The idea of the push-pull twin makes such fundamental sense that it has been applied to aircraft designs in one form or another for nearly 100 years and in literally dozens of models youve never even heard of. Back in 2005, Adam Aircraft tried the idea again with the A500 push-pull piston twin. Like many before it, it failed more by market reality than by a fundamental flaw in the idea.
The concept of a wireless cockpit-pushing flight plan data from a tablet app to certified avionics, to name one capability-is supposed to curtail the task of programming a panel GPS. I think Garmins Flight Stream Connect wireless network, via its Pilot tablet app, succeeds in doing that, but doesnt eliminate all of the workload, which is a good thing. That was my impression after Garmins Jessica Koss demonstrated the Flight Stream and ADS-B interface as we flew in the company Cirrus in the Northeast airspace, pictured to the right.
From left to right, above: The D2 Bravo watch has an electronic HSI display, which is based on GPS track data. Its an awkward way to navigate, in our estimation, but whatever works for backup, right? Perhaps more useful is the display of textual METAR data, which is sent to the watch from Garmins Pilot tablet app. The waypoint page is useful for quickly identifying navigation data to nearest waypoints. Finally, the Bravo offers some of the same athletic functions as the Forerunner sports watch, but the Forerunner is better packaged for extreme sports.
Overall, editor Larry Anglisano did a great job of explaining the Skyvision Salus-3 portable ADS-B Out/In solution and the Xtreme Vision software (June 2015 Aviation Consumer.) We were impressed with the articles accuracy and his ability to review it without personal bias. However, there are a few finer points related to certification.
Weve seen this before. First it was Garmins D2 pilot watch for interfacing with its Pilot tablet app and VIRB action camera. Then it was the Google Pebble watch, compatible with the Wing X Pro 7 app. Now ForeFlight introduces its own app interface for the Apple Watch.
Before full-size tablet computers made their way to the cockpit, the Adventure Pilot iFly 700 GPS navigator earned respect as a capable big-screen chart reader. As a bonus, the iFly tablet could serve double-duty as a portable GPS. But there was one problem: Garmin. It dominated the market by rolling out model after model of portable navigators, including the aera series and eventually, the GPS696, which is still in the lineup today.
Clockwise from upper left: A screenshot of the iFly RealView imaging feature displaying a satellite view of Hartford Brainard Airport in Connecticut. The course line shows navigation to the center of field. This utility makes it easy to find an unfamiliar airfield, in our view. Basic round-gauge instruments, including HSI, groundspeed and GPS altitude are highly configurable. Pitch and roll data can be displayed on a round-gauge horizon display with an appropriate AHRS input. The square to the left of the groundspeed indicator is a traffic alert box, for displaying ADS-B traffic data. Chubby fingers will get along we’ll with the onscreen keyboard. It is used for entering flight plan data and for searching waypoints. The iFly GPS app shares the same feature set and graphics as the iFly GPS 720, and the improved iFly 740 dedicated tablet navigators.
I always enjoy reading Aviation Consumer, and it was nice to see the article on survival kits in your February 2015 issue. I wont pick the article apart and go into what should have been included, but it would be nice to see future articles on survival kits for different geographical regions, such as the tropics, the desert and so forth because each area has its own challenges.
While Avidynes IFD540 plug-and-play GPS navigator is opening the flood gates for removed Garmin GNS530W systems, don’t look for steal deals. Private sellers and reputable retailers-which we define as established avionics shops with Garmin and Avidyne dealerships-sell the units for $8000-$9000, on average. This price should include a mounting rack, connector kit, connector backplate and GPS antenna. It likely wont include a navigational indicator, the preferred standalone choice being Garmins GI106A. Its a high-quality OBS resolver-style indicator equipped with integral nav source mode annunciation. Add $2500, on average, to the project for a new one, although there are some on the used market for a bit less. The King KI209A indicator will work, too. The KI209A is often paired with the BendixKing KX155A/KLN-series GPS package found in early 2000-vintage Cessnas and in some later Piper models. Most analog and electronic HSI systems will work, too. Use caution, however, with Sandel SN3308 EHSI displays that have older software. Budget $2000 to have it upgraded so it can display the WAAS GPS glideslope signal from a GNS530W/430W.
As much as we like the ForeFlight Mobil app for iPad, weve been waiting for more advanced features that make better use of the iPads processing horsepower. The short list included synthetic vision and a better HSI presentation. Thats just what ForeFlight has done with the latest version 6.6 upgrade. It includes intelligent, next-gen synthetic vision that we think betters aging certified displays.
With increasing disenchantment with Apples market dominance and high-cost accessories, some pilots have been asking the $500 question: Is Samsungs mid-sized Galaxy Tab S 8.4 good enough to ditch the iPad once and for all? In evaluating new navigation apps for Android we were impressed with the Galaxy tablet, and the more we used it in a variety of cockpits, the more we preferred it over the original iPad mini.
The chassis dimensions speak for themselves. The Galaxy Tab S, right, is slightly longer, narrower and thinner than the iPad mini 3, left. That makes the iPad slightly better for viewing approach plates, in our view. Notice the fewer main menu icons on the Galaxy thats running Garmins Pilot mobile app? Thats because Garmins Android version of the app doesnt support synthetic vision, terrain/obstacle alerting and static maps. It wont display traffic alerts, but it will display ADS-B traffic targets. Also missing is chart annotation capability-thats where you can scribble notes and draw on a georeferenced approach chart.
