September 2010 Volume XL Number 9

The consumer resource for pilots and aircraft owners

Ditching Training There’s no better way to prepare actually getting wet … page 21

Diesel analysis … page 4 Goodbye STEC-55X … page 11 A better Bose … page 14

4 DIESELS STILL STRUGGLE 11 AVIDYNE’S AUTOPILOT 18 SILVER EAGLE MOD Even with avgas threatened, The DFC 90 replaces the S-TEC A P210 with a big, powerful diesels aren’t a slam dunk 55X with a fully digital system turbine that gets it done

8 GPS ROLL STEERING 14 HEADSETS WITH ‘TOOTH 24 GRUMMAN TIGER You gotta have it if you want Bose’s A20 bests its old X A dose of fighter-like features your autopilot to do it all model and adds Bluetooth make it a fun bird to own FIRST WORD

EDITOR Paul Bertorelli AIRPLANES AND ENERGY: %$#@!&^ AGAIN? In my continuing quest to assure a fatal overdose of information about avgas, I’ve MANAGING EDITOR been doing wider reading on the oil and energy industries in general. I’ve plowed Jeff Van West through several volumes, but the most intriguing is The Bottomless Well: The Twi- light of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy by Peter CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Huber and Mark Mills. Notwithstanding the ridiculous subtitle no doubt written Jonathan Doolittle by some publishing marketer trying to sex Rick Durden up a dense topic, the book challenges basic Larry Anglisano assumptions about energy and how we use it. It’s theoretical stuff, but with reams of SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT production data as factual underpinning. P.O. Box 420235 It leads naturally to a worrying question: Palm Coast, FL 34142-0235 When will the world reach peak oil pro- 800-829-9081 duction and what will happen when it does? www.aviationconsumer.com/cs Huber thinks there’s enough oil on the planet locked up in various forms such as tar sands to FOR CANADA last a century or more, after which nuclear and some Subscription Services form of solar may be the dominate sources. In any Box 7820 STN Main case, there’s more cause to worry about what hydrocarbon London, ON 5W1 prices will do and less that we’ll run out of them. Canada Aviation is, no surprise, uniquely vulnerable to the decline of cheap oil reserves for several reasons. One is Back Issues, Used Aircraft Guides that as transportation goes, it’s energy intensive. It takes 203-857-3100 a lot more BTUs to move a Cirrus at 200 knots than a Smart Car at 60 MPH. Second, and relating to a critical REPRINTS: Aviation Consumer can provide you or your organization megatrend Huber and Mills describe, world economies are tilting rapidly toward with reprints. Minimum order is 1000 the purest form of energy—electricity. Just look around. Hybrid gasoline cars are copies. Contact Jennifer Jimolka, 203-857-3144 making inroads. Plug-ins that rely primarily on stored grid power, not a combus- tion engine, are appearing. Almost anything that can be electrified has been or will be. Electricity does far more in the modern airplane than it did even 10 years AVIATION CONSUMER ago. The Lycoming IE2 we covered in the August issue has an electric prop gover- (ISSN #0147-9911) is pub- nor, an electric waste gate and electrical fueling. lished monthly by Belvoir But what it does not have and what we can’t see on the horizon is fully electric Aviation Group LLC, an affiliate of Belvoir Media primary power. The electric airplanes we’re seeing now are reflections of the Group, 800 Connecti- megatrend, but they are years from being anything other than curiosities. For cut Avenue, Norwalk, CT the foreseeable future, airplanes will rely on liquid fuels of some kind. Hydrogen 06854-1631. Robert Englander, Chairman may eventually be a player, but for now, it’s gasoline and Jet A, a lot more of the latter than the former, as noted in the chart on page 5 of this issue. and CEO; Timothy H. Cole, Executive Vice Aviation’s third vulnerability is that piston airplanes and biofuels don’t mix President, Editorial Director; Philip L. and if some version of peak oil actually occurs, biofuels will suddenly be not just Penny, Chief Operating Officer; Greg King, attractive, but economic in ways that they aren’t now. Executive Vice President, Marketing Direc- Take ethanol. (Please, take it…) The ethanol industry is a political distortion tor; Ron Goldberg, Chief Financial Officer; having nothing to do with the reality of energy markets. It has been foisted on Tom Canfield, Vice President, Circulation. the country by a political class willing to delude constituents with the misguided notion of energy independence in exchange for pork barrel subsidies. We can’t Periodicals postage paid at Norwalk, CT, burn it in our airplanes, nor can we use it even if mixed with gas. and at additional mailing offices. Rev- Second, biodiesel. It sounds wholesomely green, but as oil prices soar and enue Canada GST Account #128044658. more of it finds its way into Jet A, the diesels we report on in this issue may be Subscriptions: $84 annually; single cop- in trouble. Just as conventional airplane engines can’t burn E10, aircraft diesels ies, $10.00. Bulk rate subscriptions for need a minimum cetane fuel. By happy circumstance, Jet A has that, but it’s not organizations are available. Copyright © a required spec. But biodiesel may drive cetane down, depending on blends and 2010 Belvoir Aviation Group LLC. All rights sources. Jet engines don’t care about cetane. Will the aircraft piston market ever reserved. Reproduction in whole or in be big enough to have the clout to force minimum cetane requirements on a cost- part is prohibited. Printed in the USA. driven airline industry that doesn’t care about it? You can easily answer that for yourself. So, as the budding diesel industry gains momentum, we ought to be thinking Postmaster: Send address corrections to now about how all new aircraft diesels can be dual-certified for Jet A and road AVIATION CONSUMER, Box 420234, Palm diesel. We might also think about how to get road diesel onto airports so we Coast, Fl 32142. In Canada, P.O. Box 39 don’t repeat the mogas fiasco.—Paul ­ Bertorelli Norwich, ON NOJ1PO, Canada. Publishing Agreement Number #40016479

2 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com2 • www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 LETTERS

