Commentary

Screen Resolution
Once again, you have done an evaluation of a new GPS unit (Garmin GPS 295) and you have included a comparison chart of all the competing hand held GPS units features and specifications but youve left out one of the most important quantitative specifications: the resolution of the displays. I believe this is more important than the size of the display.

A small high-resolution display can display a surprising amount of information without becoming cluttered and unreadable. I fly with a 10-year-old Argus 5000 which is still state-of-the-art except that its monochrome.

Its display resolution is 512×256 pixels. And although rather small, it allows for a…

AI Back-Ups
Your recent article on the various gyro back-up options was interesting, especially in light of recent accidents that were the apparent result of loss of vacuum. I agree that a second electric AI is probably the best bet, especially for single-engine aircraft. I think that the following points are sometimes overlooked when considering backup options for the vacuum pump or AI:

The vacuum pump is guaranteed to fail eventually, and should therefore be replaced periodically before it does. Perhaps every 500 hours.

If youre going to install a second engine-driven vacuum pump, then dispense with the electric clutch arrangement and let the pump run full time, just l…

Mapcomm Morass
Your recent article on color map navcomms is a bit nutty. Youd think that pilots are having lots of difficulty with failed radios and with getting lost. I doubt that these are even on the pilot-killing top-ten list.

The attitude gyro is a much more important and deadly problem. The Bonanza panel you show would never be the choice of a pilot who had lots of simulator experience with failed gyros and night IFR experience. Whats wrong?

The nav and com frequencies and setting knobs on the Apollo and GNS 430 are way too small to see and use.

The moving maps are too far out of the sight line and too small to be useful on an approach. The giant turn co…

Journalists who have covered wars have a saying: The first casualty is the truth. The same can be said of squabbles between customers and companies who try to sell them things, something we see a lot of around here.

As part of Aviation Consumers charter to its readers, we find ourselves as a neutral third party in many of these disputes. I wish I could say that being a referee is fun and rewarding but the fact of the matter is that its neither. But as the old clich goes, someones got to do it.

Fairness dictates that we listen to both sides of the sad story and try to draw some kind of conclusion that will prove useful to our readers. Very often, these disagreements degrade to finge…

Diamond Star
I enjoyed reading your review of Diamonds new DA40 Star in the May issue. It was interesting to read your review side-by-side with the one in AOPA Pilot.

Your perceptions appeared to be 180 degrees apart on entry/exit ease, stall behavior and landing characteristics. Left me wondering whether you had flown the same airplane. In my view you missed the most glaring ergonomic faux pas in the Star cockpit, the stick. If they had gone with a side stick, or at least a yoke, that would have been fine. But that between-your-legs stick is a deal killer right there.

Despite its sleek appearance, the DA40 is neither a Pitts nor an Extra, its a travelling machine…

Tachs, PC Sims
Some notes on articles in past issues: With reference to your piece on electronic tachs in the September, 1999 issue, most owners depend on the tachometer hour meter to determine when ADs, TBO inspections and so on are due.

The Horizon tach records hours at a constant rate beginning when the engine reaches 800 RPM, thus it essentially accumulates time like a Hobbs meter. As we all know from our airplane rental experiences, the Hobbs meter accumulates time more rapidly than the tachometer hour meter, often significantly so. Thats not good for the pocketbook because the faster running clock makes all of those pesky maintenance items come due earlier and more…

Mo vs. Bo
I enjoyed your article on the Mooney versus the Bonanza and which is better. I owned an interest in a new 1998 A-36 and it truly was a great airplane to fly. However, if youre looking at the market segment known as HPSE, I think you need to look at the Commander 114B. With the exception of cruise speed, I don’t think its a contest.

We (myself and two partners) just picked up our 1992 114B (TT-820 hours) in early November and are elated with the aircraft. I had about 90 hours in the Bonanza and I wouldnt trade it for the Commander for even money.

There are several advantages: Pilot door, cockpit roominess, trailing link landing gear, greater useful load and…

No Beef Here
I don’t have a beef, but a compliment and recommendation. I recently had a carburetor problem in my 1939 WACO AGC-8 (engine quit 6 miles out) at Birmingham, Alabama. I got it going again and got back to BHM.

Cant say enough about the good service by the folks at Raytheon Aircraft Services. Bob Hemm assigned a mechanic to change the carb and let me help. (They havent seen too many 330 Jacobs.) Both stayed late to get the work completed. Its nice to come into contact with a competent and helpful facility and these folks could not have been better.

Mel Richardson
Via e-mail

Forget AirCell, Try a Blackberry
I enjoyed reading y…

Elite Feedback
As a long-time subscriber and consumer afficionado, I thought your article on the new Exxon Elite oil was interesting and exciting. I have had two adverse experiences with this oil worth relating. I was introduced to Elite at Sun n Fun in April and was given a free case.

I used two quarts immediately in my 1967 Mooney Executive 21 with 800 hours on the rebuilt engine. The flight back home was eventful in that the weather required me to climb to 11,000 feet.I went through the usual leaning procedures and had an uneventful flight until the night landing. Since I was high, I powered back. But on landing, I ballooned and had to give back some power to smoo…

CO Detectors
Aeromedix would like to make the following comments in reference to your excellent article about carbon monoxide detectors. Over the two-year period during which Aeromedix.com has sold thousands of AIM CO detectors for in-aircraft use, the failure rate has been approximately 1.5 percent.

The AIM detectors fail more often than other models not because they are of lower quality, but because they are of higher quality. The AIM detectors are the only units that test their own electrochemical CO sensor daily, and provide an alert if the sensor has drifted out of calibration.

All CO detectors with electrochemical sensors (the only sensor technology we believe sui…

Skywatch and TCAD
Your article on the Ryan TCAD and the Argus map system was excellent and should help anyone trying to make a decision on whether or not to buy a collision avoidance system.

I have flown with both the TCAD 9000 and switched over to Skywatch last year. All your observations are right on. I have also noticed that the Skywatch is the only instrument my passengers ever look at.

I have only one comment comparing the two systems: I believe the TCAD system is a bit more passive than Skywatch. I believe TCAD can onlywork if the other aircraft is illuminated by radar. This is not so with Skywatch. I fly in Mexico and I can tell you that TCAD is almost…