With nose bag in place and arms crossed at FL210 picking off the miles like nobodys business on a Cirrus demo, I got to thinking about the FAAs new BasicMed. Particularly, how pilots might be tempted to bend one of the rules to squeeze the most efficiency from a turbocharged airplane.
As pilot watches go, Garmins second-gen D2 Bravo and the latest D2 Titanium may not be as handsome as a Breitling or a racing-inspired Tag Heuer Carrera, but they cost far less ($899 for the Titanium and $599 for the Bravo) and do a whole lot more in and out of the cockpit. Which functions you’ll use will depend on what you have for external sensors, whether or not you are a Garmin Pilot app user and whether or not youre into sports and fitness.
Admit it. Despite your protestations to the contrary, youve lusted in your heart for an old airplane. It may be a classic such as a postwar Piper J-3 Cub-well use EAAs classic definition of aircraft built from September 1, 1945, through the end of 1955-an antique such as a Beech 18 or one of the many Wacos, or-yes, you know you want it-a warbird. Believe it or not, ownership of a classic, antique or warbird (CAW) isn’t as esoteric or unreachable as you may think.
The launch of SpaceXs updated Falcon 9 rocket in January was the first of seven missions that are critical for the future of Iridiums aging satellite communications network and its 800,000-plus customers. Recall that a fuel explosion led to the expensive loss of a Falcon 9 vehicle and its Amos-6 satellite payload on the Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch pad in September 2016. But the recent Iridium mission had a much better outcome and the company is banking on at least seven more successful launches as it moves forward with its $3 billion Iridium-NEXT global satellite constellation, which will replace the current 66 satellites.
When action cams became popular for aviation five years ago, mounting them inside or outside the cockpit was a challenge unmet. Not anymore. The sports cam aftermarket has devised dozens of ways to mount cameras just about anywhere. We gathered up a gaggle of these mounts and put them to the test. While some are better than others, we found there’s a competent mount for every purpose.
As the market saturates with panel-mouned ADS-B gear, were seeing portable ADS-B receivers hit the used market at bargain prices. This includes the popular current-gen Appareo Stratus 2S. Just prior to AirVenture 2015, the Stratus development team-Appareo handling hardware, ForeFlight for software and Sportys for sales and support-released two new models of its portable ADS-B receiver: the 1S targeted at VFR pilots and the 2S designed for IFR operations. The new models included additional features and addressed a history of hardware issues.
The M600 uses the fuselage-with beef ups-and a higher-power version of the engine from the M500. The M600 also has a new wing-marketing claims its a clean-sheet design-that carries 90 gallons more fuel than the Meridian, allowing the M600 50 percent more range, a 958-pound higher gross weight and 100 more pounds in the cabin with full fuel. The M600 is also Pipers first airplane to use the sophisticated Garmin G3000 avionics suite.
Well be gentle. If you recently brought your aircraft in for a Garmin Flight Stream 110/210 wireless Bluetooth data hub installation, stop reading and close this page. For readers who are still here, rejoice. You wont have to go to an avionics shop for a pricey teardown installation. Thats because unlike the older Flight Stream-which required a wired serial connection with one of Garmins navigators-you can install the new Flight Stream 510 wireless system yourself in just seconds.
Steve Jobs once said of Apple that the genius of business success was to invent products would-be buyers didnt know they needed. Apple succeeds brilliantly at this, but the advice applies equally to airplanes. He who stands still and treads water will soon wither. Even small companies must innovate and move forward and our editors choice for the top company doing that this year is CubCrafters, the scrappy taildragger manufacturer based in Yakima, Washington.
If you were a dedicated Cub aficionado and wanted to build yourself the ultra version of the essential Cub idea, what would you do? Youd start with the basic planform, update it with edge-of-tech materials and build methods-carbon fiber, CNC-cut parts, modern avionics-all buttressed with an aerodynamic makeover to tweak performance. Then youd send the airplane to the place that designs and builds seats for Bentleys and Ferraris and tell them to go wild.
The buyer demographics were predictable-46 percent were between the ages of 41 to 55, and 48 percent were over the age of 65. The rest were 21 to 40 years old. When it comes to flying missions (which is a major factor in upgrade decisions), 45 percent fly between 50 to 100 hours per year, and 32 percent fly between 100 and 200 hours per year. Personal/recreational flying counted for 50 percent, while personal and business flying was 47 percent.
FlyQ has been characterized by a design that maximizes screen space for maps, buttons that are large enough to hit on the first try, easily readable fonts, color-coding for alerts that minimize distractions and a touchscreen set up with turbulence in mind. The recently released Version 2.2 provides, among other new features, a three-times faster mapping engine, new base maps and over 4600 Seattle Avionics-devised airport diagrams for airports that do not currently have FAA diagrams.