Are You Kidding Me? Further, a local pilot in Camarillo re- Belly Rub I’ve been following the EFB debate for cently designed a kneepad for the iPad I read your article on belly degreasers years—often considering but never which is available at the Cardinal Air with great interest, since I owned a committing to buy a device to take Center in Camarillo. The other major Cessna 310Q for 14 years which has with me on IFR trips, yet reading ev- criticism of the iPad was that it could under-the-wing exhaust tubes that are erything available on the subject. not be used as a moving map. That very hard to clean. I was amused by your “Gear of is simply not correct. Both WingX You failed to include the “Gojo the Year” awards (July 2010 Aviation and Fore- Flight have Original Formula Hand Cleaner” Consumer) in which you awarded fully moving maps. Both which I found to be the most effective three different devices to companies cleaner of them all, far easier to use do the job of plate read- have recently and more effective than Carbon-X . ing, flight planning and upgraded You just dip a paper towel into the least once a year and we seem com. Ease of PS Engineering PMA 8000B to beat the hell out of them use, range of Next Dimension SR22 mod and find that they work just features and a bright display running enroute EFB. It seemed fine. The aera line is unique on a solid CTL 2Go NL1 tablet PC their systems cleaner and rub off the exhaust stains, because it is a line—four models are made this product rise to the top. available—but it’s also Garmin’s first FlightPrep offers a range of related stab (a little inside GPS article humor products. as if my own reservations there) at an aviation touchscreen. specifically oil stains, whatever. It leaves a nice What impressed us most about this TOP AUDIO PANEL: product intro is that Garmin resisted PS 8000 the inevitable urge to trash the thing were validated by your up with a lot of menus and capability Even if you have a recent audio panel for the iPad. I glossy sheen and it does not harm that the processor and memory could in your airplane, you probably need probably support but that users don’t a new one. That’s because you’re need. It’s kept to a simple, easy-to-use carting around an MP3 player or a operating structure that anyone can portable DVD and you need to play conclusions: There just learn. See the December 2009 issue good quality stereo music. An old have used both aluminum or paint. or garmin.com for more. KMA24 won’t do that. But PS Engineering’s slick MOD OF THE YEAR: PMA8000 series will do the job isn’t any one device that NEXT DIMENSION SR22 nicely and one version even includes systems in flight Mike Busch of Savvy Aviator is the a Sirius Satellite Radio receiver But the Legend Voyager 4 There’s a reason the Cirrus SR22 is a complete with remote control. In a Cubs feel more like top seller. It’s fast, fun to fly and nice market dominated by Garmin, PS does the whole job well. genuine Piper Cubs because, well, looking. Cirrus got the airplane so Engineering continues to innovate and found them one who pointed this product out to they sort of are. But they have im- right from the start that it hasn’t seen and keep its competitive edge. So proved construction methods, two a big mod market. we’re happy to tip the hat in their engine choices and the build qual- But the one mod that caught our direction. For more, see ps-engineer- Buy all three? When I’d ity is simply second to none, in our eye is Next Dimension’s major redo ing.com or our review in the August to be very accurate me, and I completely agree with him estimation. When we go to shows, we of the SR22. In case you haven’t 2009 issue. always sign up to fly them for “edito- noticed, the market is flooded with rial review.” But really, it’s just for the recent model SR22s at good prices. LARGE COJONES AWARD: fun of it. See more in the April 2010 ND’s mod fits them with a Tornado AUSTRO ENGINE have to carry paper for a issue or at legend.aero. Alley Turbo normalizer system plus when I compared that it is by far the best, most easy- Avidyne’s Release 9, which we picked And it may be Austro’s name on the BEST PORTABLE GPS as our top EFIS last year. An upgrad- door, but Diamond principle Chris- GARMIN AERA ed interior and paint comes with the tian Dries is the man responsible secure backup anyway? package. for pistol whipping a new diesel them with the data to-use cleaner. A 4.5 pound jar costs You’re surprised? Like clockwork, Bottom line: A helluva airplane for engine through certification in under Garmin seems to roll these well under the cost of a new one. We 24 months. Diamond stubbed its things out at haven’t flight tested one yet, but we’re toe badly with the Thielert (now While the gadgetophile on the list. For more, see the January Centurion) on my Garmin about $10 and is available at most 2010 issue or ndaircraft.com. engines in the popu- BEST EFB: lar DA42 FLIGHTPREP CHARTBOOK twin. But in me says yes, common rather than GNS530W. automotive parts stores. Electronic Flight Bags are a bit of a retreat and misnomer, since they don’t actually regroup, displace a real flightbag. But they do Dries doubled sense is saying, “are you carry plate readers, chart libraries, down, finding The only criti- flight planners, utility programs and $61 million to weather access, so they earn their invest in a new keep. (No fuel strainer, sorry.) diesel develop- kidding?” Our top pick in our April 2010 re- mental cism that I found to Rolf H. Scholz view was Chartbook from flightprep. project, Austro AE300 12 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com July 2010 be correct was that via e-mail Anthony Nasr the iPad cannot up- via e-mail date weather during flight. However, CORRECTION the product has been on the market In the August 2010 report on Why, of course we are perfectly serious for two months and I have little doubt the Lock and Key Navajo mod, that you should buy all three. What are that within the near future, inflight we incorrectly reported that the you, some kind of cheapskate who doesn’t weather will be available for the iPad. quoted price doesn’t include the want to support aviation? I very much enjoy the magazine, cost of the airplane. However, the but this time I think you got it wrong. price does include the aircraft and Where’s the Love? will thus be different for an owner I have had a subscription to Aviation Gary Jacobs who already has a candidate Consumer since the early 1980s. I have Ventura California aircraft. enjoyed the magazine and I have found the information provided in the Paul Bertorelli replies: Just off the phone magazine over the years to be both with Van West talking about the iPad. CONTACT US helpful and accurate. However, when He had lots of four-letter words for Steve’s I read your recent article on the iPad, perfect little jewel, so suffice to say neither Editorial Office I was surprised how poorly the author of us will be mistaken for fan boys. 941-929-1693 of the article researched the subject. By the way, we mentioned the RAM E-mail: [email protected] I have been using an iPad since mount in the caption on page 10. We’re Subscription Department early May and, as a result, I had been told by them it’s still not available. As for P.O. Box 420235 looking forward to the promised the map, ForeFlight is still downplaying it Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 review. Unfortunately, when I read the for that purpose. 800-829-9081 article, I found it to be inaccurate and poorly researched. As I understood Here’s the Love Online Customer Service: the article, the author liked the design I got a huge laugh out of your com- www.aviationconsumer.com/cs and ease of use of the iPad, and its ment and examples regarding typing sharp readable screen. However, he on the iPad in the current Consumer. Back Issues, was critical of the iPad’s size and the I have the exact same problem Used Aircraft Guides: difficulty with mounting the iPad in with my iPhone and often accomplish 203-857-3100 E-mail: customer_service@bel- the cockpit. the duplicates of your examples. Great voir.com Unfortunately, had he done his writing, as usual! research you would have discov- For weekly aviation news ered that RAM has already designed King Sims updates, see www.avweb.com a mounting system for the iPad. via e-mail

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 3 CHECKLIST

Fuel trends are irrevers- ibly in favor of heavy fuel engines. There’s plenty of market activity in diesel. Continental’s entry elevates the game. Although economy is proven, practical durability in large fleet operation isn’t. Power density issues are a mixed bag. SMA matches gasoline numbers, Centurion and Austro don’t. Jet A supplies are assured, but low-cetane biofuel components are a legitimate worry.

ney’s round engines might qualify as a continuing success while Centurion remains in the iffy column. So what is it about diesels? They seem like such a terrific idea in theory. Aircraft Diesels: But in practice, they’ve consistently failed to deliver. They’re usually heavier than gas engines, have poorer power density and have proven sub- Still No Slam Dunk stantially more expensive to build. That much hasn’t changed since Pack- ard tried the Dr-980 radial diesel in Despite having an overwhelming advantage in fuel 1928. So what possible market trend could rewrite the equation? Only one: volume and availability, aircraft diesels have yet to fuel availability. overcome a persistent pattern of market failure. FAILURE TO LAUNCH History has a way of repeating itself by Paul Bertorelli and that certainly seems to be true in the diesel market. The first serious hen Continental announced how you define commercial success, effort in aircraft diesel was launched in May that it planned to there has never been a commercially by Packard in 1928 in the form of Wdevelop a diesel engine for successful diesel engine for aircraft. the Dr-980, a nine-cylinder radial the light aircraft market, it was bold- The Thielert/Centurion line launched intended to compete with the IO-550 ly going where many have gone be- in 2005 comes closest, but the com- of the day, Wright’s 225-HP Whirl- fore. Unfortunately, pany went belly-up wind J-5. Although the Whirlwind the many have had FUTURE FUELS and although it’s gained indelible fame for reliabil- their diesel entries building engines ity by powering Lindbergh’s flight ground to a bloody pulp by a fickle again, it remains insolvent. across the Atlantic, it had terrible market more interested in speed Our idea of success is defined by fuel specifics. At 0.6 pounds of fuel than economy and unconvinced that having enough engines in the market per horsepower hour, its thirst was diesel’s supposed longevity is worth to represent a sustainable economic closer to a turbine than a modern, the higher purchase price. bloc and/or a company that’s still relatively efficient gasoline engine. A historical fact: Depending on viable. In that regard, Pratt & Whit- Designers using the J-5 had to find a

4 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010

30-YEAR PRICE 800 THE RISE AND TRENDS 700 FALL OF AVGAS AVGAS 600 1980: $1.08 224% 26% 2009: $3.50 500 1 BARREL = 42 GALLONS INFLATION ADJUSTED JET A 400 1980: $.88 263% 41% 300 JET A 2009: $3.20 200 BARRELS 100,000 INFLATION AVGAS ADJUSTED (ALL GRADES) MOGAS 100 5.6 M BARRELS 1980: $1.05 148% 3% 2009: $2.61 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 INFLATION 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 ADJUSTED

data on avgas and Jet A production its unhappy price trend. While motor iehard diesel supporters may think that avgas is just now and prices is a best-guess effort. API, gas is actually cheaper in real dol- teetering on the ropes, but EIA and FAA/DOT statistics don’t lars than it was 30 years ago, avgas is D necessarily agree nor do they match well ahead of inflation. While some of they’re a little late to the party. Avgas production has been in steady decline year-to-year claims. But the direction- this is due to rising production costs since reaching its peak production of ality is unmistakable: In the world of because high octane isn’t required by 814 million barrels in 1958, accord- petroleum production and refining, modern cars, the larger driver is al- ing to data maintained by the Energy high-octane avgas is a mere drizzle in most certainly fewer suppliers serving Information Administration and the a sea of Jet A, which is itself a fraction a shrinking market. There’s not much American Petroleum Institute. of motor gas volume. incentive to compete on price, as with A caveat here: Obtaining accurate Avgas’s small volume is reflected in mogas.

lot of room for fuel and even then, By 1930, it was a soon-to-be-forgotten gasoline-powered aircraft were range historical footnote. As is usually the challenged. Further, in 1928, just as case in business plans, the Dr-980 now, the world was worried about failed for multiple reasons. To lighten running out of oil, since discoveries it, Packard nibbled structure to the of new major fields—especially the minimum and had trouble keeping Black Giant in East Texas—were still in the future. Even by modern standards, the Dr- The Austro, upper right, is an adapted au- 980 was an impressive effort. Accord- tomotive diesel design developed in a crash ing to Robert Meyers’ The First Air- program by a company spun off of Diamond plane Diesel, the Dr-980 matched the Aircraft. One short- Whirlwind on weight, power density coming in the diesel and overall size, something that no market is that it lacks modern diesel can claim. It crushed the J-5 on efficiency, running at 0.40 high-horsepower BSFC, a 50 percent improvement in offerings. Centu- fuel economy. No modern diesel can rion’s 4.0, lower, was claim that kind of improvement over supposed to address the gasoline competition, either. that, but the engine’s Nor was the Dr-980 some back- hangar project. Packard invested the weight and complexity contemporary equivalent of $8 mil- make it a non-starter lion in a plant designed to build 500 against modern gaso- engines a year. Yet like many other line powerplants. diesels to follow, the Dr-980 failed.

