In the world of internal combustion engines, technology has declared war on octane. Thanks to sophisticated engine control units and knock detection, ever fewer modern cars require high-octane fuel. Aircraft engines, naturally, have been left behind, stranded on their own little island of octane neediness. And so the perverse problem of finding a replacement for leaded 100-octane avgas.
Less we’ll known in aviation circles, Austrian-based AKG Acoustics is respected in the studio and stage performance market with products endorsed by top performers. This includes Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. Parent company Harman nearly owns the automotive OEM audio market. Its products are standard in BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover and Toyota.
We’re generally not impressed by geeky personal gadgets, and the Pebble wearable technology is no exception. Moreover, we’re trying to reduce our inventory of distracting portable electronics for the cockpit. That’s why it was easy to shrug off the recently introduced interface between the Hilton WingX Pro7 navigation app and the Pebble Smartwatch. But valued readers rely on us to give this stuff a try before they buy, so we did. What’s one more USB charging cable in a drawer full of a hundred of them, anyway?
We’ve watched the evolution of the Diamond DA40 series with interest. Our first reaction to what would become the Diamond Star was to be less than impressed. We thought the canopy was a marketing ploy that would make emergency egress difficult, and the cabin looked small and uncomfortable.
You’ve probably heard about the ARC’s (Aviation Rule Making Committee) proposal to the FAA that could relax the stringent certification process for small aircraft. I think we can all agree that it’s time to change the certification standards that exist in FAR 23 regulations, particularly when it comes to avionics. This was obvious as I looked at two new integrated avionics suites that were introduced at the annual Sun ‘n Fun show this past April.
As an emergency physician with a background in epidemiology and public health, I would like to thank Rick Durden and Aviation Consumer for the article on Safety Refurbs in the March 2014 issue. Although it was very we’ll done and quite helpful, I’d like to add two caveats.
It’s easy to confuse the Max-Viz enhanced vision system (EVS)with popular synthetic vision systems (SVS). These include Garmin’s proprietary SVT and Aspen’s ESV synthetic vision software. While synthetic vision is just that—a GPS-based synthetic depiction of terrain, obstacle and landscape features—the Max-Viz product from Oregon-based Astronics is a live moving image of the outside environment.
Talk about an impulse purchase. When we spotted the Vaavud digital wind meter for smartphones in the Sporty’s catalog, the marketing photos made it easy to justify dropping $49.95 plus shipping on the thing. Turns out it didn’t provide the level of utility we anticipated, at least for our flying missions.
Although the design is more than four decades old, the Cessna 177 Cardinal—with its racy sloped windshield, wide doors and strutless wings—looks more modern than the newest Skyhawks coming out of Cessna’s Independence, Kansas, plant. Yet, sadly, the Cardinal is a poster child for why innovation and audacity in general aviation development has often met dismal results in the market. Despite high expectations for a design that would usher in new thinking in light aircraft, the Cardinal had a rocky start and was gone from Cessna’s inventory a decade after it emerged.
Just how crashworthy is your aircraft’s cabin? Here’s hoping you’ll never find out. Our safety refurbishment article that begins on page 7 contains a number of useful tips for preparedness, plus a rundown of aftermarket products for raising the bar on cabin crashworthiness and occupant safety. For years, I thought little about the issue, other than snugging the seat belt during the takeoff roll and instructing passengers how to operate the cabin door and emergency windows. And then I was in a crash.
I just received my February 2014 issue of Aviation Consumer and read with interest the article on turbochargers, since I’ve been flying my Mooney 231 converted to a 252 for the past 6500 hours and 27 years. I was surprised at the estimated turbo “surcharge” of $25 per hour, with “most of it being for a $2200 overhaul at 1200 hours.” If you were to put aside $25 per hour for 1200 hours (to cover a $2200 overhaul), that would be $30,000. Let’s say the engine made it to 1500 hours. The turbo allowance would have amounted to $37,500, which for me would more than cover both the engine and turbo overhaul.
While the long-awaited unleaded replacement for 100LL might not quite be ready for the fuel farm, as of early December 2013, it looked to be at least hovering over the horizon. Shell surprised the industry with a late-in-the-year announcement that it has developed an unleaded 100-octane fuel that it intends to submit to the FAA’s fuel approval process.
