If youve ever scrutinized an invoice or a proposal for an avionics upgrade, you might have spotted a line item that mentions an avionics cooling fan. While its an option that could add $500 to as much as $1000 to the project, its a sign that the shop is thinking about long-term reliability. Weve seen too many high-dollar avionics installs completed without protecting the avionics from heat damage, which is easily handled with an avionics cooling fan.
Weve been around enough avionics installations to know that most every project can snowball once the aircraft hits the hangar floor. Thats especially true as more owners finally commit to ADS-B installations. If the aircraft hasnt seen an avionics installation in ages, low-budget buyers might noodle the idea of buying used GPS navigators. But what may seem like a smoking-good deal on used equipment websites could be a setup for a serious case of buyers remorse.
When we evaluated motion-sickness aids in the July 2017 issue of Aviation Consumer, we favored the Reliefband 1.5 wearable therapeutic neuromodulation device over other remedies. Most important is the device is easy to use and doesnt cause side effects, other than potentially minor skin irritation around the area of the electrode. But we thought the Reliefband, which is worn like a wristwatch, had a dated design and a clinical look and feel.
Shop the six-seat, retractable piston-single market and you’ll find three basic choices: Beechs Model 36 Bonanza, Cessnas Model 210 Centurion and Pipers PA-32R series, which is the Lance and Saratoga. At first blush, the Bonanza arguably handles better than the other two while perhaps squeezing out a knot or two over the Centurion. The 210, on the other hand, generally has better short-field performance than the Bonanza and offers an improved hand-flown IFR platform.
At a time when nearly every pilot struts around with a tablet computer or smartphone running their favorite navigation app, we were surprised to see that pilot supplier giant ASA (Aviation Supplies and Academics) redesigned its CX-series flight computer.
There are lots of reasons for investing in an aviation-band desktop radio. Maybe you want to monitor local traffic communications while working in the hangar, listen to the local airport weather broadcasts over your morning coffee or listen to real-time PIREPs before launching. Plus, an aviation scanner can be a good learning tool for students.
The headline groups the Aztec and Apache as one, and sure, while the Aztec could never have been born without the Apache, they are quite different. From an appearance standpoint, the original potato-like shaped Piper PA-23 Apache is easily distinguishable from the sleeker Aztec.
Whether youve earned the A&P rating to wrench your own aircraft or plan to tackle the FAA-approved light maintenance items you can accomplish as an owner, you need the right tools and workspace for the job.
I have no vested interest in this area, but I do feel that the statement is insulting to field mechanics everywhere. I have owned a number of planes from different manufacturers and they have been serviced by both service centers and field mechanics. Personally, I have experienced some of the worst service from authorized service centers. I have found under my cowling rags and plastic cups. How about watching a mechanic come at your windshield with brown paper towels from the mens room to clean it for you?
Aft of the firewall, a new Cirrus SR22 is the epitome of the technologically advanced aircraft. But the front end of the thing is pretty much frozen in the mid-20th century: old-school mechanical fuel injection, World War II magnetos, manual mixture control. This is so because buyers have wanted it this way; a Star Trek flight deck propelled by a 59 Buick engine room.
Despite pilots most intense desires, airplane components wear out. Fortunately for their wallets, the major stuff on general aviation airplanes that are hangared and flown a few hundred hours a year-the airframe parts and pieces-should last the better part of a century. Along those lines, the things used by pilots to see through portions of the airframe, the windows, generally have a useful life measured in decades.
In previous Aviation Consumer evaluations, Icoms A22 portable comm transceiver got high marks for durability, reliability and ease of use. After nearly a decade of use and abuse, a vintage A22 soldiers on in our own flight bag. We like the Icom portables in part because a radio used for emergency backup should be easy to use in a pinch. Plus, it must have a simple feature set when used as a primary radio in lesser equipped aircraft.
