Accessories

There are three reasons why more airplanes don’t have air conditioning: Its expensive, its heavy and saps payload and no matter how hot it is, you usually don’t need it above 5000 feet. So most owners just go without and swelter through the hot months. As an alternative to sweat and bear it, a cottage industry has sprung up offering portable coolers for the cockpit which circulate air through block or crushed ice stored in a modified picnic cooler. Weve seen these products at trade shows and on the Web and our reaction is always some version of this: They cant possibly work, can they? Actually, they do work and although not practical for all owners, they offer a limited alternative to the cockpit steam bath

There are so many headsets on the market today-ANRs, passives, in-the-ear, featherweight designs-that we often wonder if there are enough buyers to keep all of the companies in business. And even if there are, what distinguishes one headset from another sufficiently to choose it? There’s no simple answer. In the past, weve evaluated headsets purely on a subjective basis and for this review, were doing that again. But this time, we also subjected the headsets to a thorough battery of audio laboratory testing.

If our conversations with fellow pilots are typical, many of us are looking for a practical electronic alternative to paper charts in the cockpit. But it remains an elusive goal, hampered by technology thats frustratingly close, but not quite there. But how about tablet computers pressed into the electronic flight bag role? Weve heard about and seen a handful of these. Can they work?

Utilitarian to the core, we arent impressed by flashy instrument panel work. And by this, we mean panels decked out in custom colors and patterns that blend with a pricey leather interior and a toney exterior paint job. But were not crazy about the 1970s-style Royalite overlays, either. These long ago outlived their appeal and few have aged gracefully.

If you live where the weather rarely falls to 20 degrees, you probably cant justify an expensive installed preheater of the type we reviewed in the March 2007 issue of Aviation Consumer. But if you still need an occasional preheat, where does that leave you? A heated hangar is one option and portable preheaters are another. Assuming the hangar is out, for this article, were examining two portable options: the old standby Red Dragon from Flame Engineering and a new gadget called AeroTherm, an electric preheater.

The electronic age is here, but not everyone is embracing it yet, especially when it comes choosing between paper and electronic IFR charts and plates. Four out of every five pilots still prefer paper for aeronautical charting, even though paper charts are heavy and tablet computers and other viewing devices have simplified electronic chart viewing.

For $100 or so, they make an aircraft door all but pick-proof. Theyre easy and quick to install, but keys have to be special ordered.

The lighter and the simpler the better. We like JKs throttle lock, the compact, well-made Prop Club and Aircraft Spruces Chok-Lok.

We think the electric go-ped models are practical for a short ride to and from the airport. Theyre smaller than bicycles, although heavier.

The $270 (ulp!) Surefire U2 is the worlds uber flashlight but the UK Zoom 4AA does the job at one- fifth the price on cheaper batteries.

One owners trek through the EFB jungle reveals three winners: a tablet PC, NavAir software and a pocket printer for printing plates on the fly.

The Avidyne/Ryan merger has dropped the price of active traffic systems to $10,000. Flexible display options sweeten the deal.