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For our mutual amusement, my pal Brian and I make a particular country airstrip a motorcycling destination to check on a parked J-model Mooney. And it’s really parked. Neglected, actually, which is a real shame. It’s been sitting so long on its rims that the landing gear doors have actually pushed through the pavement in its tiedown, the aircraft seemingly trying to bury itself from the misery. I found one of the fuel caps loose during one visit and in the process of doing a good deed by securing them for whoever owns this thing, noticed ugly rust around the tank structure. A peek inside through the crazed windows reveals spiderwebs, decaying fabric and a Garmin GNS430 GPS in the panel. Somebody spent good money on that rig, and someone might consider spending a whole lot more to get this airplane airworthy. My friend Rob-an IA, a Mooney expert and a Mooney owner a couple times over-warned that this someone shouldn’t be me. And that got me to thinking, when is an airplane such a basket case that it’s better suited for a salvage yard than a maintenance shop?

The reason this is a big deal for pilots is that (1) an ever-increasing number of flight schools, flying clubs and individuals own ATDs-prices start just north of $5000; and (2) previously there were restrictions on the use of ATDs for instrument currency that were onerous enough that pilots were not taking advantage of the fact that it was cheaper to stay current in a simulator than shelling out the bucks to do so in an airplane.

Spend even a short time on the floor of a National Business Aviation Association convention and you better forget everything you know about the cost of owning, upgrading and operating a small piston. Yes, the jet world is a major step up in the ownership experience and aviation’s high end is elegantly and seriously represented at NBAA gatherings, and the high regulatory standards of the FAA’s Part 25 are very much in place. Frankly, I think the regulatory stronghold is stifling innovation.

The Stratus is still out there, but now in its third generation and with open architecture so it works with other apps. ForeFlight’s new product is the $499 Sentry, a diminutive box that combines a dual-band ADS-B receiver with a carbon monoxide detector, plus AHRS. uAvionix – they’re the guys everyone is waiting on to deliver the wingtip- and tail-mounted ADS-B Out units-designed and builds the Sentry for ForeFlight. Once again, it works only with that app. In concert with its push to establish a market for mid priced panel-mount avionics, Dynon showed up at AirVenture 2018 with the DRX, which clearly aims to anchor the bargain end of the price spectrum. No frills on this one; just the dual-band receiver and a little case for $349 discounted, $395 list.

Since these are light-limiting tinted shades, you don’t want to be flying with the cockpit shades in at night. But in the rear cabin, we don’t see any real reason to remove the shades. In our estimation, they can replace foil sunshades that might be removed and reinstalled every time you fly and park. For some aircraft, that’s a time-consuming chore. And like traditional foil shields, the Jet Shades can protect the interior from cracking and discoloration while parked in the sun. Duggan said the Sun Shades are the only aircraft-purposed shades for cockpit use in flight.

The venerable Cessna 190 series was not the first business aircraft by a long shot, although it was a first for Cessna. These days, for owners wanting to own a piece of aviation history, it is probably the most practical of classics because it’s a decent people hauler. Even better, it’s not overly expensive to maintain, compared to other classics, that is. There’s no fabric, and parts are generally available unlike other classic machines including the Beech Staggerwing, Spartan Executive and Stinson Reliant.

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I have never explicitly seen it written anywhere that when one buys a glass panel airplane like the Garmin G1000-equipped Mooney Acclaim, the aircraft OEM owns the software for the avionics. This has been a problem with Mooney through its various bankruptcies and production hiatus. I don’t know if it has been a problem with other OEMs, and I understand only Mooney Service Centers (which seem to be few and far between) can do the G1000 software upgrades.

The Dynon Certified retrofit glass system started life in the experimental market as the HDX, but now has an STC for installation in Cessna Skyhawks and soon, some models of the Beech Bonanza. The company has plenty of other airframes on its STC to-do list. But while the Skyhawk STC has been in place for a while, not many have been installed, likely because there are just two shops authorized by Dynon to do it: Thrust Flight in Texas and Merrill Field Instruments in Alaska.

However, the Partevania purchase got Vulcanair the rights to the P68, a Luigi Pascale-designed twin that found a market in the training and light transport segments. It’s powered by a pair of Lycoming IO-360s. Vulcanair lists six variants of the P68, including the P68R retractable and two Observer versions, one of which features a glazed nose for observation and patrol work. A stretch version of the aircraft, called the A-Viator, is powered by Rolls-Royce 250B turboprops and carries nine passengers and two crew. There are 49 P68s in service in the U.S., including three turboprop versions, according to the FAA registry.

We’ve observed that a significant portion of the aircraft rental fleet in the country is still equipped with 121.5 MHz-only ELTs. If you’re a pilot who either has no access to an aircraft with a 406 MHz ELT or does, and wants a backup device because you recognize that an ELT may not trigger, its signal may be blocked due to the dynamics of an accident or the ELT can sink with the aircraft, what are your alternatives?

In a regulatory climate that’s been somewhat relaxing (especially in the avionics market) one of the most common and difficult questions to answer is whether a given repair or modification needs a special signoff. If you attempt to interpret the regulations, the requirements are more than paperwork. The two pertinent FARs involved are Appendix A to Part 43, which defines major repairs and alterations, and Appendix B to Part 43, which covers the recording of those major repairs and alterations.