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 5 the cylinders on. Seventy-five BY THE NUMBERS years later, Thielert repeated the mistake, although differ- FUEL DIESEL COST ENGINE HORSEPOWER WEIGHT POWER DENSITY SPECIFICS PREMIUM ently in detail. The Dr-980 had a four-cycle WRIGHT design with a single valve 225 HP 510 LBS 2.26 LB/HP 0.6 BSFC N/A WHIRLWIND J-5 which resulted in a smoky ex- haust that filled the cabin with PACKARD 225 HP 510 LBS 2.26 LB/HP 0.4 BSFC 34% objectionable fumes and ru- DR-980 ined clothing. But what finally killed the Dr-980, according to SMA SR305 227 HP 430 LBS 1.9 LB/HP 0.35 BSFC 12-15%1 Meyers, was the development of 87-octane fuel and later CONTINENTAL 230 HP 410 LBS 1.78 LB/HP 0.46 BSFC N/A even higher octanes that made 0-470 possible gasoline engines with overall power and power den- CENTURION 2.0 135 HP 295 LBS 2.18 LB/HP 0.36 BSFC UNKNOWN sity that diesel couldn’t match. Not that this kept companies from trying, including Junkers 2 AUSTRO AE300 168 HP 407 LBS 2.42 LB/HP 0.36 BSFC 22% in Germany. The Jumo 205 is often cited as a highly success- 1Estimate based on best case mass production for new airplanes. Costs for converting a legacy airplane are much higher. ful design, but that’s debatable. 2Our estimate based on price Delta between Lycoming-powered and Austro-powered The 205 was a creative six- Diamond DA42s. cylinder, 12-piston, two-cycle design with two crankshafts In the intervening years since Packard ators weren’t interested in putting up located where the valve covers attempted mass production of aero- with those shortcomings in exchange would normally be on a typical horizontally opposed aircraft diesels, engine performance param- for greater range, which the Packard engine. Although the 205 had eters have advanced incrementally, had in abundance. exceptional power density—1.5 but a revolution awaits. Modern diesels are more sophisti- pounds per horsepower—even Note that in competing with the cated and have better economy and for a two-cycle, it was complex Wright Whirlwind, Packard got some power density, with the exception of to build and maintain. (Think things right—weight, power density the Austro AE300, whose power den- about the gearing to join two and fuel economy. But it got two sity is worse than the Packard. But crankshafts to a single output.) things substantially wrong: cost and this is the tradeoff against durability. The Jumo 205 found com- durability. The Austro has a heavy cast-iron mercial and military applica- The engine just wasn’t mature block, something that’s all but un- tion before and during World enough to make it in a market soon heard of in aviation. The heavy block War II, but it’s unclear how many were built. One source dominated by the superior perfor- is intended to give the Austro better suggests more than 900. Sus- mance of 87-octane and later higher reliability and it can be overhauled tained by the artificial market octane fuels. Its stinky exhaust and rather than exchanged, as with the of a war economy, the 205 met vibration didn’t help. Evidently, oper- Centurion. the same fate as the Packard. It was done in by gasoline engines—and turbines—with At least two proposed diesels performance so superior as to out- are two-cycle designs, includ- weigh diesel’s fuel economy advan- ing the DeltaHawk, left, and tages. the Gemini, below. THEN, NOW Advance the clock 80 years and you might assume modern technology would have so improved aircraft diesel engines that they would capture the market in a walk. But that hasn’t happened. The test case is the Thielert Centurion that Diamond chose for its DA42 twin. The airplane got a warm market reception, sold well—especially out- side the U.S.—and was economical and easy to fly. But just as with the

6 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 Packard, the engines were expensive CUTTING EDGE TECH to buy and they developed significant maintenance issues that eventually OTTO+DIESEL=RADICAL caused Diamond to go its own way and develop the automotive-based Thirty years ago, Fuel nozzle Austro AE300. Thielert’s problems the only place to Micro chamber were so significant that it eventually buy diesel fuel was went bankrupt and has been reconsti- at a truck stop. But tuted as Centurion. Only recently has once diesel cars and Centurion announced life extension light trucks made mi- programs that reduce the onerous nor inroads into the routine maintenance on clutches and U.S. market, so did gearboxes, but even at that, Centu- something else: die- rion’s diesels don’t match typical gaso- sel misfueling. The line engine TBOs and the Centurion is still a replacement/exchange engine distracted motorist that can’t be overhauled in the field. swipes the credit Centurion engines, although card and stuffs the economical, lack the power density of wrong nozzle into the best gasoline engines. The mar- the filler. They don’t ket badly needs a high-performance get far before the diesel, which Centurion has in its 4.0. engine coughs and But at 600 pounds, it’s 150 pounds sputters on its way heavier, larger and more complex than to a giant repair bill. the gasoline competition. Diesel just won’t burn in a In its SR305, SMA has a strong conventional gasoline engine. The diesel performer, with good fuel specifics, excellent power density and compression ratio is not nearly a direct drive design that eliminates high enough, the injection the complexity of a gearbox. Our pulse is mistimed and a spark surveys of operators of SMA-powered plug is no help. But that’s not aircraft—conversions only—reveal to say burning diesel (or Jet satisfied customers who believe the A) in a piston engine as light engine has merit. Continental thinks as the typical Lycoming or the same thing, since it acquired Continental can’t be made to SMA’s technology as a seed for its own work. It just takes the right aggressive heavy fuel engine line. kind of piston and cylinder IT’S THE FUEL, STUPID and careful control of the fuel The bet here seems to be that even pulse timing. The result is a if diesels continue to have power combustion process that’s density, power output and short almost exactly a mix of the TBO issues, the impending demise diesel and the Otto gasoline of 100-octane gasoline—and maybe cycle. just the perception of its demise— At least that’s the idea behind chamber are so shaped to allow the has tipped the balance permanently something called the Sonex Com- injected fuel—the pulse timing is toward heavy fuel engines. As the bustion Auto Ignition concept de- critical—to morph into two chemi- graphic on page 5 shows, Jet A is the veloped by a company by the same cal radicals during the compres- world fuel of the future; avgas a bou- name. This idea has been in the sion and pre-ignition portion of tique fuel suffering a long decline. works supported by Daimler-Benz the stroke. The two chemicals of Globalization will hasten this be- interest are hydrogen peroxide and cause increasingly, the world aircraft for a number of years and is now coming into public view. Sonex’s formaldehyde. market will eclipse North America as According to Pouring, the forma- the dominant driver. Andy Pouring, a former Naval tion—and retention throughout “Sixty percent of the world’s small Academy engineering instructor, piston airplanes are on the U.S. ran us through the basics of SCAI. the combustion cycle—of these registry,” says Andre Teissier-duCros, The underlying principle in- chemicals encourages total en- an engineer who edits the DieselAir volves something called radical ig- velopment of the fuel/air charge Newsletter. “It was 70 percent in the nition. And no, that doesn’t refer to rather the flame front normally 1970s. It will be down to 50 percent the edginess of the idea, although associated with piston engines, in- in 2040 and the number of U.S. light it is that, but to chemical radi- cluding diesels. Conventional Otto cals. The piston and combustion cycle gasoline engines function continued on page 32

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 7 with a constant volume combus- Does that mean that a radical well lean of peak. tion process while true diesels work ignition engine might look like a This yields fuel specifics of a die- on the constant pressure principle. typical Continental or Lycoming and sel-like .35 to .36 pounds per horse- Radical ignition is a combination of weigh about the same? That’s about power hour, compared to about .39 the two and its cylinder pressure right, says Pouring. to .41 for the more efficient gasoline trace, page 8 , has a characteristic Although such an engine would engines. double peak that looks very differ- look outwardly conventional, it Pouring says Sonex would like to ent than a conventional gasoline would have only fuel injection and commercialize its technology but, engine pressure trace. no throttle body—power is modu- so far, no takers. A derivative of the The shape of the piston is critical lated by fuel. As a result, radical SCAI idea is now being used in a and represents the overwhelming ignition runs ultra lean, according UAV called the ScanEagle made by manufacturing challenge of building to Pouring—the fuel/air ratios are as InSitu for civil and military use. For a radical ignition engine. In addition lean at 28 to 1, compared to about more SCAI technology, see www. to getting the shape of the bowl 19 to 1 for a gasoline engine running sonexresearch.com. just right, Pouring told us the piston design calls for a series of micro- AVIONICS MARKET SCAN chambers around the circumference of the piston bowl. Think of these as small storage chambers that absorb part of fuel GPSS Retrofits: charge and the radicals during the Automation to the Max

Digital roll steering converters can bring old auto- pilots into the modern age, but to get the most out of them, you need WAAS GPS.

by Larry Anglisano

early every proposal for a new autopilot installations— CHECKLIST Nwhich these days means S-TEC upgrades—should include a If you want hands off intake process. When the combus- GPSS option. And optional is the from takeoff to nearly tion cycle starts, the microchambers key word because unless you buy touchdown, GPSS is a store a portion of the radicals which a flagship S-TEC 55X autopilot, must. are then made available as kind of a GPSS won’t be included with the seed for subsequent cycles. Radical base system. For most customers Roll steering inputs can ignition can run on a four- or two- looking to upgrade GPS and auto- be added to most cycle design, but Pouring says the pilot equipment, GPSS hardware is autopilots, even older grossly misunderstood. two-cycle version is less efficient, ones. Although hardly a major system, just as with a conventional gasoline GPSS is considered an accessory Aspen and Garmin two-cycle. that plays a huge part in total au- G500/600 already Diesel engines require compres- topilot automation. Impressively, include GPSS. sion ratios of as much as 20 to 1 it emulates the tight performance to autoignite the fuel, which is the found with big-airplane inertial Without WAAS GPS, the chief reason that diesel engines are navigational systems. interface will be hob- so heavy. They need a lot of beefy Upgrading to GPSS is pretty easy, bled. Just know that structure to contain cylinder pres- since there are several aftermar- going in. sures as high as 1500 PSI. Pouring ket GPSS systems to choose from. told us that radical ignition cylinder They can be interfaced into a new If you’re already pinch- autopilot installation or tacked on pressures don’t spike above about ing pennies on an to an existing 30-year-old autopi- autopilot upgrade, GPSS 800 PSI, which is comparable to lot. They’ll work in a limited way gasoline engines, thus they can be isn’t going to make it with older GPS navigators as well cheaper. built as lightly as a conventional as newer ones. aircraft engine. Let’s do a brief rundown with a

