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First Word: April, 2023

PRODUCT DEMOS:  WHAT MAKES A GOOD ONE?

With airshow season approaching, it’s a good time to think about putting your hands and eyes on the products you’ve been considering. Yeah, it’ll cost you some money and time to get there, but Sun ‘n Fun, AirVenture and some of the other larger gatherings can be the best places to do your research. This includes talking to vendors and other buyers, and in the avionics world, getting a thorough product demo to see how you jibe with the product’s control set and operating logic. Some vendors might fall short, but others just get it.

I got to thinking about the importance of hands-on product demos while putting two of the latest audio panels from PS Engineering and Garmin on my test bench. Forget everything you know about a King KMA24 and other vintage audio panels—these latest audio systems are packed layers deep with features. I wouldn’t consider dropping north of $2000 on either without first sampling the feature set to see which suits you the better. For years, I’ve watched PS Engineering’s Mark Scheuer demo his company’s audio products and others can learn from his approach.

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.