The Eclipse 500 lives at two ends of the same spectrum. At one terminus, it’s the over-sold, overpromised underperformer that traditional jet operators love to hate. At the other, it’s a nifty little high-tech jewel that a small cadre of owners rave about. Somewhere in the vast gulf between, the new Eclipse Aerospace hopes to mine some jet sales.
We hear a bad news about the aging pilot population and its effect on the decline of general aviation. For one segment of the market, aging is, in the short run, a good thing. Aircraft tug sales are up because pilots who used to be willing to shove their airplanes up uneven ramps into hangars have decided that doing so isn’t as easy as it used to be. The airplane’s obviously been getting heavier, so it’s time to buy a tug.
We’ve been watching and reporting on the progress toward a functional unleaded replacement for 100LL avgas for nearly 30 years. Boiled down, that replacement will have to do three things: 1) meet detonation margins, 2) meet material compatibility requirements—not attack any of the components of existing aircraft fuel systems and the fuel transport and storage, and 3) meet economic realities. That is, sell for a price near that of 100LL. The FAA and private industry have been working the replacement fuel issue for about three decades, spending millions on studies in an attempt to find a fuel that would work. Although the economics are unproven, there are now at least two potential replacement fuels in the U.S. SwiftFuel 100SF has undergone ground testing and has done some flight testing, although not yet on an FAA-approved flight testing program.
Based on the testing we carried out, we feel the Sierra represents a solid value. The Zulu 2 is flagship, with a higher price, so we would qualify your buying decision based on the amount of flying you expect to do. For long trips made on a regular basis and if Bluetooth music is your plan, the Zulu 2 may be worth it. For casual flying and training, the Sierra should serve you well. With the money you save, you might fix the 3G as a backseat or spare set. I bought my first headset based on my CFI’s recommendation. It was a middle-of-the-road, passive model and it got me through my private certificate, but it wasn’t very comfortable. A year or so later I bought another one after seeing it at Oshkosh. Again, it did the job, but as I flew more and more I realized I needed something better. I looked again at Oshkosh, trying every headset at the show. I wanted ANR but worried about the price. I wanted comfort but didn’t want to spend more than my annuals cost.
An emerging market of standby EFIS displays tempt the budget with jet cockpit appeal. We look at three models worth considering.
The Tire Pressure Monitor System provides a hands-free way to check all-important tire pressure on pre-flight. It’s rugged and easy to install.
While it’s easy to peg GA’s continuing decline on rising avgas prices or threadbare FBO aircraft, the reality is more diverse. It’s a “death by a thousand cuts,” where cost and the fleet are major wounds, but free time, demographics, and a score of other factors play in.
The fragile relationship between avionics shops and aircraft owners is sometimes stressed at the end of a project. That’s partly because some owners have unrealistic expectations, assuming the aircraft will be released right after a flight test.
If you’re stepping up into the world of higher-end twins and some high-flying singles, you’ll eventually be faced with maintenance of onboard weather radar. Upgrading and maintaining weather radar is an expensive investment, and the benefits of real-time ship’s weather radar might not be obvious to today’s datalink pilot. But resist the urge to yank ship radar from the airframe—it still has its place. On a recent trip up the East coast in a small twin, we were picking our way along the back edge of a slow-moving line of Gulf-fed buildups that offered no shortage of drama for hundreds of miles. It was a tense flight, but tempered by the NEXRAD images steadily arriving from XM. But as we motored closer to a large cluster of buildups, XM’s image just wasn’t jiving with our view through the windscreen. A watchful controller then offered a heading through a gap that would have been through the heart of a red NEXRAD return.
When we last looked at Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) in 2008, the global satellites were still listening on 121.5 and the cost of a fancy 406 MHz ELT could hit $4000. Today the only people who might hear your cry for help on 121.5 are CAP patrols or a passing airliner, and 406 MHz ELTs can be had for $600-$1400. (See the June 2010 Aviation Consumer for the most recent review of these units.) Is there still a place for PLBs the cockpit? We think so. Not everyone has or wants to upgrade to a 406 MHz ELT. Even if the hardware cost isn’t off-putting, the bill for the required rewiring might be. If you end up in the water, the PLB can stay with you even if the plane sinks. If you’re in remote territory, you can let the ELT activate on its own and have your own PLB to activate after the ELT battery runs out. It’s almost always best to stay with your downed aircraft, but you can easily take the PLB with you if need be. And you can take it on a hike even if you didn’t crash.
Even though I parked the Cubbie on a grass field for the beauty shot above, I’m really not much about the romance of flight. While I savor the fragrance of wet turf mixed with avgas exhaust as much as anyone, the thought of a $5500 annual—and I’ve paid them—tends to turn the rose-colored glasses into a darker shade of cynical. Not that I expect to ever pay a $5500 annual for the Cub, which is exactly the best reason for owning a legacy LSA—not the magic of slipping the surly bonds on rag wings, but the smug satisfaction of doing it for the price of a cheap date at Bob’s Big Boy. How to do that? Split the cost of an already cheap airplane two ways, three ways or four ways. If owning your own airplane increasingly sounds unaffordable, it’s much less so in a partnership to the point that the monthly cost can be we’ll under even a modest car payment. There’s no pretending the capabilities are remotely similar, but if you want to fly or even own, there’s an affordable way to get there.
The Telex line of lightweight headsets, both with and without ANR, is very popular—even dominant—in the relatively quiet cockpits of large corporate and commercial jets. Many new light jets are delivered with two Telex headsets as standard equipment. Unfortunately, this leads many first-time jet pilots to believe the headsets are adequate for regular use in light jet cockpits. We have found this not to be the case. As the flight progresses and hearing fatigue sets in, it’s usually a matter of when, not if, pilots start missing radio calls if they’re using lightweight, on-the-ear headsets. The common fix is to get full-cup, over-the-ear headsets common in turboprops and pistons.
