Gear

Ever wonder what happened to the ‘500’ series of Garmin portables? When the big dog on the GA avionics porch released its 695/696 units last year, some questioned why the leapfrog from the enormously successful 496. Now we know. Garmin announced its latest, the Aera (pronounced ‘air-uh’) series of portables at this week’s AOPA Summit […]

Geo-referenced approach plates and a new, larger screen are the big advances for Bendix-King’s new AV8OR Ace portable navigator. Building on the success of the original AV8OR, the Ace incorporates all its features, including available weather and traffic, but with an expanded seven-inch version of the touch-screen display. That makes it easier to read the […]

Garmin announced at AirVenture a couple of new offerings in addition to the ones we reported on Tuesday. One is a flat-panel system for non-certified use and the other an enhanced cell phone application. Lastly, they announced a huge milestone. The company announced new details and increased value on the G3X flat-panel avionics system for […]

At the Avidyne press conference on Tuesday, company founder and CEO Dan Schwinn said that he hasn’t heard any customers complain that the new Avidyne R9 lacked features-it is, in fact, loaded with new capabilities-but he said that he had heard a few potential customers wishing that it cost less. With this mind, Schwinn formally […]

If you’re here at EAA AirVenture, chances are you’ve been tempted by some cutting edge device you’ve seen in the display booths. There’s also a good chance you’ve expanded the budget envelope and you’re bringing one of them home with you. Normally, you’d open the box, lay out all the accessories in their plastic bags […]

While much of the aviation industry remains in a holding pattern given the tough economic times, Garmin opened AirVenture with announcements of several new products and product enhancements designed to give pilots new options and to put the pressure on competitors in nearly every facet of general aviation. • The GTS 800 series is a […]

On the first day of AirVenture Cessna announced that its 162 SkyCatcher LSA had achieved ASTM certification. It’s equipped with a 100-hp Continental engine and the Garmin G300 integrated flat-panel avionics platform. The airplane will be assembled in China of U.S.-made components and then shipped back the United States for final assembly and delivery. Cessna […]

Even though I fly a Technologically Challenged Airplane, I do have a Garmin 396 with datalinked XM Weather. My trip to Oshkosh last Friday would not have worked without it. I filed IFR from home base, Somerset Airport in New Jersey, to my fuel stop at Sandusky, Ohio. With the headwinds forecast by fltplan.com, I […]

Piper made its first appearance at AirVenture under new ownership and under the stewardship of new CEO Kevin Gould and President John Becker. Now owned by Imprimis, Piper unveiled sweeping plans to expand its product line globally and moved to “reintroduce” two of its training airplanes, the Warrior and the Seminole, in support of the […]

Most pilots believe that it’s easier to fly IFR with a big flat-glass primary flight display (PFD) instead of the six-pack of mechanical instruments. Until recently I wasn’t convinced. I don’t know of any controlled studies that have compared the pilot workload, or the precision of basic attitude, altitude, heading and airspeed control, when flying […]