• READ MORE: Geeky Pilot Product Review: Sporty‘s PJ2 Handheld Radio

Seamless Backup

If you’re building a modern panel, you’ve likely thought about panel accessories like power ports—including a single-plug LEMO headset interface for at least the pilot and copilot audio jacks. The LEMO interface is convenient because it not only reduces the headset audio cable from two to one but also provides ship’s power input for an ANR headset.

Bose and Lightspeed, to name two manufacturers, offer LEMO options for their headsets, and the single-plug power and audio cable makes for a cleaner interface and eliminates the batteries in the headset. LEMO has become a popular configuration over the years both for OEM and aftermarket applications.

Priced at $279, the L6 is tightly designed around the decent-performing PJ2+ rig, which is priced the same and is still in the Sporty’s radio lineup. In our long-term testing we’ve found the PJ2+, with its 6-watt transmitter and noise-limited circuit, to be a good value and a good choice for emergency backup. Connect the radio to an external antenna and you’ll communicate with similar performance as a panel radio. But you won’t plug a twin-plug GA headset into the L6. It caters strictly to the LEMO interface and powers the ANR headset through the single-plug LEMO connector, which plugs in at the top of the radio’s chassis.

The L6 also has an onboard USB-C connector for plugging in a 2.4-amp power supply. This USB port can bypass the batteries, but for power supplies that output less than 2.4 amps, the radio won’t transmit—only receive. The L6 requires six AA alkaline batteries when not plugged in to external power.

Worth mentioning is the independent volume and squelch controls on the new L6, replacing the single stalk control that’s on the PJ2+. We found the dual controls much easier to deal with.

Performance, Features

We tried the new L6 side by side with the PJ2+ radio and found nearly identical receiver and transmitter performance. It has the same 1.5- by 1.63-inch LCD display and an auto-lit keypad, plus it sits in the exact same chassis as the PJ2+. Like the PJ2+, the L6 has a 3.5-mm earbud jack that disables the radio’s internal microphone and speaker. It also has 20-frequency storage and scanning, a dedicated 121.5 key, active/standby frequency flip-flop and a NOAA weather radio band.

Sporty’s says battery endurance will vary depending on how much you transmit, but for powering a LEMO-equipped headset and using the radio for normal transmitting and receiving, you can plan on between 5 and 10 hours of battery life. We used the L6 with a new Bose A30 (and older A20) and a couple of Lightspeed models, including the new Delta Zulu. But there’s a caveat.

Sporty’s said that there might be some interference issues when transmitting when connected to a Lightspeed Delta Zulu (and some other non-TSO models without shielded cables). What can happen is the cabling acts as a transmitter—perhaps only happening on certain frequencies. We didn’t experience any issues in our evaluation, but Sporty’s provides ferrite grounding beads for users who do have a problem. Simply position the ferrite bead near the LEMO plug, or absent a bead, you can wrap the headset audio cable around the radio’s rubber antenna for better grounding.

The first ever portable radio with a direct plug-in LEMO headset interface, we think Sporty’s has another smart product in the L6.

Visit www.sportys.com for more information.

This article first appeared on KITPLANES.com.

The post Sporty’s L6 COM Radio Review appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

MultiSump Aircraft Fuel Tester

MultiSump Aircraft Fuel Tester

Price: $28.95
Available at: www.mypilotstore.com

This fuel tester allows for up to eight fuel sump testings on the same aircraft without having to empty between checks. After obtaining a sample, you can do an inspection on the fuel in the top container. Afterward, the contents can be emptied into the lower sample cup by pushing down on the top. After all the sumps have been checked, the samples can be emptied from the lower container with a pour spout. The MultiSump+ is a variation that includes a fuel strainer to keep impurities or water from entering the fuel pump during pourback. Constructed with fuel-resistant plastic and stainless steel, it measures 7 x 2.5 inches and weighs .28 pounds.

UA-80 Evolution Vest

Switlik’s UA-80 Evolution Vest

Price: $795
Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com

Switlik’s UA-80 Evolution vest is FAA-approved for underarm constant wear. It provides flotation around the body, so it does not interfere with the head and neck. It’s able to auto-right unconscious aircrew to bring them to a face-up position. It has a twin-chamber inflatable cell with two oral tubes, storage pockets and quick-release buckles. Made with 1000D textured nylon, it comes with an emergency locator light and a grab handle to assist in rescue. It’s approved to TSO-c13G.

Pivot iPad Mini Gen 6 Case

Pivot iPad Mini Gen 6 Case

Price: $189.95
Available at: www.sportys.com

The case for Pivot’s Mini Gen 6 is comprised of an inner shell that holds the iPad Mini and an outer shell that includes the mounting channel. It’s constructed with impact-absorbing carbonate with air to circulate around it to prevent the iPad from overheating. The kickstand supports different viewing angles, and the case has a suction cup and pivoting arm for mounting. The design allows access to the Apple Pencil and Touch ID and is compatible with Apple’s 6th Generation iPad Mini.

XeVision XeTreme LED Landing Light

XeVision XeTreme LED Landing Light

Landing and taxiing

Price: $897.75
Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com

The XeTreme Landing Light is a high-powered LED made for both taxiing and landing. The company says it has a proprietary cooling design that prevents the light from overheating and a strobe pattern that mitigates bird strikes. It’s able to generate 320000cd (candle power) and illuminates up to 800 nm at a 9-degree beam angle. Manufactured with aircraft-grade aluminum, it weighs 27 ounces and is warrantied up to five years or 2,000 hours (whichever comes first).

Baboon To the Moon Go-Bag

Baboon To the Moon Go-Bag

Price: $199
Available at: www.baboontothemoon.com

The Big version of this duffle bag holds 60L, around five-plus days’ worth of clothes. It fits in most airline overhead bins and is water-resistant. The zipper is lockable, and it has shoulder, cross-body and backpack straps along with external grab handles. Pockets include three internal and one external. Its specs come in at 2.5 x 21.5 x 14 inches, and the bag itself weighs 4 pounds. It comes with a lifetime warranty and in a range of colors.

