Aircraft Stepups

Before even talking with your shop about a traffic system retrofit (including ADS-B) you need to wrap your head around the various technologies and their limitations. Based on the correspondence we get and in talking with other pilots, traffic systems are more common now than ever (mainly because of portable ADS-B), but not everyone understands precisely how their setup works. By clearing up the confusion, you can better interpret the data and even help ATC when they issue traffic advisories. For starters, correctly state the system you’re using to avoid the confusion.

And, the beautiful picture of the right nacelle that you have in the article is from my 700P. My wife took that picture looking down at the Golden Triangle in Pittsburgh. I may have sent you that picture in the past while commenting on previous Aerostar articles. I have also used that picture maybe hundreds of times in presentations. I had just had N700WZ painted and new Kevlar inlet ducts made because 100 percent of the originals cracked.

Now the standard cabin connection protocol, Wi-Fi provides a more stable connection than Bluetooth. Plus, Wi-Fi is more tolerant of electromagnetic interference (EMI)-and there’s plenty of it generated by charging systems and magnetos. But wireless connectivity is another challenge. The WingBug pod creates concurrent point-to-point Wi-Fi connections to multiple tablets or smartphones at once. But consider when multiple Wi-Fi devices like ADS-B receivers, satellite hotspots and action cameras are fighting to connect to the pilot’s tablet in a point-to-point peer connection. In a peer-to-peer connection, only a single device may be connected to a tablet or smartphone, requiring the user to manually select the device (in Wi-Fi settings). A portable Wi-Fi access point provides the fix, but the devices and applications must be able to support access-point connectivity. Not all do.

Spend even a short time on the floor of a National Business Aviation Association convention and you better forget everything you know about the cost of owning, upgrading and operating a small piston. Yes, the jet world is a major step up in the ownership experience and aviation’s high end is elegantly and seriously represented at NBAA gatherings, and the high regulatory standards of the FAA’s Part 25 are very much in place. Frankly, I think the regulatory stronghold is stifling innovation.

I have never explicitly seen it written anywhere that when one buys a glass panel airplane like the Garmin G1000-equipped Mooney Acclaim, the aircraft OEM owns the software for the avionics. This has been a problem with Mooney through its various bankruptcies and production hiatus. I don’t know if it has been a problem with other OEMs, and I understand only Mooney Service Centers (which seem to be few and far between) can do the G1000 software upgrades.

The Stratus is still out there, but now in its third generation and with open architecture so it works with other apps. ForeFlight’s new product is the $499 Sentry, a diminutive box that combines a dual-band ADS-B receiver with a carbon monoxide detector, plus AHRS. uAvionix – they’re the guys everyone is waiting on to deliver the wingtip- and tail-mounted ADS-B Out units-designed and builds the Sentry for ForeFlight. Once again, it works only with that app. In concert with its push to establish a market for mid priced panel-mount avionics, Dynon showed up at AirVenture 2018 with the DRX, which clearly aims to anchor the bargain end of the price spectrum. No frills on this one; just the dual-band receiver and a little case for $349 discounted, $395 list.

Since these are light-limiting tinted shades, you don’t want to be flying with the cockpit shades in at night. But in the rear cabin, we don’t see any real reason to remove the shades. In our estimation, they can replace foil sunshades that might be removed and reinstalled every time you fly and park. For some aircraft, that’s a time-consuming chore. And like traditional foil shields, the Jet Shades can protect the interior from cracking and discoloration while parked in the sun. Duggan said the Sun Shades are the only aircraft-purposed shades for cockpit use in flight.

If you’ve recently stepped up to the jet world you probably haven’t heard of the iPreflight app or even APG, but there’s a deep company history that dates back to 1981. APG’s founders operated Aircraft Performance Unlimited, an engineering firm that catered to the airline dispatch industry and ultimately grew to support over 65 airlines around the world with an integrated dispatch system. That company was purchased in 1995 by Jeppesen, which integrated the APU dispatch program into its own service menu.

At first blush, the battery seems big, measuring 7.75 by 3.75 by 0.5 inches, but its saving grace is the thin profile. That makes it easy to slide into a map pocket, flight bag and the front pocket of a backpack. I stashed it in all of the above, but it was a touch too large to comfortably fit in a jacket or pants pocket. The casing is anti-slip, which keeps it from coming out of the hand, but I wish it were even grippier. The drawback to the thin footprint is that it can easily slide between a seat. When the airplane is put away, the battery could work on a motorcycle or bicycle, if there’s the right on-bike storage.

The venerable Cessna 190 series was not the first business aircraft by a long shot, although it was a first for Cessna. These days, for owners wanting to own a piece of aviation history, it is probably the most practical of classics because it’s a decent people hauler. Even better, it’s not overly expensive to maintain, compared to other classics, that is. There’s no fabric, and parts are generally available unlike other classic machines including the Beech Staggerwing, Spartan Executive and Stinson Reliant.

• PORTABLE ADS-B
• JET SHADES
• RUSTY PILOT PROGRAMS
• iPREFLIGHT GENESIS
• SPORTY’S POWER BANK
• EDITORIAL INDEX

The Aerostar is the product of famed aircraft designer Ted Smith, whose name is attached to such classics as the A-20 twin-engine bomber and the Twin and Jet Commander lines. In 1963, Smith formed his own company to build a family of fast fliers, all built around the same fuselage, wings and tail. Five years later, the Model 600 emerged in 1968, with normally aspirated Lycoming IO-540 engines and a takeoff weight of 5500 pounds. A year later, the 601 appeared, with a pair of Rajay turbochargers and manually controlled, electrically actuated wastegates on each engine. With turbos, the engines could maintain 290 HP from sea level to 16,000 feet.