Accessories

Getting approach plates to play on portable electronic devices has proven to be a round peg in a square hole. Several companies have tried to crack this nut, but it seems to defy an elegant why-didnt-I-think-of-that solution that resonates with everyone. The latest effort is to adapt Amazons much hyped Kindle e-reader to the task of being a chart library, something it was never designed to do but can actually manage with a reasonable degree of grace. A company called Gold Seal Ventures through its Web outlet www.airbrief.com will launch this product formally at EAA AirVenture in July. They sent us an advance unit for a first look and although were favorably impressed, perfection still eludes. Amazon has made ripples in the publishing world with its Kindle e-reader, a device thats sold as being so-called electronic paper. Kindles are among a class of products that have electrophoretic displays that use minutely charged particles re-arranged on a plastic substrate to produce readable images and text. The process is somewhat like the old Etch-A-Sketch toys we had as kids, but instead of a couple of X-Y knobs, the process is done rapidly by applying selective voltages to the screen to rearrange ink particles into type and rudimentary images.

At a Wall Street analysts forum in 2007, the CEO of Ballistic Recovery Systems, Larry Williams, told the audience why he thought the all-plane parachute made sense: “In 2005, there were just over 1600 [accidents] involving general aviation airplanes in this country that resulted in 556 deaths. Now, if you offset that with the fact that were saving 199 people, all of the sudden, parachutes start to make sense.” Except that its not that simple. As of this writing, BRS has claimed to having saved 233 lives, but thats counting every occupant on every successful parachute deployment as a saved life. A quick look at the record shows that death was far from a certainty in many of the parachute deployments. A subtler knot in the logic that BRS has saved 233 people is that having a parachute installed affects the delicate balance of risk versus utility in aircraft. We know from experience and interviews that there are pilots who will take on conditions such as rough weather with the chute that they wouldnt take on otherwise. We can only guess that some of the CFIT accidents in the Cirrus were influenced by the faulty assumption that the pilot will always have enough time to pop the bddn chute before auguring in. But the risk equation is more complex than that. Situations such as single-engine at night over mountains or low-visibility takeoffs are risky only because the consequences of an emergency are high, even though the likelihood of failure is extremely low. Having an ace-in-the-hole to cover that unlikely event will shift the go/no-go call for some pilots. We believe those pilots will get more out of their airplane with a negligible increase in real risk. So BRS may be overstating its positive impact on lifesaving, but also understating its positive impact on aircraft utility.

When Thomas Paine was writing about times that try mens souls, he was actually referring to the American Revolution, but thats nothing compared to GA sales figures for the first quarter. No ones jumping out of buildings yet. But then again, hangars don’t have second stories. Okay, so 2009 hasnt been so hot thus far, but like everyone involved in aviation, were optimists and we sense a turnaround in the wind. In any case, pilots and owners are still buying things so its time for our annual review of the best products and services weve seen during the past calendar year. When we reviewed our reviews for the past 12 months, we were surprised to find more new stuff than weve typically seen in a year. Heres our roundup of the most recommended things we tried this year. Were normally cautious about effusing too much about products with no market history, but were making an exception for this one. CubCrafters Super SportCub merits this treatment because in the LSA world, its truly innovative. It has a true ASTM engine-at 180 HP, a big one-and the concept of an uncompromised, hotrod LSA hasnt been offered by anyone else. The trouble with the LSA segment is that one white plastic airplane with high wings looks like any other white plastic airplane with high wings and we see a new one of them every week. The Super SportCub is thus in a league unto itself and deserves notice for that. For more, see www.cubcrafters.com

Most paved parking ramps are equipped with tiedown rings, plus adequate rope or chain to do the deed. But some of the most-desirable destinations have nothing of the sort. At back-country airstrips, a friends cow pasture and most fly-ins weve attended, you need to bring your own gear. One option is to assemble a kit from hardware-store items-rope and general-purpose anchors can meet the need. But as with everything else in aviation, if there’s a better way, someone will invent and market it…thus commercial tiedown kits. But are these things worth the money? Are they really any better than the classic cheap doggie auger you can buy at Wal-Mart for under $5? Maybe. Maybe not. While we agree the hardware-store stuff isn’t optimal, we were curious about which of three popular commercial tiedown products are best. To find out, we obtained samples from each manufacturer, plus some gear from our local hardware store, then tried to pull each of these anchors out of the ground. The results surprised even the most cynical among our testing crew and reminded us that what works we’ll in one soil type may not be worth the trouble in another.

