Altitude encoders are the doorstops of the avionics world. You have to have one, but don’t expect a sweep through the list of available hardware to yield impressive lists of features and capabilities. After all, all the gadgets do is electronically deliver altitude data to a transponder that then reports your altitude to ATC-Mode C.
While wireless connectivity is taken for granted outside the cockpit, its recently begun to see some use in the cockpit. Portable ADS-B devices connect wirelessly to our portables, but wireless communications with panel-mount, certified avionics is far less common. Garmin changed that with its RS-232-based Flight Stream 100/200 wireless hubs.
Somewhere between conception and execution of the light sport aircraft idea, the notion of simple and inexpensive got tossed overboard. Typical LSAs are lavishly equipped at prices in the $130,000 range. Yet at least a couple of companies persist with offerings below that price, including the Italian-built Groppo Trail, which surfaced again this year at AirVenture.It’s not entirely new to the U.S., having appeared sotto voce last year, but with no marketing push. Now the…
Back in the day, King’s KX99 handheld transceiver ruled the roost. It was a big, heavy and solid performer. Today, portable transceivers are far more advanced, but their purpose hasn’t changed.
There have been a number of attempts to bring electronic ignition to the piston general aviation world—with varying rates of success. One we have been following is Electroair, a Howell, Michigan, company that developed an electronic ignition system (EIS) originally for homebuilts, and went on to get an STC for production airplanes—four-cylinder engine models first, then six-cylinder machines. It’s in the application process for turbocharged engines and may have that approval soon after this article appears.
When Continental Motors announced last summer that it had bought the assets of Thielert Aircraft Engines, it promised to move aggressively to expand the aerodiesel market. In April, it made the first delivery on that claim when Piper announced the Archer DX, its first diesel-powered aircraft and perhaps the first U.S.-manufactured model to make it through the cert hoops to market.
Aspen Avionics said its market survey showed that many VFR pilots would purchase primary flight displays, but can’t justify the high cost of the upgrade. How high? In some cases, a single-screen PFD retrofit can cost $15,000 and higher.
The way we see it, if there’s an aircraft manufacturer that could have an advantage in the LSA market, it’s Van’s Aircraft. For decades, Van’s has dominated the kit market with the proven and respected RV line. With over 8000 RV aircraft flying, homebuilt RVs have an earned reputation for excellent handling, decent ergonomics and plenty of fun factor.
According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don’t own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends.
Proposals for new autopilot upgrades can be shocking. Even entry-level wing-leveling systems start at $10,000, not including installation. But that won’t buy much. Higher-end models with add-on options can easily snowball a project to $40,000. That’s roughly the cost of an average engine replacement—or an average Skyhawk.
If ever we needed more proof that yesterday’s conventional wisdom is today’s grim reality, the Cessna Skycatcher may be Exhibit A. Five years ago, it was destined to sweep its way to the top of the light sport aircraft market, mowing down most of the competition in a relentless drive to market dominance. Today, the Skycatcher is just another dead-end GA product, leaving owners, if not stranded, definitely baffled.
Owning an airplane requires a certain suspension of the economic rules that govern normal people, but on the whole, the airplane industry operates under an even more perverse logic: As sales soften, it raises unit prices, perhaps chasing away those buyers on the margins who might have been toying with pulling the trigger to buy […]