Eyes Outside Plane Cleaner

Eyes Outside Plane Cleaner

Price: Starts at $14.75
Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com 

Eyes Outside cleans and polishes plastics (including plexiglass, acrylic, acrylate, lucite and lexan), glass or other hard, shiny surfaces. It removes fingerprints from LCD screens, radio displays, glass cockpits, instrument gauges and the likes. Paired with a microfiber cloth, it’s able to remove stuck-on dead bugs and insects from windshields and helmets. It comes in a 10-ounce sprayer bottle and a 1-gallon refill jug.

The post A MultiSump Aircraft Fuel Tester, UA-80 Evolution Vest, And More Gear For Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Leather iPad Bag

This bag is a protective carrier for your flight electronics. It also organizes all the gear that come with tablets and EFBs. It’s made with jacket-quality leather for durability, and it has the Microsoft Simulator logo embroidered on the front. Its compact design helps it fit snugly in between seats. It has quick-access pockets for other gear, like flashlight, charts or a fuel tester. A water bottle holder is a convenient feature, as is the organizer pocket that can hold a cell phone, pens, your ID cards and more. It comes with a soft carrying handle and a shoulder strap, as well.

Price: $169.95  Available at: www.sportys.com

General Aviation Short-Sleeved Shirt

Sporty’s Wright Bros. Collection showcases fashion pieces that are tributes to our flying pioneers. This General Aviation Short-Sleeved Shirt is comfortable—made with four-sided, stretch, easy-care fabric. An all-over design of classic white airplanes, light-blue propellers and dark-blue pilot wings pops against a blue background. With a button-down collar and a left-chest pocket, it’s perfect to wear to dressy and casual occasions alike.

Price: Starts at $32.99  Available at: www.sportys.com

Stadia AGL LIDAR Landing Altimeter

Using LIDAR to measure the aircraft’s height above the ground, Stadia is an AGL landing altimeter that’s a practical addition to any aircraft. It connects to a smartphone through Bluetooth and notifies the pilot of their altitude with visual and audible cues. The alerting sounds increase in frequency as the aircraft’s height decreases. It has a maximum altitude of 130 feet and a rechargeable battery life of up to 12 hours.

Price: $545  Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com

Navigating Weather

One of ASA’s newest titles for 2022 is Dr. David Ison’s “Navigating Weather,” a comprehensive guide to the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to operate both airborne and datalink weather radar. Dr. Ison maintains a focus on real-world application of radar operation and interpretation, from radar and severe weather theory to attributes of inclement weather phenomena, how they’re detected and how pilots can evaluate conditions through radar sources available to them. Using example scenarios, essentials such as attenuation, tilt management, contouring and gain are discussed. Other advanced features are also included, like auto-tilt, turbulence detection, wind shear warning systems and terrain mapping. Each chapter contains case examples, concept questions to test understanding and sample storylines to assess a pilot’s evaluation skills.

Price: $39.95. Available at: www.asa2fly.com

Rope Chocks

Designed for ideal use with small- to-medium-sized aircraft, Rope Chocks prevent movement or rolling because of uneven terrain or environmental factors such as wind. Despite their light weight at only 1.5 pounds each, they don’t rattle on the ground or in the air and are resistant to weather, lubricants and oils. They’re also suitable for securing other kinds of vehicles, trailers, equipment or anything with tires or wheels. They’re highly visible because of their color scheme and are easy to store. Available to purchase singly or as a set of two.

Price: $79 for a set of two with storage bag  Available at: www.aircraftspruce.com

Long Wind-ed Socks

These humorous aviation-themed socks from Pilot Expressions are made with a breathable blend of bamboo, polyester and spandex. The design is woven right into the fabric instead of being simply printed on, which means the bottoms won’t stick to surfaces or retain heat from plastic printing, and the color will remain vibrant even over repeated use. They come in black and in one size that fits most.

Price: $12.99  Available at: www.etsy.com/shop/PilotExpressions

The post A General Aviation Shirt, Leather iPad Bag And More Gear For Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Here’s a short list of eight of the most important aviation technologies in the history of flying, and you might be surprised how early some of them were introduced. 

Radio Communications

There is no shortage of miracle technologies we pilots take for granted. I’d argue that near the top of the list should be in-flight radio communications. Most pilots think that radios have been around forever, and they’re not far from being right about that. You won’t find any photos of Orville sending reports to Wilbur from the Wright Flyer; it was just over a decade that the first successful air-to-ground radio call was made, when, in 1915, Captain J.M. Furnival picked up a transmission from the ground sent by a Major Prince (first name unknown), who radioed the message, “If you can hear me now, it will be the first time speech has ever been communicated to an aeroplane in flight.” It’s a little meta for our tastes—we prefer “Watson, come here, I need you.” But it was a start.

By the early 1930s, radios, which, like a few other aviation technologies, seemed to mature in lockstep with aviation’s progress, were small, light and reliable enough to have even in small planes. And around that time, the International Commission for Aerial Navigation had formed, in part to avoid a Babel-like world of communications, putting forth the first standards for aerial radio communications.

Where this technology led is familiar to nearly every pilot. Today, we can communicate air-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air with ease, usually with excellent voice fidelity even from great distances. The benefits of this technology are too numerous and obvious for us to list here but, suffice it to say, it’s hard to image a modern world of aviation without pilots and controllers playing together.

Handheld Radios For Pilots

Instrument Landing System

The instrument landing system is a presumptuous, even boastful name. Even when it was introduced, it was hardly the first or the only system for helping an airplane find the airport in conditions of low visibility through the use of instruments. But just as no one complained when Muhammad Ali called himself “The Greatest,” because he so clearly was, the same was true for ILS. Whereas a VOR approach could get you within shouting distance of the final approach fix (with the help of a stopwatch, a guess at the winds and, if you were lucky, an intersecting radial), an ILS provided the whole shebang, with lateral and vertical guidance, and it did it with such precision that most ILSes got you down to 200 feet AGL. True, it required a lot of infrastructure, but it created a high-precision landing system at a time when the technologies that air navigation architects could leverage were rudimentary. They were essentially nav radio signals arrayed vertically (the glideslope) and laterally (the localizer component) with an instrument in the airplane to keep track of each. While flying an ILS takes practice and requires skills that don’t come naturally to many pilots—staying on the glideslope is as much an art as a science—it’s a self-contained system that makes the VOR approach look positively primitive.

