If youve been waiting for a cheaper FAA-approved retrofit autopilot you might not have to wait much longer. In fact, you can even have your shop begin the installation. This past April, both TruTrak Flight Systems and Trio Avionics came to Sun n Fun with STC approvals on the installation hardware and wiring harnesses for experimental autopilots.
When L-3 introduced the Lynx NGT9000 multifunction ADS-B transponder in 2015, we nearly dismissed it for all but the highest-end applications. With a starting price that put it we’ll north of ten grand, the NGT9000 seemed like a questionable investment for buyers looking for an affordable path to ADS-B compliance.
A colleague faced with an engine swap on his Baron recently asked me a tough one: Will a factory remanufactured engine-as opposed to a quality field overhaul done by a respected shop-greatly influence the resale value of the aircraft? Moreover, will the Baron be more difficult to sell without factory engines? The quotes he got showed almost a $10,000 delta, per engine, between a field overhaul using new cylinders and a Continental reman. Before hitting the pavement and asking several industry pros to weigh in, we threw the question out on sister publication AVweb.com to see what readers would do. The results were predictable.
I read Larry Anglisanos commentary about BasicMeds altitude restriction in the April 2017 Aviation Consumer. I can only think that restricting BasicMed pilots to altitudes below 18,000 feet is related to limiting them to less complicated aircraft and not the altitude itself. Perhaps the FAA just doesnt want jet pilots flying around with BasicMed certification and while I don’t agree, I think we are lucky to have gotten what we did.
Lets get this out of the way, shall we? Cirrus salespeople arent apologetic that a fully loaded 2017 SR22T GTS comes with an eye-widening invoice north of $900,000 when you tack on an extended warranty. Cirrus offers less expensive models, of course, but the turbocharged SR22T is the most popular seller. Just how many buyers would spend nearly $1 million for an unpressurized piston single, you might ask? More than you might think.
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.
I read the article on owning and maintaining classic and antique aircraft in the March 2017 issue of Aviation Consumer and can certainly relate to the challenges of keeping these old birds. Ours wasnt quite as exotic as your examples-we had a polished 1949 Beech A35 Bonanza-but even with the benefit of continuous production, parts were occasionally a challenge.
When we last looked at insurance for older pilots, the insurance market was in the midst of a soft market cycle, or at least we thought it was. Almost four years later, there are even more insurers than there were then. As the GA fleet in the U.S. continues to gradually shrink, there are more insurance dollars chasing fewer airplanes. As a result, rates and underwriting guidelines are even softer now than they were then.
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.
The FAAs recently announced BasicMed rule drew cheers from owners and pilots, but there’s still confusion about what effect it will have on the industry and worry that non-AME doctors wont sign off on the FAAs new medical checklist. At press time, the FAA had published a draft of the checklist in AC 68-1 and although BasicMed wont be available until May 1, 2017, the AC serves as a template for pilots to convince non-AME docs to sign the approval.
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.
However skilled (or not) general aviation pilots are, they have proven consistently good at one thing: losing control of airplanes and digging smoking craters in the verdant earth. The reasons arent necessarily understood but the solution is becoming increasingly laser focused on providing autopilots that wont let you crash, but will nudge and prod and do everything short of seizing control of the aircraft. Except now, theyre even doing that.The latest comes from Daher in the companys new TBM 930 cabin-class speed merchant.
