Firm believers in the value of cockpit CO detectors, we’re always scanning the market for new ones to try. Since our smart CO detector roundup in the February 2023 Aviation Consumer, we found two more models from Kansas-based Radiant Technology—formerly Belite Electronics, which was part of a larger company that made ultralights. And with a […]
In just a few short years we’ve watched Aithre’s cockpit biometric product line grow from smart SpO2 and portable O2 tank sensors to integrated oxygen systems, and now a panel-mounted multifunction biometrics display. As far as we know, the Aithre Healthview is the first of its kind dedicated and permanently mounted cabin health and enviromental […]
These days, major avionics upgrades include sourcing a new instrument panel to accommodate large flight displays. It’s a pricey and time-consuming effort that many shops outsource or take a long time to do themselves. Texas-based Superior Aircraft Components has the process down to a science and not only design and produce high-quality custom panels, but […]
Ballcap, eyeglasses, headset and oxygen cannula. That’s a mess of accessories on a pilot’s and passenger’s heads. And it’s that head clutter that might make lots of us skip the use of supplemental O2 simply to avoid a nose cannula, even at the price of hypoxia. About the only other thing you can do shy […]
Street priced at $745, the TSO-certified Pro-X2 is hardly considered an entry-level set, but it has enough smart features to satisfy buyers expecting modern, reliable tech. This includes good noise-canceling circuitry, a rugged yet comfy frame and reliable Bluetooth connectivity for tablet app and music interfaces. After our October 2019 field report, we tossed the […]
Our recent battery satisfaction survey returned 3332 responses. Since the question prep was a joint effort between Aviation Consumer and sister publication KITPLANES magazine, 45 percent of the respondents own experimental aircraft and 52 percent own certificated ones. The rest were S-LSAs. As you see in the graphics on the next page, since we surveyed […]
Buying an aircraft battery used to be straightforward. Historically, there was nickel cadmium for turbines and lead acid for smaller aircraft. That has changed with the advent of lithium batteries. These days, when it’s time for a replacement (and as our survey proves, it may be sooner for some brands), take some time to determine […]
It’s a good thing that more CO detectors are showing up on the aviation market because pilots may never give carbon monoxide in the cabin the consideration it deserves. Even I had an eye-opening moment flying home from AirVenture last summer in a friend’s well-maintained Cessna and found my Aithre Shield portable monitor registering 40 […]
Upgrading to electronic flight displays and a data-hungry GPS navigator? Add a reliable GPU (ground power unit) to the budget. That’s because you’ll have the master switch on for extended periods while loading nav data, uploading flight plans and fetching engine trend data. If those chores don’t kill an otherwise healthy battery, messing around with […]
A new panel upgrade could be a few thousand dollars to the cost of a small home. But don’t forget about the ongoing costs, which include database subscriptions, firmware updates to the avionics hardware, the cost of computer hardware to support the database upgrades, database cards and your time (which for some is priceless). Avionics database […]
At 15 months since the professional application of the System X Element 119 ceramic coating product on my Grumman Tiger, I was anxious to see how it was holding up. The aircraft was painted in November 2020 with a basecoat clearcoat finish (see the January 2021 Aviation Consumer for a report) and I had to […]
Lightspeed knows its new $1099 Delta Zulu headset won’t appeal to all buyers, especially those needing a budget-priced set. Still, after spending some time with the feature-rich Delta Zulu, we think it hits enough high points to attract the attention of some buyers who might otherwise spend their money on a Bose A20. There’s a […]