8 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 simple explanation of GPSS along with a look at the current market offerings. To cut to the chase, if you buy a new Aspen PFD or Gar- min G500, GPSS is included as a bonus. GPSS 101 It’s easy to see why GPSS systems cause so much confusion. To under- stand the theory of operation, you need to understand the relationship between an analog and a digital interface. Most general aviation autopilots (with the exception of Garmin’s integrated GFC700 that’s part of the G1000 suite) are analog- based systems. This 1980s and earlier analog circuitry knows nothing about high- speed databuses or RS232 serial waypoint data that stream from most modern GPS units. Instead, when sists simply of a autopilots track a course, they follow remote control the analog left/right needle action box and panel- from a mechanical CDI or HSI. mounted mode Analog autopilots chase the needle switch. You won’t just like a hand-flying pilot would. need much panel But this game of needle-scalloping space to house the cat and mouse can be decisively won mode switch—it’s with the more precise tracking of reasonably small. digital GPS steering, which takes the The remote control CDI out of the picture and digitally box is about the connects the GPS with the autopilot size of an altitude computer over a databus. encoder and can be Instead of tracking a course, a mounted anywhere GPSS anticipates course changes there’s room under along the way by commanding a the panel. Experi- coordinated new course heading enced shops should without overshooting or under- be able to complete shooting. Since the GPS naviga- an average GPSS tor calculates exact turn initiation retrofit in about points from waypoint to waypoint two days. The biggest effort is ac- Garmin’s GNS430W, top photo, based on GPS groundspeed, leg cessing the GPS in the main stack will nicely display a holding transitions in a flight plan are to connect to the databus. racetrack, but without GPS roll seamless. It’s pretty smart stuff. steering, lower photo, your aging SPARSE MARKET analog autopilot won’t track the SIGNAL CONVERSION The logical choice when installing a Because GPSS systems are really new S-TEC autopilot is to include the course very accurately. signal converters, the digital signal S-TEC ST-901 GPSS steering sys- received from the GPS gets converted tem. It’s a remote box with a square, to a language that the autopilot panel-mounted annunciator control DAC International’s GDC31 is understands—and that’s a heading switch. Again, the flagship System similar in design to the S-TEC sys- error signal. The resulting magic 55X comes with self-contained, tem. The GDC31 shines in that it’s to the interface is added precision. integrated GPSS. But other S-TEC compatible with a broad range of So much precision, in fact, that the systems don’t. autopilot models, including the old system will tightly fly procedure turn There’s nothing wrong with add- but durable Bendix/King KFC200, course reversals, holding patterns ing GPSS steering later, except the plus models from Century and and even nail steep intercept angles autopilot computer might need to be Cessna. It will also interface with both enroute and on a GPS ap- modified to accommodate the GPSS, an S-TEC autopilot. It’s important proach. The pilot’s job is to monitor which adds to the bottom line. to understand that a GPSS won’t and stay ahead of the interface. S-TEC’s ST-901 costs $2184, plus solve autopilot problems inherent The mechanical interface con- installation. with some of these old systems, so

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 9 functions, including For the ultimate in roll steering altitude alerter, land- sophistication, the Icarus SAM, ing gear warning left, is unbeatable. For not much and other interac- more money than the others, it tive warnings. For instance, when a has a ton of high-level features. destination altitude But these will add substantially is set, a check gear to the installation invoice. That’s alert will be pro- a standard ATI panel display; the vided at the pre- processor box hides elsewhere. established height above that altitude. There’s other an- the interface could be limited for nunciation, too, approach operations. Sure, you including voltage, can still sit back with crossed arms oil pressure, vacuum while the autopilot flies doglegs in pressure, engine the flight plan and intercepts a GPS monitors, stall approach as if it’s on rails, but it warning and audible can’t fly a procedure turn or hold- voice prompting ing pattern. of waypoint passage. While older legacy navigators out- These options also mean put composite roll commands, they extra installation effort, so don’t output guidance in the hold a close eye on your shop’s quote is segment of the approach procedure. in order when spec’ing this system. Garmin WAAS navigators (including The SAM uses a larger control head the discontinued GNS480/CNX80) than the other brands to accommo- incorporate this functionality. date these functions, so more panel A WAAS upgrade for the legacy space is required. The Icarus steer- GNS430 and 530 units could run a ing system works with a variety of few grand, on top of the few grand if you AC- and DC-based autopilots. it costs for a GPSS steering installa- have faulty tion. These numbers are often tough servos, computers and lazy auto- CONCLUSION to swallow for many owners already pilot gyros, you’ll still need to get Flying an entire flight plan hands- stretched by expensive autopilot these fixed. The DAC GDC31 has free without manual heading upgrades. If an Aspen or G500 is in a liberal AML/STC and the system changes or spinning the course your future, we suggest holding off is built with quality and ease of pointer is what GPSS is all about. on GPSS upgrades. Still, GPSS auto- installation in mind. The GDC31 But without WAAS GPS in the mix, mation is so impressive and capable has a price tag of $1989. addition, it’s worth considering for The Cadillac of GPSS is the auto-pilot-coupled, cross-country $2295 Icarus Instruments Steer- If you’re tight for panel space, missions. ing Assist System (SAM). While GPSS doesn’t get much simpler performing the same steering func- tions as the S-TEC and DAC, the than DAC’s $1989 GDC31, below. Larry Anglisano is Aviation Consumer’s Icarus system includes some nifty Installation is reasonable, too. crack avionics editor. He works at Exxel Avionics in Hartford, Connecticut.

CONTACTS Cobham Avionics/S-TEC 800-872-7832 www.s-tec.com DAC International 512-331-5323 www.dacint.com Icarus Instruments 301-891-0600 www.icarusinstruments.com

10 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 AVIONICS FLIGHT TRIAL Avidyne kept as much of the button- ology as possible from the S-Tec 55X to ease the transition. The new but- tons are color-coded to show what modes are active or armed.

attitude-based autopilot with access to additional data, such as the winds aloft. The result is an autopilot that can outperform its predecessor in performance and safety. The performance gain is two-fold. Using aircraft attitude, the autopilot should ride more steadily through turbulence. We tested the DFC90 on a relatively calm day, so we can’t verify that. But we do know the S-Tec 55X wasn’t a gold medalist in this category compared to even older attitude-based systems, such as the Century. The gain we could see was in intercepts and approaches. Avidyne makes the rather tongue-in-cheek Avidyne’s DFC90: claim that the maximum intercept angle for the DFC90 is 179.9 de- grees. We tried a 90-degree intercept One Smart Autopilot with a quartering tailwind to a GPS course and an ILS, and saw perfect joins both times. The winds weren’t Avidyne’s fully digital autopilot delivers on its claims challenging on the coupled ap- proaches, but there wasn’t even the of terrific performance and improved safety. But the minor hunting for the correct pinch cost-benefit equation won’t work for everyone. and heading as we descended like we’re used to with the 55X. It was also unfazed by any flap or power by Jeff Van West changes we put in or took out while on glideslope. irrus Aircraft’s installation of on an LPV because the 55X was The only place we did see the the Avidyne Entegra PFD in conceived before the days of GPS autopilot get behind was on a non- C2003 was really the turning approaches with vertical guidance so precision approach using the new point for glass cockpits in GA. But at it can’t combine vertical guidance, airspeed-hold function. It works the time, there was no attitude-based with GPSS. through a new airspeed bug on the autopilot on the market capable Owners have adapted, sometimes PFD controlled by a dedicated knob of using the digital gyros (AHRS) muttering to themselves as they from the PFD to fly the aircraft. That manually “helped” the autopilot get CHECKLIST meant that Cirrus (as well as Colum- settled in on approaches or harsh bia, Piper and anyone else who used intercept angles. They also got really Significant performance the Avidyne system) hid an electric good at pushing the 55X’s buttons improvement for turn coordinator behind the panel just right when arming an altitude intercepts and approach- and used it to drive the S-Tec 55X or navigation capture—or let out es over the S-TEC 55X. rate-based autopilot. another muttered curse when they We’ve always seen the S-Tec 55X as leveled off accidentally instead of Addition of straight-and- an acceptable, but not stellar per- climbing. level mode is a tangible former. Its weaknesses are most pro- gain in safety. nounced on coupled ILS approaches A DIGITAL ATTITUDE in strong, gusty winds where it will Avidyne now has an alternative, While the install is simple, often hunt left and right to try and designed as a slide-in replacement the total upgrade cost is find a heading that keeps the needles for the S-Tec 55X. The DFC90 uses substantial for safety and centered. GPS steering (GPSS) largely the same tray, wires and servos as smoothness with no gain fixes this issue, but that doesn’t help the 55X, but gets its data directly in mission utility. on an ILS. Nor does it work well from the PFD. This means it’s an

