Great article on pulse oximeters in the September 2017 issue of Aviation Consumer. I have been using them for almost two decades and keep one in my turbocharged Bonanza and another in my glider. I routinely fly in the teens and I always insist that passengers use the pulse oximeter every half hour or so just as I do.
As promised, TruTrak showed up with an STC for the Vizion autopilot. The STC only covers the Cessna 172 Skyhawk and 177 Cardinal, but TruTrak says its getting busy with more approvals. Other than Dynons D10A, third-party EFIS compatibility is lacking, for now, which could put the brakes on for some buyers looking for a complete interface. TruTraks Andrew Barker told us to expect more announcements for third-party compatibility soon, which in our view has to include Garmins G5 flight instrument. Its become the dominant low-cost EFIS solution for the markets lower end.
As we go to press in early August, Lycoming, field shops and owners were struggling to clarify a service bulletin that requires inspection and possible replacement of connecting rod bushings in hundreds of Lycoming engines. The mandatory service bulletin-SB632-was announced on July 17, just ahead of AirVenture. Two weeks later, shops tell us they are still fielding calls from worried owners trying to understand the scope of the bushing issue.
Our monthly perusal of NTSB accident data reveals a smattering of accidents caused by hypoxia and many more that could be. We simply lack the data to know for sure, but now that you can buy a pulse oximeter for the price of a good lunch, there’s really no reason you cant monitor your own blood oxygen saturation on flights where its warranted.
Amongst the bumper crop of avionics at AirVenture was the surprise announcement from Dynon that its heretofore experimental-only Skyview HDX glass suite will be available for certified aircraft. Dynon is launching an entire product line called Dynon Certified to support the equipment.
In the early 2000s Cirrus learned that equipping an airplane with a parachute and gee-whiz avionics doesnt necessarily make it safe. As was proven more recently, favorable accident stats come from focused training. But as one Cirrus sales pro put it, its the Wild West when it comes to the market of used SR20s and SR22s because some buyers either get the wrong training or in some cases, no transition training at all. A get-in-and-go approach doesnt work we’ll in a Cirrus.
I read Larry Anglisanos First Word commentary about the shrinking ANR headset market in the August 2017 Aviation Consumer and was sur- prised that the $895 David Clark DC One-X, launched in March 2016, was not mentioned among the others in the premium headset category. In developing this headset, it was cer- tainly our intention to target the premium ANR headset market and the success of this product, as we’ll as the response from the pilot community, con rms that we hit the mark.
While all eyes were on TruTrak and Trio this past year (both were knee-deep in earning STCs for experimental autopilots), Garmin was quietly working on its own retrofit autopilot. Actually, the company already had two: the one thats integrated within the G3X experimental avionics suite, plus the impressive GFC700 thats built into the G1000 and G3000 integrated avionics.
Been in a new car showroom lately? Youll be hard pressed to find a lowly incandescent bulb in so much as a dome light. The same is true for new aircraft. Not many are sporting old-school filament lamps for landing, taxi and position lights. As a byproduct of an avalanche of LED manufacturing, weve found more applications for these lamps than ever for legacy aircraft.
I reviewed Vaavuds first-gen Mjolnir smartphone anemometer a few years ago and discovered its shortcomings, yet appreciated its utility on the water and land. I used it for seaplane flying on remote lakes where local wind reports werent available, and to compare aging ATIS recordings on the home field. The disappointment was a lack of wind direction display.
If you own an Avidyne MLB700 or WSI AV300-series satellite weather receiver, you might look for a replacement. At the end of 2017, WSI-now branded The Weather Company, an IBM Business-is pulling the plug on its InFlight cockpit weather service that it delivers by SiriusXM satellites. Avidyne said it isn’t offering a replacement receiver because there’s more demand for ADS-B systems.
The Grumman Cheetah and bigger-engined Tiger may be overlooked by some buyers searching the crowded under-$50K used airplane market. In fact, among entry-level Cessna and Piper models, the AA-5A Cheetah could very we’ll be a used market leader. With a sporty slide-back canopy, snappy handling and reasonable cruise speed for its fuel-sipping 150-HP powerplant, a Cheetah works for training, traveling and for tooling around the local area. On the other hand, the 180-HP AA-5B Tiger might be the better of the two cats when more climb performance and load-hauling is needed.