Sure, precision RNAV approaches are better in a few important ways, but ILS was the undisputed champ of instrument flying for more than 50 years. And with it in wide use still, even for automatic landings, few expect it to go away any time soon.

GPS

The development by the United States Department of Defense of the Global Positioning System (GPS) was a watershed in area navigation, though it wasn’t the first such system. Before civil-use GPS came along in the late 1980s, there were already a few area navigation systems, though few ever made their way into the flight decks of small planes.

There are area navigation systems that calculate position based on the relative positions of radio navaids and DME—they were extremely accurate. Bendix-King’s KNS-80 navigation receiver was a modestly popular product and can still be found in the panel of some small planes, though, in our experience, they are seldom put to use.

There are also inertial systems that use sophisticated (and enormously expensive) combinations of gyroscopes and/or lasers or solid-state gyros along with magnetometers and other aids to calculate position based on rates of rotation. The science behind these various systems is complex, but their operation is fairly simple. And like sophisticated area nav units, inertial systems are very accurate. Moreover, they don’t rely on navaids or satellites to work. They are entirely self-contained. Not surprisingly, these kinds of systems were widely adopted by large commercial, military and private users.

Another system, Loran, developed during World War II, used very low-frequency radio waves bounced off the atmosphere. In its initial iteration, Loran was accurate to 100 meters or so, but in its later form, Loran-C, which came to the fore in the 1970s, it was accurate to tens of meters or better. And because the revolution in electronics enabled far cheaper, smaller and lighter receivers, Loran looked like the wave of the future. Instead, it was shut down around 25 years after it began to gain popularity with pilots of light planes.

The reason? The DoD’s Global Positioning System. GPS makes use of a known constellation of satellites to determine very precise points of location on the earth and in the atmosphere. As its name says, it really is a global system, too. When paired with a database, a GPS receiver can provide extremely accurate guidance from point to point. And when aided by additional ground and space-based systems to enhance accuracy, GPS receivers can provide pinpoint location capability, allowing approach courses with none of the angular uncertainty or radio infidelity that even ILS systems are liable to suffer.

While ubiquitous, GPS has its weaknesses. Because its signal is very low power, it can be jammed quite easily, and because it relies on satellites and associated systems, it is staggeringly expensive to field and maintain. But the impact it has had on aviation is unparalleled. And that impact pales in comparison to the beneficial impact it has had on our lives in thousands of other areas of life.

Moving Map Navigation

The idea of an electronic moving map that knows our precise position in the air and can keep track of and display an ever-changing picture of the world below is a fantasy that every pilot who ever struggled with folding paper charts entertained often. And when a few enabling technologies—GPS, low-cost displays and high-powered small processors—came along, the moving map was born. The moving map revolution, which is sometimes erroneously dismissed as an accessory to aviation, has been foundational to the advancement of situational awareness and the elimination of one of the deadliest types of crashes, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), where an aircraft is flown by its crew into the ground by mistake. CFIT crashes are almost always catastrophic. With moving map, you get automatic situational awareness in four dimensions (time being the fourth), graphical and dynamic mapping of weather systems, airway and airport data, and so much more. Those who grew up with moving map applications are sometimes derided as “children of the magenta,” a phrase that refers to the magenta-colored course line on moving maps. I’d argue that proponents of moving maps’ benefits are merely taking advantage of far superior technologies to keep themselves and their passengers safe from situational awareness errors that were commonplace before moving maps came along. 

Today’s Electronic Flight Displays

Weather Intelligence

There is no shortage of things for pilots to be concerned about, and at or near the top of the list are a handful of serious weather phenomena. There’s inflight icing, fog, high winds, turbulence, mountain wave and garden-variety cloud obstruction, to name most of the biggies. But by far, the most hazardous weather phenomenon is convective activity, which most often manifests itself as thunderstorms, which can grow in size to otherworldly proportions and pack a punch so big it can take a small or not-so-small airplane apart.

The development of weather-gathering technologies has progressed steadily since before the advent of powered flight, but without much debate, the most significant has been the development of next-generation weather radar, which in the United States is known as NexRad. Introduced in 1988, NexRad is a powerful doppler radar that can sensitively detect storm shape, intensity, movement, convective activity and precipitation. The network of 160 radar sites in the United States provides a coast-to-coast system of weather surveillance. It is one of the crown jewels of U.S. technological achievement, providing life-saving early warnings of severe thunderstorms, tornados and hurricanes. The continued improvement of forecasting technologies and intelligence have provided aviation with tools today that were unimaginable 50 years ago, intelligence that saves billions of dollars and untold lives every year.

On top of that, aviation has enjoyed a revolution in in-cockpit weather information availability, with services like ADS-B’s TIS-B weather services and Sirius-XM’s up-to-the-minute weather information for pilots of everything from PA-28s to bizjets, allowing pilots to make solid mission-planning decisions based on real intelligence and not guesswork based on hours-old reports.

Autopilots

To many pilots, an autopilot is a dumb mechanical aid, something you can use to take a look at the chart without going off course or busting altitude. And they are that. But today’s digital autopilots are so much more, too.

Autopilots work on one common principle. The system uses navigation, heading and attitude inputs to activate servos to keep the plane going where the pilot has programmed it to go. In its simplest form, an autopilot keeps the wings level while ignoring all other parameters—this is more helpful than one might imagine; the loss-of-control chain in instrument conditions is typically begun by an uncommanded, steep bank, causing the plane to enter a spiral dive, building airspeed and making a recovery, especially when the plane is still in IMC, a dicey proposition.

Autopilots have inspired aviation dreamers to imagine what it might be able to do. Could it keep the plane on altitude, too? Tie it into the baro system, and of course it could. Could it follow a pre-programmed nav course? Yup. Just couple it to the nav receiver. Could it fly an approach? Ditto. Yup, that too. Keep the tail from wagging. Even that.

From there, engineers have gone to fantastic places. Today’s autopilots can work in the background, providing protection from surprise deviations in pitch, bank angle and airspeed, keeping the plane from getting either too slow or too fast. And several models today feature a single button the pilot can push to return the plane to straight and level flight in case of accidental loss of control (upset).