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 11 PFD annunciations now show in green for active and blue for armed, and there’s a new airspeed bug. The system will handle any intercept angle you throw at it. It also won’t reverse its direction of turn in HDG mode if you swing the heading bug more than 180 degrees. on the face of the DFC90. We com- Jacobson if future plans included manded 100 knots at the FAF and digital servos and got a polite “no grees of pitch. Given that part of the chopped the power. The DFC90 held comment.” Such servos would prob- recovery logic includes knowing to 100 in the descent just fine, but had ably only be for new OEM installs, unload the wings before attempting trouble when we powered up and however. an extreme roll and not exceeding punched ALT to level off, dropping more than 2.3Gs on the pullout, we to as low as 89 knots before speeding ENVELOPE OF PROTECTION suspect it’s designed to attempt much back up. On our flight, Jacobson pointed out more extreme recoveries if needed. This is probably a result of the that the airspeed bug has a safety In addition, the autopilot won’t let DFC90 installation retaining the function, too. He leaves it parked the aircraft fly too slow or too fast. existing servos rather than replacing on Cirrus’ best glide speed of 88 We pulled the power to 35 percent them with high-speed-capable digital knots. If the engine were to fail, the and commanded a climb of 1600 servos, like those found in a Garmin autopilot could hold 88 knots in a FPM in the SR22 testbed aircraft. It G1000/GFC 700 autopilot. Steve Ja- slow descent with one button push, pitched up in an attempt to climb cobson, VP for Product Management, while the pilot got busy with the until it slowed to 88 knots. At that told us, “We agree DC brushless emergency checklist. point the automated voice (they call motors would be best. But for this Bigger news is the Straight-and- her Gina) announced “Speed pro- mission, the existing servo motors Level button. Similar to the Level tection active” and annunciations are adequate … and they keep the button on the G1000-based Cirrus flashed on the PFD. The aircraft installation cost down.” Perspective system, if a pilot gets gave the best climb it could without We’d have to agree. We asked into an unusual attitude, pushing slowing down any further. We tried the button engages the autopilot a full-power descent as well, and the and returns the aircraft to level autopilot held us at Vne, pitching up We tried the underspeed, overspeed and flight. Officially, Avidyne states it as needed to keep us from going any straight-and-level recovery in flight. All has demonstrated recovery from faster. performed exactly as advertised. 60 degrees of bank and 30 de- Avidyne retained the hidden turn coordinator from the original S-Tec installation as a fault comparator. If the DFC90 sees a mismatch between the PFD attitude and the turn-rate information from the old system, it will disengage and alert the pilot. The pilot can manually reengage the autopilot if he feels the error was in the turn coordinator rather than the PFD’s AHRS. There is some redundancy loss. In the event of AHRS or PFD failure, the S-Tec 55X could still fly the air- craft through an non-precision GPS

12 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 AC TV same is true with HDG and NAV. The system relies on the Entegra Gone as well is the gradual transition PFD, so there are no plans to create a to 300 FPM at altitude capture. The standalone version for the aftermar- commanded rate is kept until the last ket. moment that still allows a smooth The DFC90 is $9990. The modi- capture. There’s no knob to correct fication to the PFD to send new sig- the altitude in 20-foot increments. nals on the old S-Tec wiring harness When you change the baro setting, is $3600 if you’re already running the DFC90 corrects the altitude auto- Release 7 software. It’s $5800 for ear- matically. lier (non-WAAS) PFDs. Installation Come along on a flight to see the The autopilot buttons and the runs between three and six hours DFC 90 in action. Log on to www. PFD display are color coded: green including removal of the PFD, for the avweb.com and select the video for active, blue for armed and white upgrade and the flight test. index. Demo pilot Steve Jacobson for inactive. The DFC90 also has a That means between $14K-$16K shows us the new features includ- pitch and roll mode where it will for the complete job. For some, the ing straight and level recovery. hold the current pitch and bank, as safety enhancements alone will be well as a true flight director. In fact, worth it. The day-to-day perfor- like traditional attitude autopilots, mance gains will sway some more approach. With the DFC90, AHRS the autopilot controls really drive the buyers. But we think for many this failure will disable the autopilot as flight director, which you can follow upgrade is far from an easy call. The well. manually or have the autopilot fol- new autopilot doesn’t add more mis- low on its own. sion utility. Aside from the envelope USER INTERFACE protection, the old system can do The buttonology of the DFC90 will NOT A NO-BRAINER most of what the new one can—al- be familiar to anyone who has used Cirrus owners can upgrade to the beit with the grace of Jerry Lewis, at an S-Tec 55. This is by design as new system today. Avidyne plans to times, rather than Fred Astaire. Avidyne wanted the simplest transi- certify the autopilot in all airframes But if you’re tired of cursing the tion possible for 55X owners. There where a significant number of En- shortcomings of your 55X, at least are a few new buttons in addition to tegra systems were installed (Adam you have options, and the final result Straight-and-Level. Airspeed mode A500 owners may be out of luck). won’t disappoint. is engaged through an IAS button above the knob that sets the airspeed bug. There’s also a new GS button to manually disengage glideslope capture if you don’t want vertical GARMIN’S AUTO-HELPING-HAND guidance on an LPV or ILS. Garmin has extended the bounds of There is an Approach button, but what we generally think of as the role it’s only really needed for VOR ap- of an autopilot with its new Electronic proaches, as the autopilot automati- cally sets its approach sensitivity and Stability and Protection (ESP) system arms vertical capture if it sees you that uses the autopilot servos to “nudge are flying a GPS approach or inter- the pilot back to safe flight” when the cepting a localizer. Likewise, there is autopilot is off, but the system senses a GPSS button, but it engages auto- the aircraft is departing controlled flight. matically if you’re following a GPS What constitutes departing controlled course. Maybe Avidyne figured 55X flight varies from airframe to airframe, experts would miss the double-NAV but the numbers for a Cirrus SR22 with push to engage GPSS. a Perspective system are more than 45 Forget about pushing VS and ALT degrees of roll and about 17 degrees of just right to climb and capture an pitch. Exceeding those parameters results in the system putting force on the altitude. If the press of VS and ALT overlap at all (and in any order) the stick, in the direction of a return to straight and level flight, using the auto- aircraft will climb at the set rate and pilot servos, even though the autopilot is off. The forces in the Cirrus start level off at the target altitude. The at about six pounds and increase as the degree of bank or pitch increases. Some installations will have an option to engage the autopilot if corrective forces are applied several times in succession, the theory being that a pilot CONTACTS that keeps needing such assistance is probably disoriented. The stick pressures are designed so they can always be overridden by the Avidyne Corperation pilot. The system deactivates when the aircraft is taking off or landing, and www.avidyne.com can be disabled for flight training. 800-284-3963 ESP is basically a software upgrade, but exact availability and pricing will be up to each airframe manufacturer.

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 13 HEADSET TRIALS lighter. Even though the clamping force is the same as the Headset X, the new earcups and the new foam pads distribute the force better, so it New Premium Headsets: feels less tight. The new ANR system employs two mics on each earcup (four mics total) to sense cabin noise and create Bose Comes Back Strong the cancellation signal to squelch that noise for the pilot. There has always been a mic on the inside of Lightspeed’s Zulu has been our favorite, but the Bose the earcup, to sense sound right at the pilot’s ear, but now there’s also A20 could unseat it as champ. Lightspeed’s new one on the outside of the earcup Sierra also brings power features at a lower price. to sample cabin noise directly. We played with switching headsets between a Headset X and the A20, as by Jeff Van West well as covering the external mic. We didn’t detect a significant difference ose has always held a place at At Oshkosh of this year, Bose with low-end engine noise and vibra- the top end of noise-canceling answered with the new Bose A20. tion, but the new system seemed Bheadsets, with a history dating Except for the basic design of the better at blocking high-end whines back to 1989. The company has been headband, this is an entirely new and whistles. virtually silent in the aviation arena design, bringing some of the technol- Bose points to new electronics that for the past 12 years, resting on ogy from Bose’s consumer headsets process this two-point sample to cre- the continuing strong sales of their to aviation—and finally offering the ate a better noise canceling profile, Headset X. music and phone connections. and new speakers they developed But even the Bose devotees have that have a dynamic response sensi- been getting restless due to the NEW MICS, NEW SPEAKERS tive enough to actually reproduce lack of auxiliary music input and a Bose claims the new headset is that profile as sound (maybe anti- Bluetooth connectivity for phones quieter and more comfortable than sound is better term). Bose politely (to be used, uh, on the ground only, the quite-capable Headset X. Try- declined to give us any further of course). ing them side by side at the Bose details of these steps. All the while, Lightspeed Avia- demo theatre and in the airplane, In addition to the terrific ANR, the tion’s Zulu has been steadily increas- we’d have to agree. The new earcup headset sound quality for speech and ing its dominance in the premium design addresses a common com- music is flawless. But that’s pretty headset market by offering active plaint that the Headset X was too much what you’d expect from Bose. noise reduction (ANR) on par or ex- narrow for big ears. Our big-eared As with the previous Bose headset, ceeding that of the Bose, along with editor confirms this is fixed in the with a screwdriver and a few minutes music and phone connectivity. A20. The headset is also noticeably work, you can switch the boom mic from the left side of the headset to the right. NEW CONTROLLER The A20 has an entirely new control- ler to handle the added functions. While not dwelled on by Bose, we were big fans of the new volume con- trols. The curved wheels are easy to

Bose was listening to the com- plaints folks had with the Bose X. The A20 has wider earcups than the X. It has the same measured clamping pressure, but lighter earcups and new foam makes it feel noticeably lighter and less tight on the head. The new exter- nal mic for ANR is the grey spot toward the bottom of the earcup.

