Buying an aircraft battery used to be straightforward. Historically, there was nickel cadmium for turbines and lead acid for smaller aircraft. That has changed with the advent of lithium batteries. These days, when it’s time for a replacement (and as our survey proves, it may be sooner for some brands), take some time to determine […]
It’s a good thing that more CO detectors are showing up on the aviation market because pilots may never give carbon monoxide in the cabin the consideration it deserves. Even I had an eye-opening moment flying home from AirVenture last summer in a friend’s well-maintained Cessna and found my Aithre Shield portable monitor registering 40 […]
Upgrading to electronic flight displays and a data-hungry GPS navigator? Add a reliable GPU (ground power unit) to the budget. That’s because you’ll have the master switch on for extended periods while loading nav data, uploading flight plans and fetching engine trend data. If those chores don’t kill an otherwise healthy battery, messing around with […]
A new panel upgrade could be a few thousand dollars to the cost of a small home. But don’t forget about the ongoing costs, which include database subscriptions, firmware updates to the avionics hardware, the cost of computer hardware to support the database upgrades, database cards and your time (which for some is priceless). Avionics database […]
This September, Apple announced that its new iPhone 14 includes a satellite Emergency SOS feature. The iPhone 14 combines custom components and sensors deeply integrated with new software to allow the iPhone’s antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. In our view, this […]
Cabin fires can have catastrophic outcomes, and while rare, the risk can be greater when you factor in all of the lithium-ion-powered portable devices that get carried on the aircraft. The battery-powered stuff in my Rockwell cabin includes a SPOTx tracker, a Garmin GDL 52 portable ADS-B receiver, a Garmin inReach Mini satcomm, an iPad […]
Face it, the majority of aging general aviation cockpits just weren’t designed for the portable digital revolution. Heat has always been the enemy of solid-state electronics, including batteries. For panel avionics, internal and external fans help in fighting the premature failure of small internal components. But the heat buildup from solar radiation plays havoc on […]
Electronic logbooks eliminate the challenge of squeezing handwritten text into small boxes with limited space. They’re tough to lose and destroy, plus they can automatically do the logging for you, with digital graphics as a bonus. It’s true that paper pilot logbooks are inexpensive and for the average pilot, the books can last a lifetime. […]
Consider that between 30 and 50 percent of the value of older aircraft lies in the aircraft’s technical and journey logs. It’s not just about paper signoffs to keep the aircraft airworthy. Think about all of the time- and date-sensitive components and service events that are documented in the logs. If the logs are lost, […]
The proposed ADS-B requirements for Canadian airspace have been a moving target the past couple of years. And while ADS-B for flying south of the border is old news, Transport Canada (TC) and Nav Canada (NC) have quietly gone their own way implementing an ADS-B solution that is not entirely compatible with the technology mandated […]
While flight tracking systems (FTS) have historically been integral to air carrier and corporate flight ops, New Zealand-based Spidertracks gained traction in the GA market in 2010 with its model S3 portable satellite tracking unit. The Spidertracks is a simple concept. Utilizing aviation-grade hardware, combined with low bandwidth data connections and data delivered over satellite, […]
Portable satcom communicators are a worthy addition to the survival gear when cell coverage quits. Press the SOS button and a response center will dispatch first responders to the rescue. But today’s portable locator devices, or PLDs, take the rescue process to a better level with text capability through an app. Staying in touch with […]
