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Theyre now good enough to do everything from any machine with Web access. Our top pick is Aeroplanner.

Diesel Notes
Thank you for the article on the Maule with the SMA diesel engine. (See Aviation Consumer, October, 2003.) I found it was a fair assessment of the installation. If I may, Id like to bring an update and clarify a few points:

The engine produces 230 HP in ISA condition at sea level. Its power decreases progressively from SL to 5000 feet, where it stabilizes at 200 HP to about 10,000 feet.In other words,the engine produces 230 HP at SL, 215 HP at2500 feet and 200 HP at 5000 feet, all smoothlycontrolled through the computer.

The engine is no longer limited to five minutes at max takeoff power (230 HP) so one can cruise above the beach at 1000 feet at 224…

No, you don’t need an expensive full-motion sim to knock off the IFR rust. We compare offerings from three companies.

By EPA standards, airplanes are profligate fuel wasters. Yet Diamond, Mooney and Cessna hold the economy high ground.

For many owners, these six-placers offer ideal speed, payload and operating economy.

WAAS Worries
I enjoyed your article on the status of GPS WAAS in the November, 2003 issue. On page 18, you used the example of the GPS 32 approach at Gaithersburg, Maryland, my home base. While this demonstrates the potential benefits of WAAS, this particular approach is totally useless to civilians.

Thats because you need to enter the FREEZE zone surrounding DCA VOR. My guess is that only when hell freezes over will civilian aircraft be able to enter that zone. The approach is not available at night.

Look at the weird wording they use to say that on the chart: No straight-in or circling at night. (What else is there?) The new GPS 14 approach also uses the FREEZE…

The first new piston twin in years aims to take on Beech and Piper in a narrow market niche.

Its a Bonanza in everything but name. The Deb outlasted and eventually replaced the venerable V-tail.

Turbo Touts
Your articles in the August issue on turbocharging settled once and for all that if you fly short missions and/or stay low, turbocharging doesnt make sense. Five years ago, I was faced with traveling from the Nashville area to the Oklahoma City area on a regular basis. The Mooney 252 was my choice and I have never regretted it.

First, measuring speed at the non-turbos altitude makes no sense, as you did for the Ovation and Bravo. I only fly the 252, so I cant speak to the others, but I get 187 knots TAS out of the 252.Thats a 25-knot advantage plus tailwindsof over 80 knots consistently in winter. My best time for the trip was 2:32. Try that at 15,…

If you want to use your own airplane for corporate travel, many companies will sneer. But there are ways to make it work.

Pipers first nosedragger: Dowdy anachronism or delightful, affordable classic? (Both may be true.)

UPSAT CNX80
Im a fan of Aviation Consumer and have taken your advice on purchases. However, I think youre missing the real story of the UPSAT CNX80. UPSAT is so far ahead of the game that nobody seems to understand how revolutionary the product is.

I spent a great deal of time talking to Wayne McGhee at the UPSAT booth at Sun n Fun and this box is amazing. It needs to be compared to something in a Gulfstream, not a Garmin box. I think a headline like, Corporate FMS comes to GA or Big Iron Features in a GA Mapcom is more accurate.Garmin told me at the show that they are looking at the third quarter of 2003 for their WASS box. The upgrade is to send in your GNS430 or…