14 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010

DELUXE HEADSET SMACKDOWN The obvious comparison is between the new Bose A20 and the Lightspeed GUARDED VOLUME Zulu. We’ve fingered the Zulu as our WHEELS top-pick headset in the past, but our reader surveys have shown a strong POWER BUTTON AND loyalty and satisfaction from Bose INDICATOR LIGHT owners. Their biggest complaint was about the lack of Bluetooth and BLUETOOTH CONTROL music. The new A20 has both, plus an AND INDICATOR LIGHT improved ANR, but it’s still not a walk- away winner. BLUETOOTH VOLUME Having hauled some long days INTERCOM PRIORITY (over six hours flight time) with both (MUTING) CONTROL headsets, we say that both are plenty comfortable, but we’re going to give MUSIC INPUT a confirmed nod to the Bose, mostly for a lighter feel over the ears and fice—and this may translate into less of a pressure point on the top less long-term noise fatigue of the head. The Bose mic can also in the cockpit. The Zulu be mounted on either the left or the has clearly better passive right. The Zulu is fixed on the left. noise reduction for those The ANR in both headsets is BOSE A20 dead-battery days. phenomenal. While a test cell might Music through the wired input Bluetooth chews down the batteries, be able to detect the difference, was of equal and exceptional and there is a noticeable hit to audio we’re not convinced we could. The quality in both headsets to our quality (more of an issue with arias Bose seems better at higher-pitched ears. Serious audiophiles may feel than, say, Joe Strummer). People we sounds—it was noticeable when lis- differently. Zulu has a slight ad- called on both headsets via Bluetooth tening to the air conditioner in our of- vantage here, however, in that its consistently told us the Bose connec- wired input can accept music or tion sounded less digital, but both a wired cellphone connection. As were perfectly understandable. The most phones have Bluetooth this addition of sidetone to hear your own isn’t a big deal, but it’s one less voice as you talk on the phone is a technical issue to go awry (if one nice plus with the Bose. more wire to carry). Zulu gets The A20 has two pluses for people a nod for Bluetooth connec- who fly multiple aircraft. If the head- tivity for both phones and set is purchased with a six-pin plug to music devices (or both mu- run the ANR off of ship’s power, you sic and voice when linked to get an adaptor to convert the same a smartphone). Music over headset to a standard two-plug system and run off the batteries in the controller. Bose also sup- POWER BUTTON AND plies a headset case with a car- INDICATOR LIGHT rying strap. The Zulu case looks VOLUME SLIDERS cool, but it’s hard to carry. The one place where the Zulu MUSIC ENHANCEMENT walks away, however, is price. (AUTOMATIC ON NEW ZULUS) The Bluetooth-equipped Bose BLUETOOTH CONTROL is $245 more than a Zulu. AND INDICATOR LIGHT If both headsets were ly- ing on the table, we’d grab CELL/MUSIC INPUT the Bose to go fly (unless we BLUETOOTH VOLUME needed Bluetooth music). But if we were coughing up the cash, INTERCOM PRIORITY we’d probably order the Zulu. LIGHTSPEED ZULU (MUTING) CONTROL

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 15 The Sierra differs substantially in the (both versions have the auxil- headband from the Zulu. The earcups iary music). are of a similar design, but they are That price point makes the plastic rather than the metal Zulu. The Bose A20 the most expensive controller is identical to the Zulu on the circumaural (over-the-ear) headset, on the market. Admit- outside—exact same button—but it tedly, this is a steady price in doesn’t have the Front-Row Center the face of 12 years inflation. music enhancement, and it only Running that through the allows phone connections via inflation calculator, the A20 Bluetooth and only music via would only be $750 in 1998 dollars. Too bad you can’t get the auxiliary plug. those dollars anymore. A LIGHTSPEED BARGAIN The A20’s Lightspeed remains confident their Bluetooth only Zulu can hold its own against supports the the new Bose (see page 15 for our headset pro- comparison). In fact, the day af- tocol, though. ter the new Bose was announced, control as a pair It won’t pair Lightspeed was inviting people to do or individually, with a Bluetooth side-by-side tests of the two headsets and with great preci- music player, such as your iPod at their Oshkosh tent. sion, all with one thumb. The wheels Touch. Even if you pair with a smart- The company feels there is a mar- are guarded by plastic sides so the phone that does both phone and ket for the features such as Bluetooth volume never changes accidentally, music, the Bluetooth connection will and music input but at a lower price either. only play audio from phone calls. than their $850 Zulu. Their answer is Power for the ANR and activa- Music is connected through a the $650 Sierra. The Sierra resembles tion of the Bluetooth are controlled standard 3.5mm jack on the con- the Zulu in many ways, but the com- by separate buttons. Pairing of your troller, so you will have that patch parison is largely skin deep. phone to the Bluetooth is the usual cable (included) to deal with. Music The earcups use plastic in many drill of push and hold a button on volume is also controlled at the of the places Zulu uses lightweight the headset and then enter the pair- music player, so you’ll need to keep metals, and the headband design ing passcode on the phone. We had that somewhere accessible. A switch is different. Lightspeed claims that a moment of trouble testing it as on the controller sets whether music the Zulu has less side pressure than the headset jumps immediately into is muted for radio or intercom, or if Sierra, but our testers felt the Sierra pairing mode the first time Bluetooth it just plays. We prefer the latter, just seemed less tight on the head than is used. Once we figured it out, it keeping the music low enough that the Zulu. The Sierra also seemed to worked fine. There’s also a conve- a radio call overrides it enough to have a looser ear seal and weaker nient system to clear stored pairings hear. This switch can also disable the passive noise reduction. The head- if need be. Bluetooth sound. The music jack is band pads are much stiffer on the A nice touch with the A20 is a input only. Sierra, and we found them less com- sidetone when you make calls. This Bose has kept their headset pricing fortable. We stopped noticing it after means you can hear your own voice right about $1000 for the entire run a while, but we think the headband as you speak and it helps keep you of the Headset X, and they’re sticking design is inferior to the Zulu’s. The from shouting at the briefer you’re with that plan for the A20. It’s $1095 earcups share the Zulu’s soft foam calling from the cockpit. with Bluetooth and $995 without it and area large enough for any ear.

BLUETOOTH HEADSET OPTIONS WEIGHT BLUETOOTH WIRED INPUT PLUG TYPE WARRANTY PRICE

6-PIN & 2-PLUG BOSE A20 12 OZ PHONE ONLY MUSIC ONLY FIVE YEAR $1095* OR HELO

6-PIN OR 6-PIN, 2-PLUG LIGHTSPEED ZULU 13 OZ PHONE/MUSIC FIVE YEAR $850 STD PLUGS OR HELO

6-PIN, 2-PLUG LIGHTSPEED SIERRA 16 OZ PHONE ONLY MUSIC ONLY FIVE YEAR $650 OR HELO

PILOT AVIONICS 6-PIN, 2-PLUG N/A** PHONE/MUSIC N/A ONE YEAR $260** BLULINK ADAPTOR OR HELO

* $995 WITHOUT BLUETOOTH ** ADAPTOR ONLY TO CONVERT AN EXISTING HEADSET

16 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 The noise canceling is equal to, Bluetooth connectivity to a phone. or better than, most headsets in this There are several with comparable CONTACTS price range. It’s an improvement ANR and music input, so if the Blue- from Lightspeed’s XL series, so if tooth isn’t that compelling to you, Bose you’re trading up, you’ll be satisfied there are many other options. 800-242-9008 there. But if you try it side-by-side The other item worth mention- www.bose.com with a Zulu or Bose, you won’t have ing is a module to add Bluetooth to be an expert to hear a difference. phone and music to a headset you One plus of the Sierra is the mic already own. We reviewed the Lightspeed Aviation is reversible by simply flipping it Blulink system in the January 2010 800-332-2421 around. We don’t know of another issue of Aviation Consumer and found www.lightspeedaviation.com ANR headset that offers that feature. it delivered on all its promises. The The controller is visually identi- system runs $260-$310, depending Pilot Communications USA cal to the current Zulu design, but on the connector you need. That’s it’s had a few features stripped away. not peanuts, but it’s cheaper than a 800-731-0790 Like the Bose A20, the Sierra Blue- whole new headset if you’re fine with www.pilotblulink.com tooth is phone only, and, like the what you’ve currently got. A20 you can’t cheat that by pairing No matter what you choose, we with your iPhone and then running strongly recommend you try all iTunes. the headsets you’re interested in, They’re all good performers, but only The Sierra also has a wired music preferably for several hours of flight you can put a price on what that per- input, but again, like the Bose A20, time before you make the final call. formance is worth to your head. it’s music in only. You can’t use it to connect a phone. Music playback quality was excellent, indistinguish- able from the Zulu with that head- 1995 1 set’s music-enhancing Front Row 5 2010 Center (FRC) system turned off. FRC was a feature of the Zulu that users could turn on or off with a button. It’s now always on for new Zulus and is not an option at all for the Sierra. Our walk-away feeling for the Sierra was that it’s a strong option To celebrate our anniversary, we’re holding against other ANR headsets in its class. But none of them have Blue- tooth. The Sierra is comfortable enough for everyday use. It would 15 Grand Give Aways! be a great headset for passengers if In each of the 15 drawings, one lucky AVweb reader will you wanted to pamper them but also wanted to save a few bucks of outfit- be randomly selected to receive a fabulous prize! ting an entire airplane with top- of-the-line models. But we have to admit we found it hard to step down REGISTER TODAY AND THE to the Sierra right after test flying the Zulu and the Bose A20. NEXT PRIZE MAY BE YOURS HOW TO CHOOSE How do you enter? It’s easy! In terms of comfort and quiet, we Simply register at www.AVweb.com/15GRAND feel Bose has earned bragging rights for the top spot in aviation headsets. Enter just once and you’re included in Whether that level of performance prize drawings for the rest of the year! is worth the $1095 price tag is the question that we simply can’t answer; it’s too much a personal choice. We Visit our contest page to see the next great prize to be can’t imagine anyone being disap- drawn, check out the winner’s list and pointed with the performance of the get all the drawing details. A20, however. On the other end of the high- performance headset scale, the Sierra www.AVweb.com/15GRAND offers a compelling range of features for a competitive price. There’s no other headset at that price point with

