Aviation Consumer

Oshkosh Diary

Subscribers Only As usual, high-tech avionics rule but the show was rich with new airframe and powerplant initiatives.

Piper Comanche

Subscribers Only A radical departure for its day, the PA-24 still holds its own. It’s a favorite for mods and state-of-the-art upgrades.

Graphical Monitors

Subscribers Only We think JPI makes the best of the best engine monitors but models from EI are competitive if data logging isn’t a must.

The Right Oil Filter

Subscribers Only The new and improved Champion filters edge out of Kelly’s new offerings, in our estimation.

I’m Cancelled?

Subscribers Only Following a major claim or two, your insurer may decline to renew you. Here’s how to improve your odds.

Silver Crown Shines

Subscribers Only The market is flooded with decent KX155s. Don’t overlook the value of using one for the number two slot.

Budget-Savvy Upgrades

Subscribers Only For some owners, investing half the airplane’s value in new radios might make sense. But you can still get more for less.

Letters: 09/04

Tire Talk While I do not have anything to dispute your tire testing (see The Aviation Consumer, June 2004), let me relate some anecdotal information about our experience with several of your test subjects. A friend and I were running a flight school in Indiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We started with one Cessna 150 and grew to nine. We also had several Cessna 172s, a Cardinal, a 177RG and several Cherokees. We decided to do an informal study on tire wear to try to determine which tire made the most landings for the least money. We asked each user of our fleet to note the number of landings on each sortie in the aircraft time log. We had access to the Goody...

First Word: 09/04

Web Wars Some years ago, my editorial predecessor, the late Dick Weeghman and I shared a good laugh over what can best be described as conditional perception. Being in the business of reviewing aviation products and picking winners and losers, we noticed a certain pattern in the way companies react to our product reviews when quoting the magazine in advertisements. This is perfectly predictable but still amusing, at least to us. If we happened to like the product in question, the company’s ad would describe Aviation Consumer as “the respected, independent voice” in general aviation. You could almost hear the brass fanfare in the background. The gravitas could be stifling.