August 3, 2010

Jeppesen VFR+GPS Charts

An alternative to sectional charts

Since 1930, the standard paper navigation chart for VFR pilots has been the venerable sectional, originally produced by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, whose aviation department has since become the FAA’s National Aeronautical Chart Office (NACO). NACO sectional charts are widely available, and provide key data on terrain, airspace, navigational aids, etc. We all learn to use them in primary flight training.

July 20, 2010

20 New iPad Apps!

Turn your iPad into the ultimate cockpit resource

The iPad is slick, dazzling and infinitely upgradeable, with over 100,000 applications in Apple’s App Store.

May 25, 2010

10 Top Products

The flying/buying season is in full swing: Hop on board!

Year in, year out, up economy or down economy, enterprising aviation entrepreneurs always find new and exciting ways to get our juices flowing and our checking accounts draining.

April 20, 2010

Top 12 Tech

With aviation and technology merged forever, we take a look at what’s coming to a cockpit near you

So much has changed in aviation in the last 15 years. Never mind the fact that LSA and the sport pilot category have instigated innovation rivaled only by the “golden age” of aviation in the ’40s.

October 6, 2009

The LSA Glass Menagerie

Start Christmas shopping now: There are tons of glass to choose from!

Once upon a time, intrepid pilots rapped with their oil-stained, gloved knuckles on balky steam gauges; needles quivered unstuck, and all was right across the skies.

September 22, 2009

Best Handheld Products!

Your guide to the newest portable gear

Like many pilots, I carry a little insurance against the possibility of an alternator failure. I have a portable GPS on my Skylane’s yoke, a handheld VHF NAV/COM in a seat-back pocket and a cell phone where I can reach it.

September 9, 2009

Gear Up With BrightLine Bags

Stay organized in and out of the cockpit

If you took one look at my airport car, you’d probably conclude that I’m not the most organized person in the world.

August 25, 2009

21st-Century Technology For Every Cockpit!

A panel-mount buyer’s guide for all pilots

The world of panel-mount avionics has changed almost beyond recognition in the past 10 years, with glass panels and digital displays rapidly taking over from the “steam gauges” of the 20th century.

April 8, 2009

Screen Gem

Avidyne’s new Entegra makes glass perfectly clear

A flight down Florida’s east coast is replete with tropical playground panoramas, but the million-dollar view isn’t enough at the moment to pry my eyes from the dual IFDs (Integrated Flight Displays) of Avidyne’s new Entegra Release 9, installed in the company’s Cirrus SR22.

February 10, 2009

Garmin 696: A Giant Leap Ahead

In a remarkable paradigm shift from past portable GPS devices, Garmin produces a larger knee-pad version with new talents

If you hadn’t noticed, the Garmin 696 is bigger. Anyone who has seen the advertising for Garmin’s new world-beater 696 GPS navigation unit knows it’s a definite departure from Garmin’s traditional philosophy of thinking small. Garmin entered the market back in 1989 by producing a small, high-quality, portable GPS unit; but the new system’s most obvious talent is simply its size. (In fact, the 696 isn’t the first larger-format Garmin portable GPS.

December 16, 2008

Headset How-To

Today, aviation headsets sport more features than ever before. Use this guide to navigate your way through the headset jungle.

Ask any two pilots what the best headset is and you’ll get two distinct answers, each with solid claims to back it up. There are scores of headsets on the market, and the different features of each model make choosing the correct headset a quagmire of myth, hearsay and fact.

December 16, 2008

Choosing Your Handheld

What to consider before you purchase a GPS, EFB or NAV/COM

Pilots today are increasingly dependent on electronic navigation and communication equipment: GPS for navigation, satellite radio for weather avoidance and VHF for voice communications (since September 11, no pilot can seriously think about flying in controlled airspace without one).

November 1, 2008

Top New Products

The Coolest gadgets for the cockpit and beyond

One of the best things about EAA AirVenture, more than any other aviation gathering, is the sheer number of cool things you’ll find, whether cruising the fly market for tools, sheet metal and bungee cords, or stalking through the hangars for treasures and things you never knew you’d need. We’ve found some incredibly clever products; many that you may not have sampled yet. Prices run the gamut of ranges, but the items are all worth a look. When you go to Oshkosh, you never know what you may come home with!

October 1, 2008

Analyze This

Today’s engine analyzers can help you lower costs and fly more safely

No matter how modern an airplane’s engines and systems are, predictable power is ultimately a pilot’s personal responsibility. We rely on engine instrumentation to ensure safe flight, but we also like to optimize engine operations (for example, speed, distance or lifetime economy). The right information, reliably transmitted and interpreted, can save money and time, and prevent awkward situations.

September 30, 2008

Flight Management Systems

Airline and bizjet pilots have been using flight management system (FMS) technology for almost 30 years, but it’s new to general aviation pilots. From the beginning, the FMS has appeared to the pilot as a control unit with at least two features: a keypad to enter waypoints and an alphanumeric display to show navigation and performance data. That’s still true for most FMS displays, though some now provide graphical features, and not all GA installations include a keypad. The FMS can also drive navigation instruments (or the PFD on a glass panel).

June 1, 2008

Heads Up On Headsets

New models & new technology, priced from $79 to $995

Aviation headsets—now that’s a topic that’s close to my heart, or ears. My first “headset” was a Gosport tube in a military trainer, an all-rubber affair with a speaking tube connected to rubber ear pads via a long tube. Pity the poor student who tried to follow the grunts, snorts and expletives emanating from the rear cockpit. A few years later, after bouncing my head off the canopy of my SNJ Texan too many times, I took my Bell motorcycle helmet, hollowed out the padding and, using a discarded TV camera headset, inserted a set of Telex ear pads, bolted on the boom mic, then wired it to the navcom. Forty years later, it still works, more or less.

May 29, 2008

High-Tech Buyer’s Guide

Entering the glass-cockpit age has gotten more affordable

An interesting trend has been emerging: Upgrades for existing aircraft are bringing older airplanes into the modern, electronic, glass-cockpit age. Glass upgrades or even whole retrofit panels can make you think you’re flying the newest aircraft in the sky.

March 1, 2008

Home Sims Fly To New Levels

Take off from your den!

The world of flight simulation has changed quite a bit since Edwin Link invented the first flight simulator in 1931; today, realistic simulation is available in packages that range from software that can run on a desktop computer up to multimillion-dollar systems used to train airline and military pilots.

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