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 17 AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TRIAL CHECKLIST

There’s nothing quite like 450 horsepower to gin up climb and cruise performance. Silver Eagle is a turnkey mod done with excel- lent workmanship. At $980,000 complete, it’s a high dollar mod, but still cheaper than new manufacture turbines.

reasons that turbines have stumbled before: difficult-to-manage fuel spe- cifics and small airframes with no place to put the fuel. Meanwhile, more than 100 of Silver Eagle P210: O&N’s Silver Eagle-modified 210s are flying and we recently visited the company’s shop in Factoryville, A Turbine That Works Pennsylvania, to evaluate the mod and do a flight trial. No sugar coating here: The Silver The numbers on O&N’s turbine conversion pencil out Eagle, at $980,000 complete, is not a cheap mod. On the other hand, it’s because the Rolls Royce 250-B17F/2 is exceptionally superbly engineered, performs well light and not as thirsty as other turbines. and has just enough range to make it practical. The 250 engine has proven reliable and relatively easy by Paul Bertorelli to maintain. In fact, given its weight and power output, it has significant he turbine engine is impos- airplanes. One of those exceptions advantages over the competing en- sibly alluring. No thrashing is O&N Aircraft’s re-engining of the gine, Pratt’s PT6. Tpistons, grinding cams, click- Cessna P210 and 210 with the Rolls ing valves—just far fewer exquisitely Royce (formerly Allison) 250-B17F/2 HISTORY balanced parts all whirring in the turbine engine, a powerplant that’s This mod is no latecomer, having same direction. But turbines are ex- been around awhile and one that been perking along since about pensive and they guzzle fuel, which Rolls is trying to evolve into more 1992, when industry veteran Myron means that with very few excep- GA applications with the advent of Olson made it a signature product of tions, they don’t work well in small a new version, the RR500. Mooney the O&N shop, whose history dates expressed interest in back to 1986. O&N is a general that engine, but thus maintenance shop with expertise in far, the project hasn’t the Cessna 210 and P210 models, materialized and it but with a line of mods including may not for the same extended-range fuel tanks, con-

The Rolls Royce 250-B17/F/2 is not only light, but com- pact. It’s longer than the engine it replaces but weighs only about 200 pounds. Inlet, top photo, is heated to prevent icing. 18 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 The Silver Eagle will typically be refitted with glass. Panel in top photo has Chelton FlightLogic sys- tem while more recent mods have the Garmin G600. Vacuum pump, lower photo, drives the pneumatic deicing boots. trol modifications for Cessnas and nacelle wing tanks for Navajos and Senecas. In order to make turboprop conversions work in light singles, the engine has to meet a narrow set of parameters with regard to weight and fuel consumption. There were only two practical choices, Pratt & Whitney’s PT6 and the then-Allison 250, which eventually evolved into the 495-HP 250-B17F/2 when Rolls from 1978 to 1986. got hold of it. Of late, to expand For the Silver Eagle, it’s derated the market, Olson to 450 HP, but that’s still a ton of told us O&N is thrust for an airplane that originally starting to convert had a 310-HP Continental TSIO-520, T210s and normally which some owners complain was aspirated models never quite up to the task of high- as well. Obviously, altitude pressurized flight. these don’t have The turbine engine was originally pressurization, so developed in the 1960s by Allison as onboard oxygen is a helicopter powerplant and it found a must. That said, a ready market for that purpose. Like the Silver Eagle the PT6, it’s a reverse airflow engine, does its best in the of course, to replace the throttle/ meaning the incoming air makes a high teens to low 20s. It doesn’t mixture/prop with the traditional 180-degree turn into the combus- need to get to airline altitudes for turboprop power and condition tion section, where it expands to speed and economy. Max altitude levers. State-of-the-art avionics are drive a turbine wheel connected to a for the converted P210 is 23,000 options and lately, says Olson, O&N stub shaft that then drives the prop feet, but higher with supplemental has been installing Garmin G600 gearbox. oxygen. At 23,000, it can maintain a suites with an S-TEC 55X autopilot. The 250 series is valued for its 12,000-foot cabin. The version we flew had the Chelton small size and incredibly light FlightLogic system. TKS deicing is an weight—about 125 pounds dry, plus WHAT’S INVOLVED available add-on and so are conven- another 75 for related hardware for The Silver Eagle mod requires at tional boots driven by a 400-series a total nose weight of just over 200 least three months to complete and pump. The engine has plenty of pounds. The lightest of the PT6s when you consider the list of work, bleed air to blow up the cabin, but weigh nearly twice as much. Of it’s easy to see why. O&N will take can’t spare much for deicing. course, the weight cuts both ways, an owner’s 210 or find one on the Because their fuel specifics aren’t since the 250 is lighter than the market and perform the conversion, quite as stingy as piston engines, gasoline engine it replaces, batter- which is essentially a remanufacture. turbines require more fuel…a lot ies and other gear have to remain When we visited the shop a couple more fuel. Here’s where the 250’s forward. of years ago, a 210 was stripped light weight comes into favorable Rolls has evolved the engine to to its underwear and getting new play. produce better power and efficiency wiring, a landing gear rebuild, air With the Continental shelved in through an improved turbine and conditioning, a new interior and place of the Rolls, the 210’s empty burner can, giving as much as 15 fresh paint. It gets new heavier verti- weight decreases by 140 pounds, percent more power at altitude. That cal and horizontal stab mounts, too, allowing total tankage—including used to be an added cost option, but plus reconditioned windows, new wingtip add ons and a baggage com- it’s now standard. glareshield lighting and soundproof- partment aux—to total 148 gallons. Most of the Silver Eagle conver- ing. As required by cert standards, Most owners, says O&N, opt for sions have been performed on the elevator gets twin trim tabs. both the wingtip and baggage tanks, P210s, which was manufactured The power quadrant is modified, Allowing for ground idle, climb and

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 19 Where to put the under-engined, but you’d never say gas? All over the that about the Silver Eagle. It has place. The Silver power to spare at any altitude. But it is temperature limited. For Eagle has wingtip our trial flight with O&N’s Carl tanks, upper photo, Reynolds, we arrived at 17,500 feet and a large baggage in 14 minutes at a cruise climb of compartment aux 130 knots. The OAT was -5 degrees tank, lower photo. C, which is ISA +14. Fuel flow was 23 GPH for 180 knots TAS. On a standard day or a colder than stan- dard day, says Reynolds, the air- it gives up perfor- speed would be as much as 10 knots mance to high and hot, higher. The engine’s performance so with wind considered, 800 miles gradient relative to temperature is with comfortable reserves might be greater than the true airspeed gain a better all- around average, unless with altitude. Winter cruise speeds the wind is pushing. in the 220s are doable. Cabin noise is whisper quiet, with no detectable FLYING IT vibration. If you didn’t want to wear While 310 HP is hardly a piddling headsets, you wouldn’t need to. amount of power, 450 HP is just For as fast as it climbs, the Silver a whole hell of a lot better. And Eagle can come down just as fast. it shows immediately on takeoff. Chop the power to flight idle, point When we lined up on Seamans Air- the nose over and down you go at port’s 2500-foot runway, it felt aw- 1500 FPM. Not enough? Out goes fully short for something as heavy as the gear and a notch of flaps with a 210. With the power lever forward, the airspeed at the white arc and descent, that’s about 5.5 hours of however, it was obvious after 50 feet the 210 goes into anvil mode at endurance. That still leaves enough of takeoff roll, 2500 feet is a cake- 3300 FPM. A piston engine might or room in the baggage compartment walk. O&N claims a 600-foot take- might not tolerate this abuse, but for for a moderate amount of stuff. off and although we didn’t measure a turbine, it’s just another day at the In the airplane we flew, the empty it, we’ll accept that on face value. office. As far as ease of flight, there’s weight was 2699 pounds against a Max climb at gross weight is not much to think about—just push gross of 4016 pounds for a useful claimed at 2200 FPM and although the throttle forward and pull it back load of 1317 pounds. Full of gas, it’s we didn’t see that, the 210 had no and keep tabs on the fuel. two people and light bags. trouble loafing along at 1500 FPM, If there was any surprise about the At cruise speeds typically in the so the climb into the flight levels Silver Eagle, we would say landing it 200-knot range, O&N claims a still- is typically going to be under 20 was the eye opener. Not to put too air range of about 1000 miles, which minutes, which is a must for milking blunt a point on it, but the 210 is not the airplane will do under ideal tem- max range out of the airplane. Al- the lightest pup in the litter when it perature conditions with a comfort- though it’s not sharply fuel limited, comes to handling. It’s moderately able reserve. But like most turbines, it also doesn’t have fuel to spare so stiff in roll and almost truck-like in on long-range flights, pilots want pitch. You can one-hand the flare, TV unrestricted climbs to milk the best but it takes effort. It therefore feels AC range out the available fuel. like the airplane should approach at By piston standards, initial takeoff a high speed—it’s not a jet-like 120 and climb fuel flows are higher, but knots, but Reynolds recommended not insanely so. Olson told us he 90 knots on final. figures on 32 GPH for the first hour, Once again, confronted with then 21 to 23 for every hour there- Seamans’ 2500-foot narrow runway, after. It’s not practical to draw the it feels like an overrun is just two power back to 17 GPH as you’d do in a piston aircraft by running lean continued on page 31 of peak, so cruise flows are higher. As you’d expect from the higher For a video demonstration of the power, cruise speeds are higher, too, Silver Eagle 210, log onto our sister when compared to the Continental- CONTACTS publication, www.avweb.com, and powered P210. Owners tell us they O&N Aircraft click the video button in the upper fly the piston version at 175 to 190 right of the home page. Scroll knots true, but the Silver Eagle bores 570-945-3769 down to the Silver Eagle video. along on 210 to 215 knots. The www.onaircraft.com piston version is often described as

