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The folks who created the world’s most popular personal digital assistant may have been prescient when they called them Pilots (and later, PalmPilots). Several versions later, the Pilot part of the name is gone, but these ubiquitous palmtop computers lead a not-so-secret life as great tools for aviators. Software for devices based on the Palm […]

Rod Machado was born in Oakland, Calif., in1953. He’s half German and half Portuguese, which he claims gives him a geneticpredisposition to conquer a country and then go fishing. He began flying at 16, soloed at17, took his private pilot checkride with legendary instructor Amelia Reid, and, a fewyears later, began to teach flying. After […]

Fishing With Finesse Using Aviation Objects A Russian serviceman detained at a southern Russian train station gives new meaning to the phrase “fishing with finesse.” Transport police in Krasnodar conducting an anti-terrorism operation must have thought they stumbled onto the mother lode when the 20-year-old soldier unzipped his baggage. Inside were five powerful explosive charges, […]

Carl Marbach – Publisher Mike Busch – Editor-in-Chief Bob Kaputa – Managing Editor Jeb Burnside – Executive Editor Jennifer Whitley – Copy Editor Randy Jenkins – Graphic Artist Liz Swaine – News Writer Peter Yost – News Writer Mary Grady – News Editor John Deakin – Columnist Howard Fried – Columnist Rick Durden – Columnist […]

If you are an adult and you fly an airplane, there is a decentchance that you will develop hypertension during your flying lifetime. Some 20 percent ofadult Americans are afflicted by this symptomless malady, which has been aptly termed the”silent killer.” Certainly you have a better chance of becoming hypertensivethan you do of flying your […]

This is a five-part series on Active Noise Reduction in General Aviation. It came about because hundreds and hundreds of you have been asking good questions about ANR technology and its advantages in airplanes. This series is intended to provide G.A. pilots with a fairly technical and thorough understanding of this technology and the important […]

NOTE: Dr. Jim Yates provided substantial contributions to this section of ANR 101. Dr. Yates is Professor and chair, S.P.A. of John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, and principal of Audiology Associates Hawaii. Previous sections of this series have discussed active noise cancellation and the technical issues associated specifically with general aviation […]

In this section, we’ll be looking at the comfort and human-factors issues associated with ANR headsets. The ergonomics of the human head demand a wide range of adjustments to deliver comfort over hours of use. Optimizing the physical headset for pilot use Active pilots have been searching for ways to improve the physical aspects of […]

Looking at actual cockpit noise profiles, and how well aviation headsets cope with it In Section 2 of this series, you learned how engineers measure effectiveness of active noise canceling systems in the laboratory. But since we don’t fly in the lab, our emphasis will now shift to studying the actual noise spectrums in various […]

Understanding and comparing cancellation specifications Section 1 of this series dealt with the variables and complexity involved in canceling the repetitive and random aspects of airplane noise. It explained that although the basic elements of all active noise reduction systems are pretty much the same, the details of how they are designed and implemented has […]