While all eyes were on TruTrak and Trio this past year (both were knee-deep in earning STCs for experimental autopilots), Garmin was quietly working on its own retrofit autopilot. Actually, the company already had two: the one thats integrated within the G3X experimental avionics suite, plus the impressive GFC700 thats built into the G1000 and G3000 integrated avionics.
Our monthly perusal of NTSB accident data reveals a smattering of accidents caused by hypoxia and many more that could be. We simply lack the data to know for sure, but now that you can buy a pulse oximeter for the price of a good lunch, there’s really no reason you cant monitor your own blood oxygen saturation on flights where its warranted.
Amongst the bumper crop of avionics at AirVenture was the surprise announcement from Dynon that its heretofore experimental-only Skyview HDX glass suite will be available for certified aircraft. Dynon is launching an entire product line called Dynon Certified to support the equipment.
Been in a new car showroom lately? Youll be hard pressed to find a lowly incandescent bulb in so much as a dome light. The same is true for new aircraft. Not many are sporting old-school filament lamps for landing, taxi and position lights. As a byproduct of an avalanche of LED manufacturing, weve found more applications for these lamps than ever for legacy aircraft.
Warbird ownership: Its not for the faint of heart, but there’s nothing like it, according to warbird owner and airshow pilot Stan Musick. While it takes cubic money to acquire and operate big-time warbirds-WWII fighter, bombers and transports and post-war jets-the path toward owning and safely operating an airplane in the major league of general aviation is the same for those armed with bags of money or simply determination: Youve got to spend quality time in the minor leagues first.
Not surprisingly, when youre about to fly an airplane with more than enough torque and P-factor to roll you inverted in a heartbeat, malicious stall behavior and the ability to blow through the 250-KIAS-under-10,000-foot speed limit and laugh, the FAA and insurers are going to have something to say about it.
I reviewed Vaavuds first-gen Mjolnir smartphone anemometer a few years ago and discovered its shortcomings, yet appreciated its utility on the water and land. I used it for seaplane flying on remote lakes where local wind reports werent available, and to compare aging ATIS recordings on the home field. The disappointment was a lack of wind direction display.
In addition to oil lab analysis, weve always recommended cutting open the spin-on filter for physical analysis. If the engine is shedding certain metals, you could spot them in the filter, especially ones that have trap magnets.
The Grumman Cheetah and bigger-engined Tiger may be overlooked by some buyers searching the crowded under-$50K used airplane market. In fact, among entry-level Cessna and Piper models, the AA-5A Cheetah could very we’ll be a used market leader. With a sporty slide-back canopy, snappy handling and reasonable cruise speed for its fuel-sipping 150-HP powerplant, a Cheetah works for training, traveling and for tooling around the local area. On the other hand, the 180-HP AA-5B Tiger might be the better of the two cats when more climb performance and load-hauling is needed.
As for whole-airplane parachutes, Ive given quite a bit of instruction in a Flight Design CT LSA and once found the sky ahead filled with seagulls and wondered if I would shortly need to pull the red handle, but Im ambivalent about it when Im flying the Diamond. For me, the cost of servicing the CAPS in the Cirrus was one of the negatives in buying a used one.
If youre shopping the light jet market and the near $5 million HA-420 HondaJet doesnt fit the budget, there are other choices that might be more palatable. To find out what they are, we talked with several business aircraft sales brokers and the model that came up in every conversation is the Cessna 525A CJ2+. While it may not be an exact apples to apples comparison with the HondaJet, its arguably the closest competing used jet in the class.
Altitude encoders are the doorstops of the avionics world. You have to have one, but don’t expect a sweep through the list of available hardware to yield impressive lists of features and capabilities. After all, all the gadgets do is electronically deliver altitude data to a transponder that then reports your altitude to ATC-Mode C.
