February 2005
Cirrus SR20
Subscribers Only The new century’s aviation success story hits the used market. Look for good buys on relatively recent models.
Ancient Avionics
Subscribers Only If you’re flying a navcomm museum, it may be time to stop pouring money into older boxes. Here are guidelines on what’s serviceable and what’s not.
Sigma-Tek’s New Pump
Subscribers Only In a novel approach, it uses a piston instead of carbon vanes.
PDAs for Aviation
Subscribers Only Aviation apps for Palm and Windows Mobile systems abound. Here’s a review and analysis of what we think are the top drawer picks.
SureCheck Micro
Subscribers Only At $299, this traffic minder sees most of the traffic most of the time. But truly paranoid pilots may want more sophisticated performance.
The Over/Under Game
Subscribers Only After the wreck, it’ll be too late to consider whether your hull value is too high or too low. Here’s how to get it just right.
14-Day Oil Shootout
Subscribers Only In our brutal salt-mist test, Exxon Elite and Aeroshell 15W50 were best at stopping rust. CamGuard additive improved performance of all the oils.
Letters: 02/05
Battery Notes The conclusions in your battery review in the December issue were right on: Alkalines in the headset and ANRs and Ni-MH in the constant-use GPS. I’ve had a problem with Duracells over the past many years, where I can count on one battery in 10 leaking. On the NiMHs, some are now purporting to deliver 2000 ma/hour or more, up from 1500, which will skew your curve even more in favor of these. But, as noted, self-discharge is phenomenal. I’ve been using the Rayovac rechargeable alkalines since they first came out. My experience says you’ll be doing well if you get 20 cycles out of them, compared to your guess of 50, and those last few cycles will be short-l...
First Word: 02/05
[IMGCAP(1)] Cirrus and Unintended Consequences In this month’s issue is something entirely new: the first Used Aircraft Guide on Cirrus airplanes. Although it seems like only yesterday, the Cirrus SR20 has been on the market for six years and owners have been turning them over in the used market for quite some time. As we report, used SR20s generally appear to be good buys; for under $200,000—well under, perhaps—you can have a nearly new, well-equipped airframe. A recent issue of Trade-A-Plane had about 15 Cirrus aircraft listed, including a 2000 model SR20 with 670 hours for $180,000. Just for comparison, the same sum buys a late 1980s Mooney 252, an early 1980s F33A Bonanza o...