Cockpit Accessories

Two decades ago, when the light sport aircraft idea was being hatched, skeptics worried that lighter, cheaper airplanes flown by pilots without medical certs would lead to a spike in the accident rate. After all, without FAA oversight of design, manufacturing and pilot health, how could it not? The reality, while challenging to pin down, is mixed. According to our review, the light sport segment definitely has a higher overall accident rate than that of legacy certified aircraft. The fatal accident rate, by our calculation, is also higher at 1.6/100,000 hour compared to 0.93 for all of GA, but this varies by aircraft model and is a marginal difference because of such small numbers.

• PMA450B AUDIO PANEL
• GEAR OF THE YEAR
• ANTENNA UPKEEP
• GARMIN INREACH MINI
• ELECTROAIR REVISITED
• USED CIRRUS SR22

It may have been that moment-after our feet had shot upward from the icy ramp while we were trying to pull the Cheetah out of the hangar and we lay there, watching the nosewheel roll toward our nether regions-that we came to like aircraft tugs. We think that an easily maneuverable tug that quickly hooks onto an airplane and can move it without strain reduces the risk not only of injury to the pilot but hangar rash to the airplane.

The panel will come on with the master avionics power, but the small rotary knob serves double duty as a power control (its a push-in-and-hold switch to eliminate inadvertent power cycles) and pilot/copilot intercom volume. The larger knob is for passenger volume. Green LED bars to the left of the knobs illuminate when you turn the knobs, showing relative volume. The volume controls are linear throughout the range and there was more than enough gain through our Bose A20 headset.

The oldest SR22 models date back nearly 18 years, where they sold for just south of $400,000. Today you can buy a cherry, first-gen SR22 for less than half. And while there’s little comparison between a G1 and the current SR22T G6, which flirts with $1 million fully loaded, an old Cirrus with updated avionics and a young engine isn’t a bad way to get around.

In each July issue of Aviation Consumer we pick 12 products, services or companies that were standouts over the editorial year. You know, the best of the best. We don’t take our Editors Choice Gear of the Year awards lightly, but when we handed the keys to Cirrus Jet N52CV back over to Cirrus Matt Bergwall after flying it halfway across the country (and spending a couple of days on the factory production floor) we knew we had this years winner.

It seems that every time we do an article on electronic ignition system (EIS) our email box fills up with comments-pro and con-and questions. The aftermath to our piece on Electroairs EIS in the May issue was in keeping with tradition.

At 2.04 by 3.90 by 1.0 inches and weighing 3.5 ounces, this thing is tiny. Check that against the Explorer+, which is 2.7 by 6.5 by 1.5 inches and weighs 7.5 ounces. Its a good thing the Mini comes with a carabiner clip (and a spine mount adapter) because if it falls under a seat or in a tight, dark space, finding it could be a challenge. Its durable, though, and fits nicely in the hand.

I saw your editorial and video coverage on Aspens new E5 low-cost EFIS. While I was initially excited, Im struck at how familiar this seems. The new Aspen Evolution E5 is basically Aspens 1000 VFR model with an approved TruTrak autopilot interface and also an updated processor so that it runs faster. It might be cheaper than the old entry-level display (I don’t recall the price) but I don’t see the VFR model on Aspens website anymore.

To avoid being driven to the ragged edge of sanity by the profusion of ever-specialized avionics, we like to sort this stuff into bite-sized categories. the latest is one we would have never predicted: the wing-mounted, self-powered AHRS. As if one wasnt enough, there are actually two of these devices, the Levil Aviation BOM were reviewing in this report and a new product called the WingBug, which we’ll examine in a future report.

These days its hard to imagine that a wood and fabric four-place piston single like the Bellanca Viking still exists, but it does. And although there arent great squadrons of them around, the Viking retains a loyal, almost cultish following.

Sooner or later your used aircraft search will find an airplane thats suffered a so-called hard landing. While thats the sugarcoated word for damage history, in some circumstances this is hardly a deal breaker. Other times, its best to walk away, especially if the damage has gone unnoticed or left unrepaired.