Pilots who fly a lot of weather sort themselves into two groups when it comes to the risk of flying in ice. One group-call them the “Im-willing-to-give-it-a-go” set will launch into any reasonable forecast and deal with the ice as it comes. The other group-call them the Legal Beagles-would do the same, but they get their pants snagged not so much on the actual risk, but whether the FAA will come after them for flying in forecast or “known ice” in an airplane not equipped for it. Great swaths of pulp forest have been sacrificed in the name of trying to define known ice and were not sure weve succeeded yet. What we have managed to do is create a not-so-small market slice of would-be buyers to whom an airplane legally equipped for known icing is a big deal. Ever sensitive to the whims of the market, Cirrus has created the perfect airplane for these buyers: The new SR22 line equipped with a TKS-based flight-into-known-ice package. In the past, weve viewed so-called FIKI packages as more window dressing than real substance. TKS is such an effective system that, in our view, with respect to actual icing outcomes, whether the system is certified or not is a distinction without a difference. To be sure, known-ice packages protect more surfaces and are probably more robust, but our view is that if 10 airplanes certified for known ice and 10 with so-called inadvertent systems flew the same winter systems for a year, there wouldnt be a noticeable difference in outcomes. So whats to improve? In the Cirrus view, that would be the highest fluid rates of any TKS system on a single and what amounts to significant design decisions that mold the Cirrus icing system into an integrated package. Conclusion: It works better, its easier to use and gives the pilot more control and more choices. Heres how.

Last month we looked at buys on late-model, four-seat singles (“Late-Model Cruisers: Cessna, Cirrus Are Tops,” Aviation Consumer March 2009) and were shocked at how many good deals there were on used aircraft with glass cockpits. How about a 1300-hour 2005 Cessna 172SP with a G1000 and autopilot for $157,000? We found similarly-equipped 2005 and 2004 Diamond DA40s with about 1000 hours on them for $165,000 and $159,000, respectively. Tipping the scales a bit further was a well-kept 2003 Cirrus SR22 with 1251 hours, TKS de-ice, Skywatch, Stormscope, XM-weather, digital charts, TAWS and the latest revision of the PFD software for $210,000. Looking up the food chain to Mooneys, Columbias, Barons and the like, the deals are less dramatic, but they are still huge discounts from the new prices for relatively low-time aircraft. A good example is the 165-hour 2006 Mooney Ovation 2 with a G1000, known ice and most every option for $350,000. With the economy pulling the rug out from more and more people, repossessed aircraft are hitting the market as well. Were even seeing still-new 2007 models that have been wallflowers waiting for an owner with their sticker price sinking lower and lower.

Automotive technology trickles into aviation in fits and starts and with spotty success. HID lighting, for example, was practically standard equipment on some cars before it finally gained a foothold in the light aircraft GA market. Now LEDs-light emitting diodes-are undergoing a similar evolution. Weve seen them in cars and on motorcycles for years and lately, theyve found their way onto wingtip and nav/position lights. Next step: landing lights. In this article, were examining a new product recently sent to us by a company called AeroLEDs. AeroLEDs is by no means the only supplier of this technology. Whelen, for example, makes a line of LED landing lights and we know of some other similar products in development. Well do a detailed comparison of all the LED products in a future issue, but in this article, were interested in testing the concept itself. Landing and taxi lights are big draws on the airplane electrical system for a reason: You need a bunch of light to reach through the murk to find night details necessary to establish depth perception and hazard detection. Although theyre inefficient in terms of converting electricity to light, conventional incandescent bulbs are still more than bright enough to do the job, which explains why theyve endured so long. At $20 a pop, theyre also relatively cheap, if not always reliable. Can LEDs hope to compare? We aimed to find out. LEDs are one of those alluring technologies that seem too good to be true. They deliver bright, cool light with a fraction of the power required for an incandescent lamp. This, more than anything, explains why LEDs are turning up in everything from flashlights to automotive tail lights. LEDs themselves have more to do with transistors than with traditional filament-type bulbs. LEDs have p-n or positive-negative semiconductor junctions, just like transistors do. When power is applied to the junction, electrons flow and drop into so-called electron holes-they actually revert to different orbits in the junction material. When that happens, energy in the form of photons is released. Physically, the p-n junction is small and so are LEDs. An individual LED is bright, but its overall light output is small, so to approach the requirements for something like a landing light or even a navigation light, multiple LEDs are ganged together. The SUNSpot product that AeroLEDs sent to us has 16 LEDs arranged in a circular lens assembly.

Blame it on Elrey Jeppesen: If he hadnt invented what has become the modern approach plate as a means of saving his own hide, we wouldnt be up to our shoulder harnesses in paper charts today. Approach plates from the FAA alone occupy 24 bound volumes averaging an inch thick for full U.S. coverage. And even if we can display approach plates on panel-mounted avionics, the Luddites among us also carry some paper charts, guarding against the day (or night) that all that expensive equipment soils the bed. And still, the industry toils mightily to devise the perfect electronic solution to allow us to ditch the paper. Thats the easy part. Choosing from among the many hardware and software options for displaying electronic charts and picking the best one is tough and no one has hit the jackpot yet. A recent entry is what we’ll call the inexpensive electronic flight bag or EFB and its called Reader Plates. It uses a Sony electronic paper platform, the idea being to keep costs low. Reader Plates uses Sonys PRS-505 e-book hardware to display the entire collection of more than 13,000 approaches, arrivals, departures and other pages in the FAA/NACO instrument approach procedures database. Reader Plates converts the charts into a downloadable format for either Windows or Macintosh and the user can then transfer it to the e-book reader via USB. Youll need a solid broadband Internet connection to be able to download the data file from Reader Plates, which amounts to 1.3GB. Every 28 days, when charts are updated, users have the option of paying $9.95 for the most current data or skipping the download altogether. Its all or nothing. You cant obtain, say, procedures for a single state or region. Thats by design, since one of the main ideas of doing away with paper plates is the ability to have all the procedures at your fingertips. And, unlike some other EFB solutions, the charts don’t expire or otherwise become unusable after a period of time. If you already own a PRS-505-sorry, Reader Plates isn’t available for other e-readers-youre golden.

