Avionics

Thousands of general aviation aircraft owners have yet to upgrade to the ADS-B units the FAA wants everyone to have by 2020, but after EAA AirVenture, there may be a few who find the change a little easier. Avionics maker L-3 Avionics said this week they will give away 36 NGT-2000 units at Oshkosh later […]

Fargo, North Dakota-based Appareo announced that it earned FAA TSO authorization for its panel-mounted Stratus ADS-B transponder. Starting at $2995, the 1090ES ADS-B Out transponder—which has an integrated GPS WAAS receiver— is available in two kits. The Stratus ESG has a mandate-compliant ADS-B transmitter, while the $3495 Stratus ESGi kit also includes a non-certified ADS-B […]

The L-3 ESI-500 Genesis retrofit flight display has synthetic vision, can display GPS and ILS data, has an integral backup battery and has an AML-STC for retrofit in a wide variety of aircraft. In this video, Aviation Consumer magazine Editor Larry Anglisano takes a close look at the instrument with L-3’s Todd Scholten in a […]

Overheard while flying through the New York Class B airspace: Pilot: Departure ABC 795 off 14L climbing to 5000′. Controller: Is this 725 or 795? Pilot: What did I say? Controller: 795. Pilot: Oh sorry, I guess this is 725. Controller: Don’t worry about it, I mix up call signs all day. Pilot: Yeah, but […]

The plodding search for EgyptAir 804, which went down in the eastern Mediterranean en route to Cairo on May 19, has again ignited the discussion about real-time transmission of critical flight parameters via satellite. In an age when the world is stitched together with numerous satellite systems, doesn’t relying on ancient flight and voice data […]

The FAA announced Monday that it will offer $500 rebates to owners who install ADS-B Out systems, but the program will be limited to one year and 20,000 owners on a first-come, first serve basis. Furthermore, because the FAA believes single-engine piston owners may be the most reluctant to equip with ADS-B, rebates will apply […]

A Notam (PDF) is warning operators of “all aircraft relying on GPS” of widespread GPS outages starting Tuesday throughout the Southwest and especially southern California. Although the FAA doesn’t go into detail, it seems the military is testing something that can disrupt GPS over a huge area, centered on China Lake, California, home of the […]

Cub Crafters, well known for its high-performance Carbon Cub LSA, has rolled up a new Part 23 airplane called the XCub. Based on the Carbon Cub, which is itself an offshoot of Piper’s original Super Cub, the new aircraft is lighter and faster than previous entrants in the utility market and the company is calling […]

At one time in this country, government problem-solving consisted of throwing money at whatever obstacle seemed to be impeding progress. Sometimes it even worked. Of late, the philosophy has shifted to cutting taxes, driving deficits and acute budgetary paralysis. I’m not sure where the FAA’s decision—apparently—to help fund installation of ADS-B systems fits, exactly. As […]

The FAA and Department of Transportation are expected to announce at dual press conferences on Monday that the agency will try to stimulate lagging ADS-B sales by offering owners who install systems a $500 cash rebate. Details on the program weren’t available on Friday but sources familiar with it told AVweb that owners can install […]