrical systems, enough bleed air to heat Indiana in January and dual flight instruments, your back-up is skin deep in a piston single. Unfortunately, they’re right. If you fly serious IMC in piston airplanes, there’s real risk. You may believe—as I do—that the risk is tolerable, but any warm feeling you get from analyzing the risk intellectuall...