Accessories

The GDL 39 is robust in more ways than one. It’s a solid performer, starting up fast and picking up ADS-B ground stations as soon or sooner than any of the systems we’ve tried. As you’d imagine from a Garmin product, the GPS is built in. Reception was flawless on our test trip from Portland, Maine, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, paired to both a Garmin 796 aera and an iPad. While we didn’t test it, the GDL 39 can pair with two devices via Bluetooth and one via a cable all at once. The aera currently requires the cable, but the 796 has Bluetooth built in and will connect wirelessly in the future. The GDL 39 is also big. The unit is about the size of a sardine can, and the optional battery almost doubles that size. This is noticeably larger than the popular Stratus and could be a shipping box for a pair of Sage-tech or Dual ADS-B receivers.

We don’t envy Italian GPS veteran AvMap in their attempt to compete in today’s world of cockpit iPad and with Garmin’s well-rounded line of portable navigators. Garmin and Apple all but own the aviation GPS and mapping market. Still, we’ve been impressed with nearly every model of AvMap navigator we’ve tested over the years. The company has a knack for offering high-end mapping displays packaged in a case that’s convenient and rugged enough to throw around the most hostile cockpit. And so it goes with the new flagship EKP-V. We were surprised that the latest-generation EKP doesn’t have a touchscreen. But the unit’s utilitarian capability and brilliant screen take the bite out of this shortcoming. Some might even prefer it.

Most communications radios are designed for installation into a traditional radio stack. That’s great for traditional panels, but they can be a non-starter in classic LSA and ultralight craft. The market offers few choices other than Becker Avionics for standalone comm radios that fit in tight spaces. Now UK-based Trig Avionics offers a worthy alternative with the TY-91 and TY-92 transceivers. Trig is best known for their innovative and space-saving transponder solutions, including the recently certified TT22 ADS-B unit. The new TY-91 and TY-92 comm radios are pitched to complement the similarly packaged transponders, adding to the growing Trig product line.

There’s nothing wrong with a paper logbook. It’s simple, cheap and satisfying to use. But digital logbooks automatically back up, total your time for insurance, an 8710 or duty limits, and, if it’s on a mobile device, are always with you. We were shocked how many options there were for logging via an app, either as a standalone solution or paired with desktop versions. Luckily, a few solutions distinguished themselves from the pack. LogTen Pro exists both as an iOS logbook and a desktop program for the Mac. What we found impressive was that the iOS apps are almost as burly as the desktop version—better in some ways. The two obviously can synchronize, but it’s not necessary, especially with the big-screen interface of an iPad.

Garmin’s Pilot MyCast app has been an outlier in the Garmin family. Now it’s been revised and rebranded as simply Garmin Pilot. The changes bring some welcome improvements and make navigation similar to other Garmin products. The core change is in navigation, with a home function that calls up big-button navigation similar to the aera or GTN navigators. Functionally, it’s basically the same as Pilot MyCast, but it’s simplified and, we think, more intuitive. There’s also a dedicated direct-to button, just like other new Garmin navigators. Press and hold on the map view and you will get something Garmin calls the “radial menu.” This is a context-sensitive pop-up offering a ring of three to six large, turbulence-friendly buttons for quick weather, airport or airspace info, flight plan editing or direct-to.

We’re told that somewhere there’s an Israeli air tactics manual that contains the line, “Speed is life.” Good thinking for fighter pilots, but down here in the more mundane world of GA, it’s probably more appropriate to say, “Angle of attack is life.” AoA sensors in GA airplanes are as rare as $4 avgas, so we use airspeed as a proxy to get the right angle for approach and landing. One problem with airspeed is that most of us only know the right airspeed for gross weight at sea level on a standard day. If we’re light, we tend to come in fast and curse the floating landing that ensues. The other end of the problem is getting too slow, or pulling the plane into a high-g-loading stall far above the wings-level stalling speed. The result when at low altitude can be grisly.

Several years ago at Oshkosh, we saw a unit called the Angel that was designed to add Bluetooth connectivity to a headset, complete with a full telephone keypad and music inputs. The product looked promising, but we never got one to test before the company vanished into the great aviation business abyss. The Angel was licensed and improved upon by the well-respected Headsets, Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, (who also acquired and now sells the DRE line of headsets). The reborn device is called the Lynx. It’s available as a $449 device to add Bluetooth and other features to your current headset, or for $599 you can get it mated up to the DRE 6001 ANR headset as a complete unit. Considering the DRE 6001 is normally $476 on its own, that has the makings of a pretty good deal.

Last month we dug into moving-map apps for the Android platform, but sometimes you just want a quick check of local weather on your phone to see if it’s worth a trip to the airport—or if it’s time to push the “no-go” button on your plans and go have a beer. We think the bare minimum for this would be METARs and TAFs—ideally presented graphically on a map with text details available—local NEXRAD and PIREPs. Armed with this ideal, we forayed into the Android Market and came up empty handed. That’s not saying there’s nothing out there. Here are our front-runners, so you don’t have to gamble your five dollars on which one does what.

Last month we dug into moving-map apps for the Android platform, but sometimes you just want a quick check of local weather on your phone to see if it’s worth a trip to the airport—or if it’s time to push the “no-go” button on your plans and go have a beer. We think the bare minimum for this would be METARs and TAFs—ideally presented graphically on a map with text details available—local NEXRAD and PIREPs. Armed with this ideal, we forayed into the Android Market and came up empty handed. That’s not saying there’s nothing out there. Here are our front-runners, so you don’t have to gamble your five dollars on which one does what.

An icon in the experimental market, Dynon Avionics has built a reputation for offering cutting-equipment that’s easy to install and widely compatible. Dynon’s value-based pricing is practically a smack in the face of the certificated world, where twice the price gets you half the capability. Skyview represents a fully integrated cockpit suite whose nearest equal is something at the G1000 level. Retrofits are fair game in nearly any LSA and experimental, and it’s a top seller for new LSA purchases.

In spring, I had a new Garmin GTN750 installed in my 1983 Mooney 201 and was amazed by the unit’s performance. The only thing missing was fuel management capability and as a result, I had the fuel flow option added to the existing EDM-700 and wired into the GTN. Since this was my first exposure to fuel flow monitoring, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of reliability and accuracy. And what I experienced in the field blew me away. I was expecting a reporting accuracy rate of perhaps 96 percent, but was pleasantly surprised to find the accuracy greater than 99 percent. At each fill-up, I compare the fuel loaded onboard with what the unit stated as actually having been used and the numbers are always within a few ounces.

I read your synopsis on our data in the cockpit; how discouraging. (See Aviation Consumer, December 2011.) May I ask a question and make a comment? First, I think I vaguely remember reading some time ago that a portion of the aviation fuel tax had been set aside and saved up to fund the NextGen system, and that these funds were diverted to other uses not even within aviation. Am I correct or mistaken on this, or did something similar to this happen?