After reviewing the 100 most recent Model 35 accidents, we couldn’t help but wonder about the demographics of the owners. The majority of the events fell into the “other” category and generally reflected lousy judgment on the part of the pilot, especially when the 17 fuel-related accidents are added to the pot. On top of that, 10 of the fatally injured pilots had been taking FAA-proscribed medications that may have impaired their ability to fly an airplane.
In the main article, I expressed what turned out to be a strongly positive evaluation of the “highly focused Redbird Xwind Simulator.” That being the case, how does the simulator behave in comparison with a real airplane in a gusting crosswind? The simulator approaches at a set speed, and has roll response that is just sloppy enough that it mimics an airplane similar to a Cessna 172 or Cherokee Warrior fairly well, although the rudder…
I have a single-screen Aspen Avionics EFD1000Pro installed in my Piper Arrow since July of 2012 and it is amazing. Unfortunately, I learned that if the system loses pitot input (if it’s clogged, for example), you completely lose most all critical data, even non-pitot-sourced data. This results in a black screen with two red Xs covering the upper and lower halves. This means no attitude, airspeed, altitude, heading, HSI or GPS overlay from an external navigator, like a Garmin GNS530 or 430.
Every summer we look back at the editorial year for products and services that stand out for value, innovation and credibility. While this wasn’t a bad year, we weren’t overwhelmed with products that we consider game changers. Still, there were a select dozen that were worthy of our editors’ choice award.
I read the Garmin GXM42 satellite receiver and new weather subscription article in your May 2014 issue. Are these guys Sirius? Even with a $300 rebate, does SiriusXM really think many customers are going to pay roughly the cost of an ADS-B receiver only to pay another $385 to $1200 per year to get the weather data? Further, I don’t think the data—which doesn’t have traffic—is more useful than the free FIS-B ADS-B weather products.
Sometimes you just want to throttle the marketing types. Hanging the purposely edgy “Xtreme” name on the new Decathlon brings to mind a machine with handling that you’re lucky to survive and of no practical use outside of aerobatics.
It can be said that a skilled and reliable aircraft maintenance shop is an aircraft owner’s biggest asset. For a shop, a loyal and fast-paying customer keeps the doors open. That’s why it’s important for the owner and the shop to keep this valued partnership healthy.
Owning an airplane requires a certain suspension of the economic rules that govern normal people, but on the whole, the airplane industry operates under an even more perverse logic: As sales soften, it raises unit prices, perhaps chasing away those buyers on the margins who might have been toying with pulling the trigger to buy […]
The smart money says that buying a used piston twin is crazy when avgas costs seven bucks, an engine overhaul runs north of $30,000 and often a twin isn’t that much faster than a comparable single. After looking at the stunning collapse of piston twin prices in this century, we’re tempted to simply say the smart money is right and let things go. The problem is, it’s just not that simple.
Owning an airplane requires a certain suspension of the economic rules that govern normal people, but on the whole, the airplane industry operates under an even more perverse logic: As sales soften, it raises unit prices, perhaps chasing away those buyers on the margins who might have been toying with pulling the trigger to buy […]
If for no other reason than adventure, flying and motorcycling are crossover sports. But that’s not the reason why MotoPOD founder and engineer David Shelton invented the MotoLOAD—a series of ramps and fixtures that allow pilots to load and secure an aviation-specific 225-cc motorcycle inside the cabin of a Piper Cherokee Six, Lance, Saratoga or Seneca.
When considering the viability of electric-powered aircraft, it’s important to note the huge difference between the internal combustion (IC) engine that burns hydrocarbon fuels and an electric motor that relies on a battery energy source. The ratio of air mass to fuel mass at efficient combustion (stoichiometry) is about 14.6. That is, for every pound of fuel burned, 14.6 pounds of air are consumed. But you don’t have to carry the air since it is available in the atmosphere. Fuel weighs about 6 pounds per gallon, so 16 gallons of fuel weigh about 100 pounds. Over 1400 pounds of air will be consumed in burning that amount of fuel. An electric motor requires that all of the energy be contained in the battery. Since the energy density of lithium batteries is about 26 times less than the energy of gasoline, there is nowhere for electric propulsion to go. It is interesting to note that gasoline has 10 times the energy density of TNT that needs to carry its oxidizer within.
