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August 2008 
Eclipse 500: Still a Work in ProgressVern Rayburn announced at Oshkosh in 1998 that a new little airplane would change all the rules about flying and, especially, about building airplanes. The Eclipse 500 was to define a new class called the VLJ or very light jet. It was to be fuel efficient, fast and would embrace the latest technologies so it could be built inexpensively. It would also be easier and cheaper to fly than a light twin. A full decade and a billion-plus in developmental dollars later, the Eclipse 500 is trickling if not pouring off the production line in Albuquerque; about 200 have been built. The overarching question is: Does the Eclipse really change the rules? And if it doesn’t, why not? Further, what’s the thing like to fly? Is the cutting-edge glass cockpit really as advanced as Eclipse said it would be? Answering these questions isn’t easy. Eclipse has steadfastly refused to offer press demonstrations of the airplane and some owners just won’t talk about their impressions of the airplane, giving the inquisitive person the notion that something’s not quite right here. For this report, a cooperative owner allowed us a brief turn at the controls of an Eclipse 500 so we could find out for ourselves. Gear of the Year: Cirrus Perspective Every year about this time, we like to fill our figurative pipe with tobacco—the real one got tossed long ago—and ruminate on the products and services we’ve examined during the past year. As there always are in any field of comparison, during a year of testing, prodding and experimenting, we find standout products in which the manufacturer has gone the extra distance to provide exceptional quality or value. Presented here in summary, are our picks for 2008. Transponder Upgrades: Garmin GTX327 Is Tops While transponder replacement ranks near the bottom of most owners’ upgrade list, eventually—and often unexpectedly—you’ll be writing a check for a few grand on a transponder upgrade. You’ll likely rely on your shop’s recommendation for replacement options but there are several issues and a handful of models to consider. A proactive replacement may even be warranted given the modern technology found in many new models. Here’s a review of the current market offerings in ATC transponder gear and a review of the important accessories that should be addressed during installation. Ease of installation shouldn’t be the primary consideration when selecting a replacement transponder. You could shop the market for a used, exact-replacement for that ancient Cessna model only to face another failure next month. When an old model fails, our advice is to bite the bullet and replace it with a new unit. This usually includes replacing the interface wiring (also 20-plus years old) and antenna system that’s integral to the transponder’s performance. Reader Headset Survey: Bose and DC Best Bets One thing from our survey was crystal clear: Most pilots love their current headset. An astounding 90 percent of the over 900 pilots who answered our survey considered their headset to be a good value after using it in the field for some time. Considering the majority of respondents had their headset for more than four years, that’s saying something. When asked if, knowing what they know now, would they go out and buy the same headset again, 86 percent said they would. Several of the "no" votes were just because they wanted to upgrade to active noise reduction (ANR), Bluetooth or a cell phone interface. Such rosy-cheeked satisfaction isn’t what we usually see on these surveys. Does it mean you’ll be happy with whatever you buy? Hardly. Performance is largely in the eye of the beholder. If there’s one takeaway from this survey, it’s that the best headset for you depends on your mission, your wallet and, most importantly, your head. Forming a Corporation: Works Well For Groups Prospective aircraft buyers must decide how to structure the ownership of the airplane. For an individual, the options are to put it in the owner’s name or to form a corporation to own the airplane. with the individual as the sole shareholder. (An L.L.C. is so nearly identical that we’ll use the word corporation to cover both.) If there is to be more than one owner, the aircraft may be owned as a partnership, with each owner’s name showing on the registration, a limited partnership (so rare in general aviation that we’ll ignore it here) or as an asset of a corporation with the owners being shareholders. The quick and dirty advice for which is best is simple: For an individual, a corporation does not provide any advantage unless the owner/pilot is doing significant charitable flying (medical mercy, environmental, etc.) and wants to use the available tax deduction for renting the airplane to him or herself. For group ownership, a corporation provides benefits that are worth exploring if the owners are willing to do the paperwork, reporting and file the required tax returns. Best Fuel Economy: Diamond, Mooney Win Not to alarm you, but the highest price avgas in the U.S. recently topped $8, although the average hovers closer to the mid-5s. Long before this distressing development, a reader wrote with this suggestion: "You know, you really should look at the fuel economy of various airplanes. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s a big enough mileage difference to make it worth looking at something else." Answer: We can, we have and there is. A certain class of owner—OK, the cheap screws—have always considered fuel efficiency above all else, either because they don’t have to carry much in the airplane or they don’t want or need to go fast. Of such stuff are Mooney owners made. (And we can prove it.) Since it costs $250 to fill up a Cherokee, more owners than ever are dropping back to survival mode and asking what kind of capability 8 gallons an hour will buy. (More than you think, perhaps, but in any case better than padlocking the hangar door.) Used Aircraft Guide: Piper Tri-Pacer There was a time when almost all light airplanes were taildraggers. Tricycle-gear airplanes were rare, mainly because taildraggers—or conventional-gear airplanes, if you prefer—generally were better at dealing with the unpaved runways at most airports. This common kinship among light airplanes continued into the early 1950s, broken only by such types as the Ercoupe, Navion and Beech Bonanza, to pick three. Up at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in the late 1940s, the Piper Aircraft Corporation was making a wide range of airplanes, including the venerable Cub, mostly of fabric stretched over a wood or metal frame. Out in Wichita, Cessna and Beech were only beginning their transition to all-metal airplanes with tricycle gear, which must have made for some sleepless nights at Piper. While the company apparently couldn’t develop an all-metal airplane overnight, it could convert its four-seat, conventional-gear Pacer to the tricycle-gear configuration ahead of many others. |
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