Autopilots have gone from being an expensive luxury to an indispensable tool for helping pilots keep the plane under control and assisting in flying very precise approaches, as well.

Plane & Pilot Snap Quiz: Autopilots

Active Noise-Canceling Headsets

The inclusion of headsets in a list of critical aviation technologies might seem off target, but it is not. Especially in small planes, which are almost universally too loud for our hearing health, a good noise-canceling headset is a critical pilot tool. 

Headsets have been around for a long time, and early models were heavy, clunky and not particularly effective. But they were better than nothing. A lot better. And because they early on incorporated earcup speakers and boom-mounted microphones, they helped ease communications difficulties, something pilots who never flew in the pre-headset days, when staticky ceiling-mounted speakers and handheld mics caused communications havoc on nearly every flight, are blissfully unaware of. 

New models, of course, feature electronic noise-canceling features, which work by sampling the exterior noise and creating an out-of-phase counterpart to it, effectively electronically canceling the exterior noise, at least a large part of it. 

Today, pilots take not good but excellent noise-canceling headsets for granted, but we all know the difference between the noise levels before we put them on and then after, when we don them and hit that switch to activate the sweet quiet that ingeniously designed electronics can bring. 

Plane Facts: Headsets

Traffic Avoidance

It’s rare for planes to run into each other in the vast skies above, but when they do, it’s almost always catastrophic. And it often inspires regulatory change. It was the 1956 collision between a Douglas DC-7 and a Lockheed Constellation over the Grand Canyon, killing all 128 aboard the two planes, that launched the creation of a nationwide radar network and the Federal Aviation Administration. In subsequent years, mid-air collisions in the skies above Cerritos and San Diego, California, drove additional layers of regulation, including mandatory equipment installation for planes that fly in busy airspace. 

For most of these advancements, larger military and commercial aircraft were the first to get robust anti-collision technologies. But in this case, the adoption by the FAA of mandatory transponder equipage went from the bottom to the top of the aviation food chain. The Mode C transponders sent regular, individually identifiable signals to help controllers keep track of where planes were, so they could issue heading clearances to keep the potentially conflicting traffic targets from merging in the worst way.  

Later, the FAA mandated collision avoidance systems, TCAS and TCAS II, for airliners and other large planes, the latter taking emergency, last-ditch collision avoidance out of the hands of the controllers and issuing direct clearances to the two planes involved to keep them from colliding. In recent years, even smaller planes got collision-avoidance gear, including the early TCAD system from Ryan and, later, more capable active traffic systems from companies like Avidyne and Garmin.  

Finally, the introduction of mandatory ADS-B in 2020 gave controllers and pilots new tools to individually identify and route traffic to keep potential conflict to a minimum while using satellite tracking to provide extremely accurate, up-to-the-second position information, including altitude, to all involved. 

5 Barriers Aviation Innovators Busted

The post Top 8 Aircraft Electronics Innovations Of All Time appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Please keep in mind that the pricing information and availability of the items are subject to change.

Coffee Aloft

The Wacaco Minipresso GR is a perfect companion for all your early-morning (or, really, any-time-of-day) flights. It’s a portable espresso machine that’s compact and lightweight, allowing you to enjoy quality java wherever your flying adventures take you. With an innovative semi-automatic piston at its core, it injects small quantities of water into the coffee adapter. After a few pushes and optimal extraction pressure, you’re rewarded with a rich and bold espresso. Measuring 6.89 inches and with an attractive and versatile carrying case, the Wacaco Minipresso GR is a welcome addition to any pilot’s flight bag.

Price: $54.90. Available at www.wacaco.com.

Yes, You Need Another Coffee Mug

!especially if it’s this stylish! A great gift to yourself or an aviator in your life, it shows off the classic silhouette of a Cessna 172 and can be personalized with a name and year. It’s dishwasher and microwave safe, is made of genuine ceramic and holds 16 ounces. Consider your gift list for a recent flying school graduate, a newly minted CFI or a retiring pilot complete. They’ll love this addition to their mug collection that truly shows off their aviation pride.

Price: Starts at $19.95. Available at homewetbar.com.

Plane & Pilot Membership

Because you’re a discerning pilot with an eye for excellent aviation content, you’ve probably already availed of a Plane & Pilot membership. In case you haven’t or are looking for the perfect present this Christmas, all our membership levels are invaluable, practical gifts that any aviator will love. Explore our complete range of flight reports, technique articles, gear reviews and aviation buyer’s guides written by our experts. Get great tips from Plane & Pilot‘s experienced and insightful writers on how to get the most out of your flying. Access hundreds of articles looking at flying safety from a perspective that makes you think in new ways about how we take to the air. Learn amazing tips and techniques through members-only eWorkshops and eGuides, and enter all our contests for free.

Price: Starts at $3.99 a month. Available at planeandpilotmag.com.

Aviation-Themed Candles

Bring your hangar home with candles designed for lovers of all things flight. Our favorite is XC Candles’ Jet Fuel In The Morning, with top notes of high-performance fuel, middle notes of engine exhaust and motor oil, and base notes of greasy hangar. Handmade in small batches in Denver, Colorado, these soy wax candles are nontoxic and clean burning, environmentally friendly, biodegradable and with longer burn times than other commercial, mass-produced candles. They come in 16-, 8- and 4-ounce sizes, each burning 80+, 40+ and 20+ hours, respectively. The wicks are cotton and lead/zinc free. XC Candles sells other flying-themed scents, like Wake Turbulence, Preflight Walkaround and Love At First Flight.

Price: Starts at $16.99. Available at etsy.com/shop/XCCandleCo.

Simpsons-Style Custom Pilot Portraits

Doh! Immortalize yourself, Simpsons-style, through a custom portrait of you and your favorite aircraft. The artist will draw you as “a yellow cartoon character” based on photos you send them of you and your plane (or helo) and will email you a hi-res digital file within three to four days. No physical delivery is offered, which means you can have the portrait printed and framed affordably. You might even choose to have the image printed on a T-shirt, canvas or a mug. The artist can recommend a printing company if needed. Options are also available for a family or group portrait.

