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More useful than a J-3 and cheaper than a Super Cub, the Cruiser flies on as a popular choice for the low-and-slow crowd.

Mostly its the usual suspects: fuel, weather and runway prangs. But poor maintenance is a surprisingly big player.

There are only two choices. The R.C. Allen is half the price of the AIM model and you definitely get what you pay for.

Ever notice how some shops never met a prop that didnt need new blades? Heres how to avoid getting stung.

New and used sales are in the tank but its even worse for the airlines. That may yet be GAs silver lining.

Fast, yes. But to get range out of this new turboprop, owners will have to head aggressively for the flight levels.

The best way is to put some numbers on the problem with a pulse oximeter. Our first choice is the Aero.

Although we lean toward models without VOR, Yaesus VXA-120 and the Icom IC A-23 lead the pack.

Dear Philistines
I read your review of aluminum polishes with disbelief. Who advised you on what products to evaluate, Martha Stewart? What were you thinking? Were you sissies afraid to try a real mans/womans polish?

Im talking about Nuvite of course, the finest aluminum polish available at any price for those who are amongst the true illuminati of shine.Not only is Nuvite the best aluminum polish ever invented,its also nicely scented with afull-bodiedaroma of volatile aromatics delicately balanced by a hint of chlorofluorocarbons and tert-butyl ethers. Its bouquet isreminiscent of the finest jock itch ointments.

I must admit to a certain feeling of resignatio…

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With all the pomp and circumstance of a Taco Bell Grand Opening, the FAA last fall announced that its long- awaited wide area augmentation system for GPS was finally here. The WAAS satellites were in geosync orbit, the signal was up to snuff and, with a grand flourish, the FAA pronounced WAAS suitable for VFR navigation.

VFR navigation? Huh? The government has chewed through the better part of a billion dollars to field a system thatll get hikers to within sniffing distance of a night latrine or keep a drunken power boat driver in center channel, but for pilots, WAAS is, in the words of Cactus Jack Garner, about as useful as a bucket of warm spit.

Nonetheless, through a…

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Okay, so the stock market has taken a dump. But the up side is that suddenly, there are more cabin class airplanes on the used market, cheap.

To sort through the choices, we’ll round out our series on used twins by taking a look at the non-Cessna iron available for those who want luxury and are willing to pay for the maintenance these complex, aging machines demand.

At the risk of sounding preachy, we’ll reemphasize four key points: Get a thorough pre-purchase inspection; don’t short yourself on proper training; plan on EGT/CHT engine analyzers for each engine and, last, if you cant pay the maintenance bills these airplanes incur, don’t buy one in the first place….

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When are you guys going to test that new landing light Roy LoPresti is selling? wrote a reader from the Midwest.

She was referring to the Boom Beam HID system being sold by LoPresti Speed Merchants. Weve had the system on the company Mooney for about a year-and-a-half and reported on its performance in the April 2000 issue of Aviation Consumer.

A progress report: The system continues to perform as advertised but weve had some trouble with it. Last summer, due to a wire routing problem, heat from the exhaust system fried the wiring from the firewall-mounted ballast to the lamp. The Boom Beams starter also appeared cooked but was apparently okay.

LoPresti se…