Instruments

A clean-sheet design with STOL capability, the Kodiak initially catered to humanitarian groups that needed to get in and out of tight and unimproved strips. It carries a sizable payload (upward of 3500 pounds and roughly 2500 with floats), seats up to 10 people and most important, it runs on Jet-A for operating in places where 100LL is impossible to get, and of course to up the ante in reliability and operating simplicity. Quest chose the 750-HP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34. It has a 4000-hour TBO-which at the time was the most widely produced single-stage variant of the PT6A-making worldwide field support even easier.

Bad Elf also suggested that flyGarmin customers who want to use the Wombat wait until the subscription has expired and then switch to the Jeppesen JDM because the cost is nearly the same and it will allow them to use the Wombat for remote avionics data updates. Worth mentioning is that Garmins Flight Stream 510 wireless card that performs a similar function (plus a variety of other ones, including flight plan transfer and data overlay) is in the $1500 price range, compared to the $250 Wombat piston model.

• PMA450B AUDIO PANEL
• GEAR OF THE YEAR
• ANTENNA UPKEEP
• GARMIN INREACH MINI
• ELECTROAIR REVISITED
• USED CIRRUS SR22

It may have been that moment-after our feet had shot upward from the icy ramp while we were trying to pull the Cheetah out of the hangar and we lay there, watching the nosewheel roll toward our nether regions-that we came to like aircraft tugs. We think that an easily maneuverable tug that quickly hooks onto an airplane and can move it without strain reduces the risk not only of injury to the pilot but hangar rash to the airplane.

The panel will come on with the master avionics power, but the small rotary knob serves double duty as a power control (its a push-in-and-hold switch to eliminate inadvertent power cycles) and pilot/copilot intercom volume. The larger knob is for passenger volume. Green LED bars to the left of the knobs illuminate when you turn the knobs, showing relative volume. The volume controls are linear throughout the range and there was more than enough gain through our Bose A20 headset.

In each July issue of Aviation Consumer we pick 12 products, services or companies that were standouts over the editorial year. You know, the best of the best. We don’t take our Editors Choice Gear of the Year awards lightly, but when we handed the keys to Cirrus Jet N52CV back over to Cirrus Matt Bergwall after flying it halfway across the country (and spending a couple of days on the factory production floor) we knew we had this years winner.

You might not realize it, but antennas are actually major systems that consist of multiple components. Aside from the antenna itself, there’s the signal cable, RF connectors on both ends of the cable and in some systems, a coupler or splitter. For this reason, you might get sticker shock when your shop gives you a quote for replacement. Truth is, replacing the antenna might be the easy part of the job, especially if the airframe is opened up for an inspection or for other work.

At 2.04 by 3.90 by 1.0 inches and weighing 3.5 ounces, this thing is tiny. Check that against the Explorer+, which is 2.7 by 6.5 by 1.5 inches and weighs 7.5 ounces. Its a good thing the Mini comes with a carabiner clip (and a spine mount adapter) because if it falls under a seat or in a tight, dark space, finding it could be a challenge. Its durable, though, and fits nicely in the hand.

These days its hard to imagine that a wood and fabric four-place piston single like the Bellanca Viking still exists, but it does. And although there arent great squadrons of them around, the Viking retains a loyal, almost cultish following.

After reading about three-blade prop upgrades in the April 2018 Aviation Consumer, I thought I would share my upgrade experience. After converting my elliptical prop tips to square tips by touching a runway at speed, I decided to change to a three-blade prop for my Mooney 231-not for the looks-but to have less noise and vibration without a performance penalty.

When I rounded up over a half dozen compact flight totes for a shootout in the January 2017 Aviation Consumer, the Sportys iPad Bag and MyGoFlight PLC Sport Bag were easy winners. They were just the right size for housing the stuff I typically take flying-mainly action cams and accessories, a Bose headset and an iPad Mini.

MiraCheck Copilot runs on iPads, iPhones and works with an Apple Watch, plus a somewhate less capable version works is available for Android. You get basic functionality for free on one device, including a brief trial of the Pro version. You can buy the Standard version for $29.99 to get a few more features and support for three devices. The full Pro version is what I evaluated. It adds verbal interaction, web history and a more useful features. Pro costs your choice of $4.99 per month, $49.99 a year or $129.99 for life.