Misc

Lake AD
I can sympathize with Lake Aircraft in the dilemma you reported on in your May 2002 issue. I can only imagine the amount of money invested in the parts inventory.

But it occurs to me that no matter how long it took to raise its ugly head, this problem appears to be caused by a deficiency in the design. If so, that is a Lake problem.

It also occurs to me that accepting the FAAs terms of the AD and agreeing to purchase all the required inventory was a bad management decision. Lake should have negotiated a better agreement on the AD.

Expecting the owners of these aircraft to pay the exorbitant costs of the parts is not realistic. If Airtech Canada can make a pr…

Aviation Consumers trusty Mooney ends its days in a swamp after an engine failure. And no one knows why.

Cirrus Cruise
I enjoyed reading your article comparing the Ovation, SR22 and Columbia airplanes in the May issue of Aviation Consumer. I have owned a Cirrus SR22 for seven months and 180 hours and can state categorically that you have underestimated themodels cruise speed.

I usually cruise between 8000 and 11,000 feet and I have never seenthe 165 KTAS cruise you cite in your article. In contrast, I typically see 182 KTAS when operating ROP and burning 17 GPH or 173 KTAS when LOP at 13 GPH.To save fuel and reduce stress on the engine, I favor LOP operation in cruise.

My typical IFR trip between San Francisco and Orange Countytakes 2 hours and consumes 29 to 30…

More on Covers
Thank you for your article on aircraft covers. I wanted to share my experiences with Bruces Custom Covers. Their product is wonderful and their willingness to customize is superb.

However, in an attempt to cover my entire aircraft, their customer service was poor and their phone manner abrupt, as though they were really busy.I suggested that every one of the fuselage and wing covers I had seen fit well, but were poorly strapped and flopped around in the wind.

I suggested a wide Velcro modification, going insofar as to purchase the materials and send them to Bruces. They were not interested, sounded mildly annoyed and far too busy to explore the possibil…

Airtex has first-rate materials for owner-installed interiors. A local auto shop can help with the seat redo.

Im a new aircraft owner (1979 Grumman Tiger) and I would appreciate some feedback on an avionics upgrade. I have a Narco Nav122 with glideslope and marker beacons and I want to replace this with a used Bendix/King KX155 with glideslope with the KI 209A as my primary IFR approach equipment. Your recent article on used avionics mentioned the KX170 as an alternative back-up but you suggested KX155 as being a better deal. Are you saying that aused KX155 would only be good for a back-up and not a primary navcomm? My other idea is to buy a used KLN89B GPS and then (eventually) install the UPSAT MX20 to use for the moving map. This way I can be legal /G and shoot GPS approaches using my Ga…

More Notes on Relief
Heres a comment on your recent article on personal relief devices. Unless we own the miraculous airplane of hangar talk, we all generate a lot of waste containers: Oil bottles.

Purchase a pack of purse-size Kleenex and a plastic automatic transmission filler funnel. Those will make a cheap and handy disposal system, at least as handy as the others and easier to find than the large mouth soda bottles.Get an ATF funnel that will fit into the oil bottle and trim the bottom so that the funnel fits tightly into the bottle neck, that is, it wont bottom out.Trim the top of the funnel to the height and angle that best fits the plumbing with the bottle…

Sweet Relief
Ref your article on personal relief devices in the January issue, great review of perhaps the least-covered aviation products.

My experience with waste handling started in cross country soaring.Fuel stops were definitely not an option and in the early 1980s, I was surprised to find out how many competition sailplane pilots used various dehydration strategies to deal with the problem.

Part of the challenge was probably related to the difficulty of getting water to flow uphill while lying in a prone position.Some lessons learned:Never play with dehydration. It will diminish your skills and will catch up with you sooner or later.Drink normally.

Baggie…

For low-wings, Kennon and Cunningham are toss-up winners but Cunningham makes the best high-wing cover.

A buyer could care less how much youve invested in your airplane. Heres how to arrive at accurate buying or selling price.

How bout a Maule?
Concerning Ken Ibolds article on buying a new Decathlon (Aviation Consumer, October 2001), for that much money he could have had an exciting-to-fly-and-land Maule. I fly mine about 200 hours a year and thanks to business, most days I fly to work.

Its a joy to fly and own and I have Cessna 182 performance with my 235 HP and so I can take four people and bags for the weekend.

-Steve Preas
Lilburn, Georgia

Yeah, but hows it do with hammerheads and Cuban Eights?

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Avidyne vs. Bendix/King
Larry Anglisano dida credible job evaluating Honeywell/Bendix/Kings KMD 550/850 in your November 2001 issue. I would…