Price: Starts at $30. Available at etsy.com/shop/CartoonPortrait.

The Ultimate Pilot’s Watch

Garmin’s D2Air is the pinnacle of aviation technology!on your wrist. A beautiful AMOLED display makes for ease of use to access its host of cutting-edge features, which include Direct-To navigation, a pulse ox sensor, weather reports, an HSI course needle, airport information, barometric altimeter, flight logging and connectivity to the Garmin Pilot app, among others. Stylish, sleek and modern, it’s designed with a durable Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens, stainless-steel bezel and a premium black leather strap with a silicone band option. A smartwatch that goes above and beyond in both form and function.

Price: $499. Available at buy.garmin.com.

Sporty’s Electronic E6B Flight Computer

For fast planning and accurate FAA test calculations, trust what over 250,000 pilots have used over the years. Invaluable in the cockpit, Sporty’s Electronic E6B Flight Computer has all the useful and easy-to-access features of the original but with a more rugged design and other updated tools. It has a backlit screen for nighttime operations, a built-in storage case to afford screen protection when not in use, the large keypad is pilot-friendly for easier operation in turbulence, it has rubber feet to secure it in place, and it comes with a quick reference card. Even more, it has 20 aviation functions, such as density altitude and true airspeed, and is complemented by 20 aviation calculations that include nautical miles, kilometers and avgas gallons/pounds, among others.

Price: $69.95. Available at sportys.com.

Bose A20 With Bluetooth

A pilot’s wishlist isn’t complete without a headset on it. Our suggestion? Bose’s A20 with Bluetooth. It’s one of the lightest headsets on the market at only 12 ounces, and with its soft sheepskin headpad and minimal clamping force, its all-day comfort can’t be beat. Its active noise-canceling reduction is proprietary to Bose and makes it easy to call Flight Service or update family members in conjunction with its Bluetooth phone interface. With outstanding battery life and a fully adjustable mic that can be connected to the earcup or set in a range of stable positions, no wonder it’s a favorite choice for pilots who value form and function. The Bose A20 is certified to FAA TSO-C139 and EASA ETSO-C139 standards and comes with a five-year warranty.

Price: Starts at $1,095. Available at sportys.com.

The post Gift Ideas For Pilots And Aviation Enthusiasts 2021 appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Icom A16/A16C — Around $260-$300

A basic comm unit, the A16 is compact, simple, weather-resistant, and durable. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at 17 hours use between charges and has a cradle rapid charger. With six watts’ transmitting power, it also has what Icom describes as “loud audio” specifically designed for aircraft cabins (though a headset would be advisable) and airport ramps where line personnel find the A16 a rugged, reliable communications tool. Other features include a choice of a knob or full keypad for entering frequencies, a dedicated button for 121.5 emergency frequency, automatic noise limiter, LCD backlit display, low-battery indicator, weather alert and more. The A16B—around $300—has all the features of the A16 plus Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free operation.

Icom A25C/N — Around $300-$500

The A25C comm-only version of Icom’s A25 series features a large, 2.3-inch backlit LCD display with day and night modes, six watts of transmitting power, “flip-flop” channel selection, “smart” battery with status display, weather channel presets, 121.5 mHz emergency key, Bluetooth connectivity and more. For a few dollars extra, the A25N adds navigation capability, including GPS. It can store up to 300 user waypoints and 10 flight plans, loadable from a computer, tablet or phone via Bluetooth. The navigation display features a facsimile of a CDI and an omni bearing selector (OBS), a to-from indicator and an automatic bearing set system (ABSS) for setting the current course as a new course. The A25N does not include localizer or ILS frequencies. Like all Icom handhelds, it comes with a three-year warranty.

Yaesu FTA-250L — Around $210

Yaesu’s basic comm-only model offers five watts’ transmitting power, a .5- x 1.4-inch LCD display and IXP5-rated waterproofing. The FTA-250L weighs in at 10.1 ounces and uses a lithium-ion battery with a cradle charger. It has preset NOAA weather channels, automatic NOAA weather alerts and 250 memory channels. Users can choose between using the knob or the backlit keypad for entering frequencies. It comes with a belt clip, battery charger, AC adapter, cigarette lighter DC cable and headset adapter cable.

Yaesu FTA-450L — Around $250

The step-up FTA-450L comm-only model from Yaesu has a larger 1.7-inch-square dot matrix display with Yaesu’s “advanced user interface” icon symbology. The display is backlit and includes a low-battery indicator. The FTA-450L also offers the option of using the included six-AA alkaline battery tray instead of the lithium-ion battery.

Yaesu FTA-550L ProX — Around $290

Yaesu’s 550 series adds VOR/LOC navigation capability (but not glideslope). Buyers can choose the version that includes a six-AA battery tray in addition to the rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. When tuned to a VOR or localizer frequency, the 1.7-inch-square dot matrix dis- play shows a course deviation indicator, to-from arrow and an omni bearing selector.

Yaesu FTA-750L — Around $380

For around $90 more than the FTA-550L ProX, Yaesu’s top-of-the-line FTA-750L adds GPS and full ILS (glideslope) capability.

Sporty’s PJ2 comm — $199

With its two in-house models, Sporty’s embraces “simpler is better.” The comm-only “dead simple to operate” PJ2 is designed for one-handed operation. It also has PJ jacks for standard headset transmit-receive plugs, so no adapter is needed (unless your headset has the six-pin “LEMO” plug). The PJ2 has separate volume and squelch knobs and a choice of knob or keypad for entering frequencies. In the bad news-good news department, the PJ2 does not come with a lithium-ion battery. It uses AA alkalines since Sporty’s believes the batteries’ longer shelf life gives you a better chance of having a full charge when you need it most. But it does have a USB-C plug-in, so you can use an external portable phone charger.

Learn more about Sporty’s PJ2 here.

SP-400 — $299

The SP-400 has been around for decades and set the precedent for Sporty’s in-house “simpler is better” philosophy. Like the PJ2, it is designed to be capable but easy to operate with one hand. Unlike the PJ2, you will need a headset adapter, but the SP-400 does offer an optional lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Its eight-AA alkaline battery pack (two more than most) provides up to 40 hours of operation. But the big difference for the extra $100 is navigation capability, including full-ILS with glideslope. Sporty’s catalog listing for the SP-400 includes a testimonial from a buyer who describes how the SP-400 “saved my life” after an electrical failure on a dark and stormy night flight. 

