Commentary

We asked Garmin about this requirement and it responded: “Yes, the STC’d G3X Touch does require standbys for an IFR installation like John describes (just like most EFIS/PFD installations). But the good news: A single G5 can take the place of the vacuum attitude, the mechanical airspeed and mechanical altimeter. The G5 attitude instrument is also highly integrated with the G3X Touch. We thought that was a great deal versus having to keep the old iron gyro equipment or install a more expensive electronic standby, like a Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics MD302, to name one.”

We asked uAvionix about this and were told that it released a skyBeacon firmware field update in March 2019 and the company has been shipping new units with that updated firmware in place since the February 2019 timeframe. There isn’t firmware specific for 24-volt aircraft, but the updated firmware resolves a compatibility issue uAvionix observed when installed on 24-volt aircraft. The company also issued a service bulletin for the requirement and posted it on the company website.

The six Skymasters I have owned include two 1968 models, a 1975 and 1973 model and currently a 1971 337F model. All were great-running normally-aspirated models, with the exception of the 1969 model, which was a hanger queen. I am a 6-foot-6-inch former NBA player and let me tell you, Cessna is to be commended for thinking of the tall pilots when they designed this tough airplane. I think its a dream to fly for the owner-pilot who doesnt fly every day for a living.

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.

When I landed, I sent an email to Avidyne’s technical support wondering how I would get home if my second IFD navigator had a similar issue on my trip, and how soon I could have it replaced once I did get home. I got an email back from Avidyne asking what airport in Florida I would be using to clear customs on my return. When I told them I would be using Treasure Coast Airport in Fort Pierce, Florida, they told me a replacement IFD550 would be waiting for me, along with an installer to put it in.

Conspicuous by its absence is any mention of the Evektor Sportstar. We had (past tense) several of them here in southern Indiana, and I administered a lot of checkrides in the Sportstar. I believe that the Sportstar is a major player in the LSA community, with a couple hundred of them flying in the U.S. At one point I think they were the third most numerous LSA, behind Flight Design and Legend. That would put them in the middle of the pack of the ones you considered. And I know the Sportstar had its share of accidents. Why did you omit the Evektor from your accident statistics?

The fatal accidents we have had fall into two categories: typical accidents and rather unusual and unexplained ones. I have participated in almost every one of these NTSB investigations, gaining 30 years of experience with these airplanes, including a time when the company was manufacturing kits. The time period between 2014 and 2017 was rough for Flight Design and 2016 in particular was a witching hour for the whole S-LSA industry, with almost three times the statistical average of the years before and after. As was said, the fleet numbers, particularly by type, are so small that there is a lot of uncertainly in the ability to predict much from the raw data.

Bad Elf also suggested that flyGarmin customers who want to use the Wombat wait until the subscription has expired and then switch to the Jeppesen JDM because the cost is nearly the same and it will allow them to use the Wombat for remote avionics data updates. Worth mentioning is that Garmins Flight Stream 510 wireless card that performs a similar function (plus a variety of other ones, including flight plan transfer and data overlay) is in the $1500 price range, compared to the $250 Wombat piston model.

I saw your editorial and video coverage on Aspens new E5 low-cost EFIS. While I was initially excited, Im struck at how familiar this seems. The new Aspen Evolution E5 is basically Aspens 1000 VFR model with an approved TruTrak autopilot interface and also an updated processor so that it runs faster. It might be cheaper than the old entry-level display (I don’t recall the price) but I don’t see the VFR model on Aspens website anymore.

After reading about three-blade prop upgrades in the April 2018 Aviation Consumer, I thought I would share my upgrade experience. After converting my elliptical prop tips to square tips by touching a runway at speed, I decided to change to a three-blade prop for my Mooney 231-not for the looks-but to have less noise and vibration without a performance penalty.

I read Larry Anglisanos editorial on FBO price gouging in the March 2018 Aviation Consumer and have some thoughts. Like Larry, I don’t mind paying for good FBO service when I avail myself of it, but these days with venture capital firms consolidating ever-larger chains of glitzy and highly profitable FBOs even at relatively small airports around the USA, it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid both sky-high fuel fees and onerous ramp charges.

I read the Cessna 414 report in the February 2018 Aviation Consumer Used Aircraft Guide section with interest. My aircraft partner and I have owned three airplanes, including our current 1977 Cessna 414, through our nonprofit S Corporation. It is set up as a flying club, allowing for as many as five members, although weve never had more than three. There are three primary elements that affect our shared ownership arrangement.