Our first impression of the Brightline bag was that it looked like an escapee from a zipper factory. It had so many pockets it seemed to venture beyond basic organization and cross into obsessive-compulsive disorder. Then we used the bag for a few flights … and ended up buying it. The coup performed by Brightline wasnt simply adding a bunch of pockets-in fact, we don’t think it needs quite so many-it was how it used space. For example, the center compartment was designed primarily with a headset in mind, but headsets come in many sizes. The Brightline solution is just the right size for one bulky headset, such as a Lightspeed 3G upright or two David Clarks on their sides. Pull out one DC headset and you’ll find a complete bag for a GPS also fits in that spot. We even fit the new Garmin 696 and a DC headset in that space. If youre only using one headset, there is empty space in that compartment, so there are pockets on the inside of the compartment to take advantage of it. The whole bag is ripe with clever arrangements of pockets and space. In fact, when we loaded up the bag with a bunch of typical pilot supplies we were surprised by how heavy it was given that its not that big dimensionally. Then we realized it had somehow swallowed as much stuff as we fit in another bag nearly one-third larger in size. A cell-phone pocket and, separate, sunglass pocket are on the top of the bag for easy access. There is a two-part chart area that lets you keep all of your charts in a library area, but keep todays charts, or a thin kneeboard in an outer pocket.

A friend lent me his August issue of Aviation Consumer because he knew Id enjoy reading your article on Tri-Pacers. Actually, I own a 1962 Colt, pretty much stock, although it was recovered for the second time five years ago. The previous recover was in 1973, before I owned it. With fabric still airworthy, my concern, as you pointed out, was what lay beneath it. We actually found very little structural rust and corrosion, so the restoration was a picnic and I enjoy flying it once again. Two things pop out in your article. First is the disparity in the current price range for airworthy Tri-Pacers, which your article stated as between $15,000 and $20,000. Ive been seeing prices between $25,000 and $30,000-plus. A little more research might be in order. Second is the phone number to contact Eleanor Mills, membership officer of the Short Wing Piper Club, who has recently moved to Springfield, Missouri. The number is now 417-883-1457 or e-mail swpn@sbcglobal.net. I heartily recommend the group. Their bimonthly news magazine alone is worth the price of admission.

Task one in looking at logbook software is figuring out what you want to log and why. If youre not detail-oriented and only care about when your last BFR or IPC was, then anything more than a Post-It on the corner of your computer monitor is probably a waste. If you need to track duty time, watch the numbers for pilots and aircraft in a school or business, track time for tax reasons or are in the grind of pursuing higher ratings, logbook software can be a godsend. We reviewed over a dozen systems to keep the numbers in the right columns. Here are our top picks to meet the variety of needs out there. This website is geared mostly to corporate users and flight departments, but has a lot of utility for private aircraft owners as well. Its strength is in tracking aircraft time as it meets all the FAA requirements for electronic logbooks for aircraft-including electronic signatures. Why is this useful? First, if your shop is willing, they can access any of your aircraft records at a glance and cut down their admin time by signing you off electronically. Second, part of the service is scanning in all your aircraft documents and backing them up (you can also upload more on your own at any time). Also, ADs and Service Bulletins are automatically retrieved by the system, warnings flags for time-limited parts and inspections pop up automatically … the list goes on.

Despite the hoopla that has surrounded modern glass cockpits, round dial steam gauge instruments still represent the majority of the fleet. Plus, theyre still required for backing up glass panels. Eventually, the costly prospect of dealing with failed flight instruments must be addressed. The common question is this: Should the instrument be repaired or simply replaced with a new or newly overhauled unit? The short answer is that it depends on the instrument’s vintage, its complexity and what you expect for its longevity. There are a few factors that should help make the decision: your expectations for aesthetics, the shop’s warranty period and whether the instrument is primary and critical or used as a backup. Consider that primary instruments could be worth your life. Heres a look at some of the tricky details that come into play when instruments need service. Be forewarned that quality repairs wont come cheaply. The old saw of getting what you pay for certainly applies to instrument work. In fact, if an instrument repair or replacement cost seems excessively low, quality is likely being sacrificed somewhere in the process. For once, the FAA can actually be accused of offering a level of leniency when it comes to instrument overhaul-at least according to practice versus manufacturers definition. A shop can legally represent an instrument as overhauled (abbreviated OHC for “overhauled condition”) even if none of the internal components are actually replaced. One shop told us that a simple inspection of the instrument’s internal components might be enough to stamp the instrument as overhauled. But when it comes to satisfying the criteria spelled out in a given instrument’s maintenance and overhaul manual, this practice wont cut the mustard.