The post Handheld Radios For Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

While the occupants are long gone by now, it might have been a grisly end. One horrifying scenario is that the plane made a survivable forced landing but that the four occupants weren’t able to make their way back to safety.

Back in the early 1970s, locating downed planes was largely done the old-fashioned way—that is, looking for them with human eyeballs by air, land or sea. It’s not a very effective method; it’s really hard to spot a crashed plane or any sign of it. When searchers don’t even have a good starting point, the odds of finding missing aircraft are slim. In a wild and remote place like Alaska, they’re even slimmer.

Of course, nobody really wants to think about what happens after a crash or a forced landing, but we really should. According to recent NTSB data, less than 20% of general aviation accidents result in fatalities. The great majority of people survive the crash. That’s still hundreds of people every year who find themselves, possibly with broken bones or worse, in a disabled airplane.

If you land gear-up at a busy airport during primetime, it might be embarrassing, but your whereabouts won’t be a mystery (though at that moment you might wish that they were). But what if you’re not so lucky? What if you go down somewhere remote with no means of alerting first responders? If you’re far from help, hemmed in by inaccessible terrain or perhaps too injured to seek help or even make shelter, the prospects might be grim.

Enter ELTs

In 1973, after the disappearance of the flight carrying the two Congressmen and two others, the FAA began requiring the installation of Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) in almost all aircraft. Ironically, Alaska had already begun requiring ELTs—it also allowed portable ones—but the pilot apparently forgot to take his along for the flight. Whether it would have worked or not is anyone’s guess. If the occupants had survived, the search that was launched immediately after the plane failed to show up in Juneau might have been able to find that ELT signal and home in on it. Even if the occupants were killed in the presumed crash, at least their families would have had the peace of mind of knowing what happened. 

ELTs, which are designed to automatically activate in the event of a crash and send out a signal to would-be rescuers, are notoriously unsuccessful at doing that, though they’re great at going off when you’re at dinner and your airplane is sitting on the ramp. Nuisance alerts with traditional ELTs are beyond common.

In addition to the now-standard 406 MHz emergency band, all Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) have a low-power beacon that transmits on 121.5 MHz, the same frequency band used by older-model ELTs. While the 121.5 MHz signal works well for PLBs—the 406 MHz signal gets rescuers to the right area, and the 121.5 MHz beacon helps them home in on the source of the signal—it hasn’t proven to be an effective method for locating downed aircraft by itself. According to NOAA-SARSAT data, 121.5 MHz ELTs have a 97% false alarm rate and only activate properly in about 12% of airplane crashes. Not good odds for getting help.

For the past several years, satellites have put old-fashioned ELTs and their 121.5 MHz chatter on permanent ignore mode, so even if the beacon does go off after a crash, you have to hope there’s someone nearby to hear it and get the ball rolling. A 406 MHz beacon gets that job done much more reliably.

Newer ELTs are here, and they are better in every way, operating on 406 MHz, which provides global coverage, unlike 121.5 MHz ELTs, which need an aircraft or station in signal range to pick up an emergency alert. There’s also no way to personalize a 121.5 MHz signal, while the 406 MHz ELTs and PLBs are registered to their owners, allowing emergency responders nearly immediate access to information about who they’re looking for. Time for responders to reach an accident site is reduced by an average of six hours with 406 MHz ELTs.

They’re also better at activating when they should and not activating when they shouldn’t broadcast a satellite signal on 406 MHz, calls to which are monitored 24/7/365. While most planes still need to have a working ELT, owners have the option of swapping out their old 121.5 models for one of the improved boxes. Costs are typically between $500 and $1,500, plus installation.

Cell Phones? ADS-B? Flight Plans? Yes, Yes And Yes!

You might have heard of the recent report by the Civil Air Patrol that it had successfully used a combination of cell phone tracking ADS-B/radar to quickly locate downed planes (dozens of them, in fact). Its message wasn’t that ELTs don’t work, though it’s hard to avoid that conclusion. But relying on a cell phone is dicey. You need to make sure that it’s charged and accessible (normally not a problem) and that people know where you were headed and at what time—so a flight plan makes great sense. Under IFR, you’re automatically on a flight plan, and ATC knows precisely where you are at all times (or at least close to it). And if you were forced down, it’s quite possible that you would have no reception, which means you’d have no means of contacting anyone, and it might mean that your location is a mystery as well. So the bottom line is, cell phones are great, but they’re limited in what they can do and how reliably they can do it.

ELTs and PLBs?

Even if your plane is outfitted with an outmoded but still-required 121.5 unit, which it very likely is, you don’t need to hitch your rescue wagon to that stone-age technology. You can leave the old unit where it is and supplement it with a personal unit, either a dedicated Personal Locator Beacon or a satellite communicator. You can also upgrade that old unit with a new one that transmits on the always-monitored 406 MHz satellite link channel.

PLBs were approved for use in the U.S. in 2003. Even if you can’t get cell phone reception, a PLB signal will get through and, these days, track your location to within about 100 meters—usually in just a few minutes.

PLBs transmit a personalized signal at 406 MHz, an international distress frequency that can be received by the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite constellation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monitors the system in the U.S., including PLB registration. That registration is good for two years and is required by law. One of the benefits of registration is that any distress signal will identify the owner, with personal info, to search-and-rescue personnel.

These devices fall into two general categories—basic PLBs and satellite messengers. PLBs only act as beacons. They’re extremely simple to operate and typically have no other functions. There’s a lot to be said for this approach, too. A PLB is a dedicated unit with a design intended to do one thing and do it well. For pilots who often fly over remote areas, a PLB can be and has been a lifesaver.

Satellite messengers are great, too, but in a very different way. They come with a range of capabilities that often include GPS functions and text communications, along with custom apps for linking to your phone or tablet.

