Accessories

Despite what youve been told, its okay to use welders or medical oxygen in your airplane. Heres how to do it.

Conserving cannulas represent the best combination of comfort and efficient delivery of oxygen.

Speed claims of 7 to 13 MPH are in line with reality. But add up the prices for all the parts and pieces before buying.

Approach Aviations maintenance video has a few useful nuggets; a CD-ROM sharpens nav skills.

Our annual take-it-to-the-bank review of the best products and services in general aviation.

[IMGCAP(1)]

We sometimes wonder why more owners don’t save themselves a few bucks by changing their own oil. Once you get a method down, its not time consuming but, admittedly, oil changes can still be messy.

One solution-actually, three solutions in the form of three tools-comes from Deal Associates, a small manufacturer of maintenance and other aircraft accessories.

We first saw this companys gadgets at Sun n Fun last spring, including their tiedown kit mentioned on page 11 in our Gear of the Year report. Reach Deal at 336-599-3325 or www.dealassoc.com.

Deal sells three oil change tools, an oil drain filter, a knob wrench and a filter c…

For short-term trips out of your regular coverage area, FAA/NOAA charts offer the best value if not the best quality.

PS Engineerings CD player has superior sound but AI is the only choice if you want AM/FM, too.

[IMGCAP(1)]The ugly side of having an aircraft sound system is lugging around all those CDs and, worse, shuffling them around the cockpit along with charts, plates, flashlights and all the rest of the cockpit blather.

One intriguing alternative to this being hawked at Sun n Fun by Gulfcoast Avionics is a clever product called a Personal Jukebox, a high-capacity CD/MP3 storage device.

The PJ is little more than a miniature hard drive with an audio section but at 6GB, it has the astonishing ability to store the equivalent of 125 CDs or about 100 hours of music. Each CD or track can be accessed and played via a menu system, in order, by CD or randomly, by song.

To load the music, yo…

Rosens aftermarket sun visors are top of the line but replacements from Ultravisor are the better value.

Forget chain and nylon webbing; polyester rope is the best choice. Fly-Ties is the top portable anchor.

Jeppesen still has the best of the best. But if you cant stand all that paper shuffling, Air Charts is the top value.