Misc

Mag Feedback
A customer brought a copy of the July, 2004 article regarding Bendix or Slick mags. Id like to make a few points that werent brought out and would also like to mention that as both an A&P and a pilot, I really have no preference other than Bendix mags are a bit easier to install and adjust.

Bendix is the only manufacturer of the 2200/3200 series mags that are the single drive/dual mags as used on a number of Lycoming engines. When doing an in-between overhaul mag brand change, you have to figure in a new ignition harness for the respective mag since Slick and Bendix use different harnesses. That can add another several hundred dollars and additional labor.

Its not morally wrong to lie about how fast your airplane flies as long as you know the truth. Heres how to calculate speed accurately.

Adam and Eclipse
I have already placed my bet in the light jet race with Eclipse as a deposit holder from day one. So, that in mind, I would like to comment on Rick Durden s article on the Adam 700. I resent the undeserved negative undertones toward the Eclipse and would like to comment as follows.

The only technological breakthrough on the Eclipse is friction stir welding, which drastically cuts production costs. This provides an inspectable, repairable, nearly composite smooth aluminum airframe. That technology has already been proven in other arenas and the equipment is installed and operating at Eclipse.

By stating that he thinks someone can make money at $2.5 mill…

With turbine engines, those adjectives don’t come to mind. Innodyns ambitious light turboprop seeks to rewrite the equation.

We think JPI makes the best of the best engine monitors but models from EI are competitive if data logging isn’t a must.

Tire Talk
While I do not have anything to dispute your tire testing (see The Aviation Consumer, June 2004), let me relate some anecdotal information about our experience with several of your test subjects.

A friend and I were running a flight school in Indiana in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We started with one Cessna 150 and grew to nine. We also had several Cessna 172s, a Cardinal, a 177RG and several Cherokees.

We decided to do an informal study on tire wear to try to determine which tire made the most landings for the least money. We asked each user of our fleet to note the number of landings on each sortie in the aircraft time log.

We had access to the Goody…

FlightPrep Retort
Id like to clarify a couple of points in The Aviation Consumers review of online flight planners in an otherwise excellent article. While the article was generally complimentary of our product, it left the mixed impression that except for price, FlightPrep and our competitor were pretty much the same in terms of features.

Although the author mentioned some of the differences in the review, she came to the conclusion that she really did not have a strong preference. Im not sure whether she appreciated some of the differences. Actually, FlightPrep and our competitor are quite different. While our competitor is a static Web page flight planner-charts are a…

An airplane with a run-out engine is usually a good buy. But don’t rule out a nice panel as a purchase driver.

A warts-and-all, no apologies listing of the best products and services weve seen this year.

The airplanes exist but no one seems to know why the sport pilot initiative cant get off the ground.

Cheap Heat
Living in Wisconsin, those of us with unheated hangars (or no hangars at all) can certainly appreciate the need for a cabin heater as we’ll as one that pre-heats the engine.

What a number of aircraft owners and I have used are the ceramic cube heaters which are widely available for considerably less than the $475 Tanis system you reviewed in the May, 2004 issue. They have adjustable temperature settings and automatic shutoff in the unlikely event that one gets tipped over.

I place mine on the floor behind the co-pilots seat pointing toward the open floor on the left side of the airplane so the hot air doesnt come into direct contact with the upholstery. I…

We burned a lot of rubber to find out. Top picks are from Goodyear and a retread called the Monster.