Garmin’s GDL39 portable ADS-B receiver is just one choice in a crowded market of capable low-cost solutions. In our view, the GDL39 has been shadowed by the competition because it lacked some of the advanced features that buyers might expect from a modern portable ADS-B receiver. For example, while other brands sport full AHRS functionality, the utilitarian GDL39 is stark, by comparison, offering little more than an integral Bluetooth GPS receiver.
Whether a part on your aircraft is damaged or worn, it’s logical to look to the aftermarket for a replacement. While the buying decision might be based on the high price of OEM replacements, there are many benefits to aftermarket replacements. For one, the part could be made from more serviceable material, including fiberglass. This could also yield a weight-saving advantage.
I’m not a cockpit gadget freak. Maybe it was because I spent some time hauling freight and there simply wasn’t time to mess around in the cockpit with stuff. You got in, started up and went. Maybe it was because from the time I started taking dual, I looked at any purchase in how much flying time I was giving up rather than in dollars. Buy a flight bag? Are you nuts? An old briefcase would work fine.
In a world that’s gone wireless-everything, it’s surprising that cockpit audio communication has lagged behind. That’s why the EQ-1 Link wireless ANR headset networkfrom EQ1 Wireless Communications is so intriguing.
The advertising for Xavion’s emergency landing guidance, synthetic vision, navigation, instrument panel backup, ADS-B weather, weight-and-balance calculator, runway takeoff planner and personal currency record app has seemed shrill to us. The claims that it could save your life should the instruments fail or the engine quit as we’ll as help you through a ramp check came across as over the top—so we tested it.
Is my radio transmitter working? At some point, that’s the question nearly every pilot will ponder when they check in on a frequency and get no reply. Most of the time, the radio is functioning properly, but other times it’s a real-world failure.
In a world where aviation apps are overloaded with features, Jeppesen believes that pilots should spend more time flying and less time operating their iPad. As a result, they’ve reworked the user interface on the FliteDeck app so that it’s based more around an IFR pilot’s workflow and requires less hunting for information.
Hoods for practicing IFR are like umbrellas, tough to store and hard to find when you need one. We’ve used everything from duct tape on safety glasses through a folded sectional jammed under a baseball cap to a narrow strip of cardboard along the bottom of the pilot’s windshield on a DC-3 (it works perfectly). Other than the DC-3 system, we prefer store bought, and we’ve used them all.
In our March 2013 article on external engine heaters, we noted that there is disagreement among pilots regarding keeping a heater plugged in all the time versus using it only in preparation for a flight. While we do not take sides on the matter, we note that a lot of pilots are concerned about engine corrosion caused by running an engine heater constantly, so they only want to use the heater in preparation for flight.
Weight kept the whole-airplane parachute idea in the world of fantasy for the first 70 years of powered flight. It took a terrifying ride to earth aboard a broken hang glider and new materials technology to allow Boris Popov to found Ballistic Recovery Systems and develop a viable arrangement that could successfully deploy a parachute and lower an aircraft and its occupants to earth. BRS products (BRS, as “Systems,” is the company; as “System,” is the device) began saving lives in the ultralight world and expended successfully into FAR 23 airplanes with the Cirrus line and a retrofit for the Cessna 150/152. The number of lives saved as a result of BRS deployment is approaching 300, according to BRS company numbers. (Our research shows 48 deployments, of which 36 were “saves,” with 76 lives saved in Cirrus aircraft—most, but not all, of the other saves were in ultralights.)
When we visited the Cirrus Aircraft factory in Duluth, Minnesota, last month, we couldn’t help notice the positive vibes that echo throughout the operation. There’s reason for boardroom fist pumps. Production slots for the new G5 SR22 are sold out through October, the SF50 Vision Jet is we’ll on the way toward certification and delivery in 2015, and the competition is struggling to sell half as many aircraft as Cirrus did last year. Cirrus built a total of 253 aircraft last year alone. Unlike other manufacturers, Cirrus doesn’t distribute aircraft to a dealer network, so production is based on customer orders.
We thought switching to Apple’s iPad mini for cockpit use would be the cure-all for the shortcomings of the bulkier, full-size iPad. As it turned out, it created a new set of problems. While the smaller mini is less obtrusive, the little sucker just won’t stay put if you plop it in your lap. On a recent trip, ours slipped under the seat, dropped on the floor and became wedged between the seat and the circuit breaker panel in a Pilatus. We thought it was gone for good.