Which device is right for you? If you’re simply looking for a solid backup for an ELT—something anyone with an older-generation ELT should think about given their less-than-reliable track record—a basic PLB is probably the best way to go. Little maintenance is required, and the price for most models is reasonable. Given the similarity in cost, deciding between basic PLB models is largely a matter of picking which features and operating styles you prefer, such as waterproofing and protection against accidentally sending out a distress signal while testing the unit.

For pilots planning more extensive backwoods travel or flying over sparsely populated terrain, satellite messenger functions can offer a lot of safety options geared specifically for trips away from cell phone reception.

In terms of budget, a good rule of thumb for these is that more features equal greater expense. Even for units with similar initial costs, most satellite messengers also require ongoing subscription plans, which is worth paying attention to as the price for plans can vary significantly.

With all of that in mind, here are some of the options currently available. Some are true PLBs, others are satellite communicators with non-406MHz emergency links, and others are interesting combinations of these and other features.

ACR ResQLink PLBs

ACR offers a number of personal devices, some of which combine PLB and 121.5 capabilities. The ResQLink 400, which sells for $309, has no subscription cost and features built-in GPS and Galileo satellite receivers. It’s buoyant, has an integrated strobe and infrared strobe, and its battery can last up to five years. For an additional $50, the ResQLink View model features a display.

The company’s ARTEX PLB is a very basic model that still does the PLB job nicely. For $289.95 and no subscription price, it’s a great deal, and to top it off, it easily fits in your pocket. It’s marketed under a number of brand and product names, but the unit’s basic design and function remain the same. Learn more at acrartex.com/products/resqlink-plb.

McMurdo FastFind 220A

The FastFind 220A from McMurdo is an upgraded go-anywhere PLB. It can transmit continually for a minimum of 24 hours on both 406 and 121.5 MHz. The unit doesn’t come with too many frills, but it is waterproof to 10 meters and comes with a floatation pouch and lanyard, which might help you keep track of it when  you need it close. It also has an LED strobe that will flash S.O.S. in Morse code when activated. When the PLB is turned on, the indicator light will begin to flash. The pattern and number of flashes show the progress of the emergency signal—two flashes per second when the unit is activated and looking for a GPS fix, three per second when a GPS fix has been acquired, and one long followed by three short flashes in 50 seconds when the distress signal and GPS position have been transmitted.

The FastFind 220A costs $250. Learn more at oroliamaritime.com/products/mcmurdo-fastfind-220.

SPOT Gen4

The SPOT Gen4 is a Globalstar-based satellite locator and messenger that straddles the line between satellite messenger and basic PLB. It doesn’t provide any kind of two-way messaging, but it can be used to send either an S.O.S. alert to the emergency network, a standardized all-okay check-in or a help message to personal contacts. It can also send  preset text messages. Lastly, there’s a help button that will alert personal contacts that you need assistance in a non-emergency situation. Messages and personal contacts are set by logging into your online account, so they can’t be changed without internet access. Each type of message has its own button.

The SPOT Gen4 also has a tracking function that shares your GPS location to your online account at selected intervals. The unit is dustproof and waterproof. It can stay functional after being submerged (1 meter) for up to 30 minutes. It runs on 4 AAA batteries, which are good for 1,250 messages. Like the other satellite messengers, SPOT requires a subscription to function. Plans start at $11.95 per month (with a one-year contract and $19.95 activation fee) for unlimited S.O.S. and help messages and basic tracking. The SPOT Gen4 goes for $149.99. Learn more at findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/spot-gen4.

Garmin inReach Communicators Plus

Garmin’s lineup of personal handheld communicators runs a short gamut from its inReach Mini ($349.99) to its inReach Explorer+ ($449.99). The latter goes a lot further than just providing a location in an emergency. It offers two-way text messaging via satellite, so it’s available in areas without cell service (100% global coverage through the Iridium satellite network). Once an S.O.S. is triggered by the user, the unit can be used to text-message directly with the GEOS 24/7 search-and-rescue monitoring center throughout the emergency.

In addition, the Explorer+ is a basic multifunction navigator. It has a digital compass, a baro altimeter and an accelerometer. It can also be paired with the iOS and Android free mobile Earthmate apps, which provide access to topographic maps and NOAA charts.

The Explorer+’s rechargeable lithium battery can last up to 100 hours in tracking mode. If the unit is in power-save mode, battery life can stretch to 30 days. The Explorer+ is 6.5 inches long and weighs in at 7.5 ounces. It’s impact- and water-resistant. Other features include non-emergency location tracking and sharing, access to weather forecasts and GPS guidance.

Cost for the unit is $449.99. An active satellite subscription is required to use it—and that includes the S.O.S. and emergency features. Monthly subscription plans range from $11.95 to $99.95. Learn more at buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/561269.

Iridium GO

For even more functionality than the standard satellite messengers, there’s the Iridium GO mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that provides internet, including internet telephony, via satellite. Its subscription plans are expensive, but the capability is hard to match.

Not a PLB, Iridium GO enables your smartphone to call and text message from just about anywhere in the world via the Iridium satellite network. It’s compatible with both Apple and Android products.

The Iridium GO unit works with associated apps for a variety of mobile devices. For emergencies, the unit has an S.O.S. button. Users need to configure the S.O.S.—via the Iridium GO app—prior to use. It can be programmed both to send the GPS location and emergency alert to a preset phone number or to GEOS worldwide search and rescue. An active subscription is required for GEOS service. A working mobile device isn’t needed to activate the S.O.S. function.

One Iridium GO unit can support up to five mobile devices operating within a 100-foot radius. While it offers the most communications options in an emergency, there are some drawbacks. The rechargeable battery lasts just 15.5 hours when it’s on standby and provides 5.5 hours’ talk time. Purchase price for the Iridium GO with the aviation kit is $995.00. Subscription plans range from $59 per month for 40 hours of connectivity to $149.99 per month for unlimited data and text. Learn more at iridium.com/products/iridium-go. PP

The post Best Personal Locator Beacons And Satellite Communicators for 2021 appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

The unit itself is about the largest portable Garmin has produced. At 7 inches diagonally, it’s not as big as an iPad mini, but it’s a good deal more sizable than all but the most comically large phones. The display, says Garmin, is very bright and easily dimmable to a low level. The battery life, at four hours with a lot of backlight and a lot more with it dimmed down, is workable for most flights, though we’d keep it plugged in. It charges via a USB C jack, so charging will be fast, and it boasts built-in Wi-Fi, which seems basic these days given the ubiquitous nature of Wi-Fi devices, but as far as aviation portables are concerned, it’s a relatively recent advance.

