There are good reasons to make oxygen available at altitudes less than those recommended by the FAA. Face it, unless youre using a pulse oximeter on every flight (we certainly don’t when flying at lower altitudes), you don’t really know how your physiology is reacting on a given day. We think blood oxygen saturation is an important biometric to keep on top of.
If youve been waiting for a cheaper FAA-approved retrofit autopilot you might not have to wait much longer. In fact, you can even have your shop begin the installation. This past April, both TruTrak Flight Systems and Trio Avionics came to Sun n Fun with STC approvals on the installation hardware and wiring harnesses for experimental autopilots.
When L-3 introduced the Lynx NGT9000 multifunction ADS-B transponder in 2015, we nearly dismissed it for all but the highest-end applications. With a starting price that put it we’ll north of ten grand, the NGT9000 seemed like a questionable investment for buyers looking for an affordable path to ADS-B compliance.
I read Larry Anglisanos commentary about BasicMeds altitude restriction in the April 2017 Aviation Consumer. I can only think that restricting BasicMed pilots to altitudes below 18,000 feet is related to limiting them to less complicated aircraft and not the altitude itself. Perhaps the FAA just doesnt want jet pilots flying around with BasicMed certification and while I don’t agree, I think we are lucky to have gotten what we did.
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.
I read the article on owning and maintaining classic and antique aircraft in the March 2017 issue of Aviation Consumer and can certainly relate to the challenges of keeping these old birds. Ours wasnt quite as exotic as your examples-we had a polished 1949 Beech A35 Bonanza-but even with the benefit of continuous production, parts were occasionally a challenge.
A critical (but simple) ground check you did not mention is when examining the through-bolts holding the nosewheel scissors to the airplane, put a wrench on the bolt head and turn it. If the bolt is straight then the scissors will not move, but if its bent you will see the scissors move up and down as the bolt rotates. According to my IA, if you catch this early its pretty easy for a tech to remove and replace the bolt, but if its too far bent, as he saw on a Cessna 182 hed recently worked on, he has to remove the nosegear assembly and get the bolt out using a press.
The FAA turned a regulatory corner last year when it gave the green light to replace spinning attitude gyros (and vacuum systems) with TSOd standalone solid-state electronic attitude instruments. It wasnt long before Dynon-partnering with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)-announced an AML-STC to retrofit its experimental D10A EFIS into lower-end Part 23 aircraft. As expected, Garmin competitively and swiftly earned a more extensive AML-STC for its experimental G5 EFIS just a few months later.
Among the minimum equipment required for VFR and IFR flying, FAR 91.205 still lists the magnetic direction indicator as a must-have item. Dont confuse this with the gyroscopic (or equivalent) directional indicator. Thats required for IFR, in addition to a compass. Given the primitive nature of a magnetic compass, owners are often shocked at the impressive invoices it can generate when it fails. And compasses do fail. Ever have one that leaked its fluid down the front of the instrument panel?
We surveyed six of the more popular internet prep courses to see what was available, how they approached getting a student ready for the instrument written, what they cost and their convenience of use-notably whether they could be used on any internet-connected device or didnt require connectivity while using. We came away feeling all were good-its a competitive market and the high quality of the products reflects it.
When we flew with the KSN770 in late 2013, we found a fully functional and capable navigator, seemingly catering to whats left of King Radio loyalists. It has robust controls, has a bright VGA display and it has a rich feature set thats compatible with a generous list of LRUs, including weather radar and TAWS-B terrain. Who knows why certification dragged on as long as it did?
Ive been a fan of Rosen visors, and for every aircraft Ive purchased, Ive changed out the factory visors for the Rosen products. Larry Anglisanos commentary on the ridiculous regulatory snag thats unraveling with the idea of using electronic attitude gyros for backup is spot on. Im looking to upgrade the software in my Zaon XRX portable traffic receiver. Is there anyone who can help?
