We pilots must be nuts. We willingly strap ourselves into frangible vehicles with cabins smaller than occupied by a heinous criminal in solitary confinement and then climb to altitudes where our brains are deprived of oxygen to the extent performance of the tasks essential to a safe return to the planet is put at risk. […]
Not everyone has a fancy Bluetooth-equipped audio control panel, and believe it or not there are still a lot of pilots (and passengers) flying with passive headsets from an age where wireless connectivity was a dream. Enter the $159 Faro Stealth AudioLink. Sporty’s (the exclusive distributor of the AudioLink) worked closely with headset maker Faro […]
If a high-priced ELT system doesn’t get you rescued maybe a signaling strobe light will, and that’s just one purpose of the Bush Pilot SOS flashlight from pilot supplier Flight Outfitters. If you’re like us, the last thing you might need is another flashlight, but the Bush Pilot SOS got our attention. It’s more than […]
Enjoying huge success with the Stratus portable ADS-B receivers, Appareo joins the crowded app market with Insight EFB for Apple iOS. While Insight provides a lot of the flight management functionality pilots expect from a modern EFB, it adds some unique features, including real-time radio encryption. I spent some time with Insight working through its […]
With insurance premiums skyrocketing—especially for pilots of complex, retractable-gear airplanes—the last thing you need is a gear-up landing because you were distracted. Aftermarket audio and visual alert systems can help, while some can even monitor the status of cabin and baggage doors and other systems. While there are retrofit systems that focus entirely on monitoring […]
Garmin’s launch of the new aera 760 portable navigator couldn’t have come at a worse time. Historically, Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture have been the ideal backdrop for new Garmin gadget intros, but with both shows canceled, the company can’t generate the usual airshow buzz to get the marketing momentum going. But does the tablet-saturated […]
In the IFR On a Budget article in the May 2020 Aviation Consumer we favored Garmin’s GI 275 flight instruments for their drop-in physical installation, stepping-stone upgrade potential and liberal third-party interfacing. Since running that article, we found ourselves shopping for a budget EFIS upgrade for one of our test beds—a 1966 Cessna 182J. Our […]
What do pilots value in apps? The chart and comments at right provide a basic road map on how users evaluate what apps do and how they do it. The data was gathered from a survey returned by 984 users queried through our online sister publication, www.avweb.com. In the July 2020 edition of Aviation Consumer, […]
If the app market hasn’t quite reached stasis, it must be close to that. Our recent surveys suggest that only about 11 percent of pilots don’t fly with tablets or apps of any kind and that doesn’t leave much headroom for new entrants or for expansion of established players. So, buyers may be shifting from […]
We didn’t know what to expect when Garmin invited us to its Olathe, Kansas, testing grounds to fly Autoland. But sitting shotgun in a new Piper M600 turboprop observing Garmin’s latest layer of safety backstop systems called Autonomi, there was no question Autoland would win Aviation Consumer’s prestigious Gear of the Year award. EDITOR’S CHOICE […]
Lost to the sands of time is the quaint notion that a mechanical E6B or—gasp!—an eraser-equipped pencil were cockpit essentials. Now, it’s not just a question of having a smartphone or a tablet for aviating, but how many. Not kidding here, some owners have and use several. But which are the best buys? Which platform […]
Headsets for kids serve three purposes: They protect hearing, they keep kids entertained by providing a source of music and they allow kids to be part of the conversation in the airplane. But there are several challenges, including finding a model with the right balance of comfort, features and durability. No, kids aren’t easy on […]