The newest aera can do everything you’d expect it to and then a lot more. It has 3D synthetic vision that can be hooked up to a source of attitude information to back up its built-in GPS-derived data or hooked up to a compatible Garmin attitude source. There’s a plethora of charts, of course, including instrument procedures—a number of different database packages are available for it—and for pilots who fly into previously unknown airports regularly, its SafeTaxi utility, with a rich database of airport ground features, could well be worth the cost of admission. Also available are terrain awareness, traffic (when connected to a compatible Garmin ADS-B receiver), including Garmin’s TargetTrend and TerminalTraffic utilities, and weather, both FIS-B and from SiriusXM, when connected to a compatible Garmin receiver. There’s fuel price info (which will pay for the price of the databases if not the unit itself) and more.

And seemingly like all of Garmin’s products these days, the 760 can be connected to compatible Garmin products, like navigators, though a serial or wireless connection, and it features the company’s Connext wireless transfer and data-sharing capabilities. The aera 760 can even be connected to a compatible Garmin autopilot to drive VFR procedures, including vertical nav.

So the question is, what can the aera 760 do that an iPad can’t? Well, as you just read, a lot. And because it’s ruggedized for the cockpit environment, optimized for pilot use—its user interface makes use of standard Garmin symbology—and made to work specifically with existing Garmin avionics that might already be in your panel, it has a number of features that no iPad will ever have.

Will this be enough to drive strong sales of this latest Garmin aviation portable? We’re guessing it will.

Other Great Portables

The area 760 joins a host of portable solutions for the flight deck, including the now ubiquitous iPad running the latest version (16.1.1.) of ForeFlight. But that’s not your only choice.

Aircraft Spruce offers the AvMap, an interesting alternative to the Garmin series and ForeFlight. The EKP V handheld GPS features a 7-inch display, with a built-in battery, and it’s only 8.8 inches thick. With a special docking station the EKP V can connect to a range of avionics on board, including the autopilot, Sirius XM Weather, or an EFIS. It’s worth a look at $1,815.

The post The Best Portable Navigators, Like the Garmin area 760 appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Okay, please forgive the geeky review, but I love handheld aviation radios, and Sporty’s latest one, the PJ2, is the cat’s pajamas (get it?). Here’s why.

I forget when it was or, to be honest, exactly what airport it was even. It was in the Central California Valley and the Unicom was closed already with plenty of summer daylight left. A Mooney flew by low as we watched from the ramp and wagged a wing at us. Then he did it again. I ran to the plane and grabbed the handheld radio I always keep in my bag, dialed up 122.8 and hollered, something to the effect of, “Hey, Mooney, you got a gear issue?” They did. On the next flyby, we were all eyes on the gear, which was down and seemed to be equally and fully extended. We pilots agreed. I radioed back to the Mooney pilot, he landed and the gear stayed put. Phew.

I’ve used my handheld a handful of times and always when I least expected to need it.

Sporty’s new PJ2 is powered by six double-A batteries, a big pile of which I keep in my Flight Outfitters flight bag, as well. So when you need it, it’ll probably be good to go. And if not, throw some new batteries at it, and now you’re talking.

Unlike some of Sporty’s other really cool offerings, the PJ2 is just a comm radio. Well, WX too. But no nav. So if you’re looking to shoot an ILS with a handheld, this ain’t the ticket. For that I’d recommend Sporty’s super cool SP400, on which I’ve flown a few ILSes, not in anger, but for testing and for fun. It works great.

When you need something portable and VHS, chances are it’s because you need to talk to someone. My iPad with my favorite navigation app will do the nav thing really well, thanks. Talking with the folks in the tower? Not so much.

The PJ2 is light, it’s easy to use, and this is the killer part of it!it uses standard headphone jacks. Just plug in your Bose or David Clark, and you’re good to go. It’s got a handy push-to-talk, easy-to-dial frequencies and a flip-flop frequency switch you can find in the dark. Sound quality is good, it gets loud enough you’d be able to hear it in a Cessna 150 if hard pressed, and it’s affordable. At $199, it’s a great insurance policy. As they say, you won’t need it until you do. Then you really will.

The PJ2 is available from Sporty’s Pilot Shop at sportys.com. It sells for $199.

The post Geeky Pilot Product Review: Sporty‘s PJ2 Handheld Radio appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

With the FAA mandating that all aircrafts have Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) systems by January 1, 2020, we found four receivers you should look into if your plane still isn’t compliant.

Scout Dual-Band ADS-B Receiver for Inflight Weather & Traffic

This pocket-sized ADS-B receiver displays weather and traffic information on the ForeFlight Mobile app. With low power consumption, you can plug Scout into any portable 5V USB battery or existing USB power source in the aircraft and fly all day without draining your battery pack.

Check the price on Amazon!

Garmin GDL 52 Portable SiriusXM/ADS-B Receiver

The GDL 52 combines SiriusXM coverage with the subscription-free weather and traffic features of an ADS-B “In” datalink. The GDL 52 also provides access to 150 channels of music, news, sports, and other entertainment programming, and you can stream information to other Garmin aviation portables or iPad tablets through Connext® wireless connectivity.

Check the price on Amazon!

Stratux ADS-B Dual Band Receiver Aviation Weather and Traffic

Transform your tablet into the ultimate flight tool equipped with Wide Area Augmentation GPS, subscription-free ADS-B weather, and air-to-air traffic with the Stratux dual band ADS-B receiver.

Check the price on Amazon!

Dual XGPS190 GPS + ADS-B Weather and Traffic

The XGPS 190 is equipped with a Wide Area Augmentation GPS, dual band ADS-B receiver for weather and traffic information and AHRS artificial horizon for EFB apps with synthetic vision. The internal battery lasts five hours of continuous operation and it can be charged with the included 1230V adaptor.

Check the price on Amazon!

The post Four ADS-B Receivers to Consider appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.