Cockpit Accessories

If the FAA gives it the nod, autonomy could help sell some airplanes. More on that in a minute. As Cirrus and other manufacturers have proven, whole airplane parachutes are deal-closing accessories, especially for new pilots and skeptical passengers. This when-all-else-fails backstop has even trickled down to unsuspecting backwoods utility taildraggers, with Cubcrafters recently introducing a BRS (Ballistic Recovery System) option for its Carbon Cub and Sport Cub models. The BRS will add roughly 40 pounds to the airframe, while tacking on $14,000 to the price. Its also available for retrofit.

Ive been a fan of Rosen visors, and for every aircraft Ive purchased, Ive changed out the factory visors for the Rosen products. Larry Anglisanos commentary on the ridiculous regulatory snag thats unraveling with the idea of using electronic attitude gyros for backup is spot on. Im looking to upgrade the software in my Zaon XRX portable traffic receiver. Is there anyone who can help?

It takes two to Tango (two batteries, that is). After reading your January 2106 report on the Lightspeed Tango wireless headset, it seems Lightspeed desperately needs a new charging system. I would like to add a footnote to the worthy Aircraft Appraisal article in the January 2016 issue of Aviation Consumer. One should be very careful of the aircraft appraiser when having a unique aircraft appraised such as warbird, antique and homebuilt aircraft. I agree with the gist of your recent aircraft appraisal article, but take issue with the conclusion that labor has no market value. As a decades-long Aviation Consumer subscriber, I hesitate to argue with the editors experience, but feel I must stand up for the enduring value of quality installations.

The 406 MHz ELT market never quite achieved liftoff, probably because the FAA hasnt mandated these beacons, even though it still requires an installed ELT of some kind. A lively market of capable, inexpensive personal locaters (PLBs) further muddies the buying decision. But there are good arguments for an installed 406 MHz beacon, not the least of which is that after a crash, you might not be in any condition to activate a PLB. In this report, we’ll examine GPS-enabled third-gen 406 MHz ELTs that substantially improve your odds of being located after a crash. Shops tell us installed costs may hover around $3000, but you can knock the sting off that number by having the work done when the airplanes pulled apart at annual.

The lowly aircraft sun visor isn’t really a safety accessory until you have to land on runway 27 an hour before sunset on a summer evening. The accident record is peppered with pilots who lost control because they lost sight of the runway at a critical moment due to sun glare. Into this narrow breach of need several companies have stepped up, offering improved visors and shades.

Looking for the best audio panel out there for your LSA? Aviation Consumer recommends the PS Engineering PDA360EX for unsurpassed audio quality. For VFR missions in a two-seat LSA, you don’t need some of the advanced features that tag along with TSOd systems, including marker beacon receiver, six-seat intercom, cabin PA and even speaker operation. But you probably want Bluetooth music capability and a wireless telephone interface, plus the ability to pipe in traffic and other warning systems. See the full report for competitor analysis.

Unless you fly a lot at night, the handful of lights you have stashed in the flight bag, glove box and map pockets are used infrequently. That makes selecting a model with decent quality important. In our experience, some models that sit for long periods while subjected to heat, cold and humidity don’t work that one time theyre needed.

Like in other lighting applications, LED flashlights came to market somewhat unannounced and in some ways, without appreciation. Frankly, we didnt give the LED-equipped flashlight a second thought until we used the bunch for this review, where we quickly recognized a handful of benefits compared to their nearly extinct incandescent predecessors.

In a recent policy statement, the FAA gave the regulatory green light to replace traditional vacuum-driven attitude instruments with electronically driven replacement indicators. This means you can remove the vacuum system from the aircraft, since the policy doesnt require a backup spinning gyro. In many cases, you wont need a backup at all.

Sometimes the clue bus arrives late to the airport, which is the case with the FAAs PS-ACE-23-08 policy statement for getting rid of vacuum attitude gyros, including the primitive system that drives them.

Trackers, intercoolers, and GPS- see what our readers have to say about last month’s featured topics.

That may be the case if your aircraft has wiring issues. While the cabin of a noisy piston-powered aircraft is perhaps the worst environment for listening to your favorite tunes, its often the aircraft wiring that makes the sound quality laughable by even the lowest standards. Bluetooth audio panels help because eliminating the patch cable that connects your music player to a music input jack can also eliminate noise. But they arent the cure-all for subpar music quality. Even with a flagship Bluetooth audio panel like Garmins GMA350C and PS Engineerings PM8000-series, music playback quality will only be as good as the wiring between the audio panel and headset jacks, the health of the ignition system, charging system, grounds and a slew of other variables.