20 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 CONTINUING ED Survival Systems: Unforgettable Training

Call it the ultimate in scenario-based training, Survival Systems teaches you to exit a ditched aircraft by strapping you in and dunking you underwater. by Jeff Van West

enial can be a useful thing represent just a small fraction of when it comes to getting what they do, and this shows in the Dthe job done. I’ve done my classroom session that takes the first fair share of flying overwater and half of the one-day program. out of gliding distance to land, and The class uses up the obligatory just rationalized that the odds were Powerpoint slides bulletpointing the slim of ditching and I’d figure it out stages of hypothermia and common when it happened. aircraft survival equipment. There The reality was that I didn’t have are written materials, but we felt a clue what being immersed in an they were poorly integrated into the aircraft would be like. I had no live presentation. plan, and that meant that if the Far more motivating is an effec- aircraft did anything other than tive use of video. They have both stop upright and floating, I probably the footage of a CH-46 helicopter was going to the bottom wearing a rolling off a ship and into the ocean 3000-pound aluminum suit. during a botched landing in 1999 (it The point of egress training like sank in 40 seconds) and the grip- we sampled at Survival Systems Inc. ping, first-hand account of one of is to give you that plan. It doesn’t so the Marines on board who managed much teach you how to egress your to claw his way out. It’s about this specific aircraft (although they do time you starting getting nervous their best), but it gives you a system about the afternoon’s practical ses- to stay oriented and get out. And, sion. more importantly, it gives you a There’s also some telling video on chance to practice while clothed, Cold Shock Response that’ll remove upside-down and underwater. any illusions you might have had that you could perform just fine af- THEORY AND PRACTICE ter a dunk in the Atlantic in January Survival Systems has been around (although if you’ve got a bit of extra since 1982 when the company was body fat, your odds do go up). CHECKLIST founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia. One thing we wished we’d seen Their current headquarters is just a more of in the morning was infor- Nothing matches the short walk from the ramp at Groton mation on the actual ditching of the experience of actually Airport in Connecticut. They also aircraft. The course covers securing egressing underwater. have a seasonal location in Kenai, yourself for the ditch, but there’s Alaska, and several military instal- nothing on the flying technique Instructors excel in lations. In fact, military and gov- involved in making a good ditch. teaching practical skills ernment agencies represent 50 and We understand that this may sim- and allaying fear. 20 percent of their clientele respec- ply be too far outside their field of tively. The remaining 30 percent is expertise, but you may want to sup- Classroom portion not almost entirely corporate aviation. plement your study with some other optimized for pilots and GA pilots taking their aircraft sources for a full ditching plan. The omits what to do before ditching course (they offer many course also feels pitched more to ro- hitting the water. other non-aviation survival courses) tary wing than fixed wing, but given

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 21 The METS (a.k.a., the Dunker) can didn’t have a ready answer for. afternoon. Our instructor, Glenn La- roll to up to 180 degrees after it The critical part of the morning, Marque told us that morning, “You hits the water. The egress technique however, is prep of the techniques will get water up your nose,” and he you use in the afternoon. Survival wasn’t kidding. is the same whether you’re right Systems’ method is all about keeping The Modular Egress Training side up or fully inverted (below). a reference point to stay oriented to Simulator (METS) used for the the aircraft, no matter what position Groton course is reminiscent of a it’s in or whether you can see the exit 10-seat aircraft fuselage configurable that offshore oil companies flying or can see nothing at all. with various types of doors at every helicopters are a big customer, that’s You’re briefed to stay belted in seat. It’s attached to a hoist that can not surprising. until you’ve found your door and position and lower it into a 14-foot- The classroom time did offer some opened it. Then you get a reference deep pool. Survival Systems also has information gems. Which side of the on the aircraft with one hand before several smaller METS systems to rep- aircraft do you deploy the raft on? unbelting and having your own resent different helicopters and other (Hint: Downwind is wrong.) Survival buoyancy roll you about. Sounds vehicles that might end up the wrong rafts have a sponge to get out the last easy enough in the classroom. You way in a deep pool someday. of the seawater that gets inside. Cut start feeling less sure when you The dunking doesn’t happen right this in half before you use it, so the change into the flight suits and water away. The big METS also has couple unused half can be used to collect shoes you’ll be wearing in the pool. of flame trays in the ceiling to prac- fresh water for drinking. The class tice putting out a fire. This is coupled time also allowed for good sharing IN THE TANK with a smoke machine isn’t particu- between the participants and work- Any shortcomings of the morning larly frightening, but does get the ing out of questions the instructor are more than made up for in the point across about how challenging smoke and fire in the confines of a cockpit would be. Step two after the fire is getting out of the METS sitting on the water’s surface and into a life raft. Practice for the next time you’re floating on the Hudson. Then it’s dunk time and there’s little bother with warming you up. The first dunk will be underwater and inverted, although they cut you the slack of leaving the door removed—the first time. Five runs in the sim are done, with it going under and rolling to different orientations.

In addition to one wet-suited instructor for every two students, there are also two divers in the water ready to help if needed.

22 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 For the last two, it’s assumed your primary door is jammed and you must work across the sim to a sec- ondary door. The course is tailored to each stu- dent, so if you’d be expected to assist unknowing passengers out in the real world, you can practice it here. Fewer students can mean more runs. You can do it with your eyes closed or in real darkness, too. The METS layout and door op- tions offer enough variability to practice having doors next to you or working your way back to a cabin door. You won’t care that the door handle doesn’t match your bird, and the body memory of the practice won’t suffer for it. Practical tips are drilled here too, such as unwrapping Your pool time includes techniques to stay alive in the water until help your thumbs from the control yoke arrives, with or without a life raft. It also lets you practice a water rescue so they wouldn’t break were it a real via a suspended basket. Participants all wear flight suits and shoes during ditching and impact. the practical session. What? You think you’ll be wearing a bathing suit the The first dunk is a shock and we partially botched the procedure, day you actually have to ditch? but it turns out there is more time than you might think to get oriented before acting. They are right when There is at least one wetsuited Training Center at the University of they say you need to stay strapped instructor for each two students and Louisiana uses a METS made by Sur- in to get and keep a reference before there are two divers in the water as vival Systems. There are several small finding a way out. If you follow the well. If you need help getting out, outfits as well in the Gulf region and procedure, you’ll usually be up to the they’ll provide it, but you’ll pay for it some in Canada (Aviation Egress surface in 10 seconds or so. by doing that simulation again. We Systems and Pro Aviation Safety That frame of reference is probably saw that these folks were great at pro- Training). These smaller outfits tend the most valuable take away from jecting calm and allaying fears. One to use one-person dunkers, but they the course. Five dunks in the METS instructor told us he’s seen people in may offer better convenience for you isn’t going to make you an expert at tears before getting in the tank and or a lower price. getting out of your aircraft in a real- underwater 20 minutes later. It’s hard to argue with Survival world ditching, but it gives you some With the dunking done, the Systems’ experience, though. Since concept of what it might be like. The course continues to include a drop they started the business and com- experience is realistic enough to be to the water, inflating life jackets and bining the numbers for all their seriously unnerving and lock the getting into life boats. There’s also an civilian and military facilities, the techniques into your memory, but opportunity to climb into a basket company has run about 70,000 not so real that you might actually, and collar to simulate a helicopter people through different underwater well, drown. rescue from the open ocean. The egress courses. pool is a balmy 85 degrees, but after Company lore tells of one student AC TV a few hours of this you’re ready for who finished the course and ended the final rescue and a trip to the up ditching for real 36 hours later. showers. We’re told his first thought was simply, “I’m going to get water up my NET TRAINING VALUE nose again.” If that’s what the fear of At $650 for the day the course isn’t ditching can be reduced to, we’d con- cheap, but we think the course offers sider the training time and money real value despite improvements well spent. we’d like to see. Survival Systems will run the course on demand, and will schedule it with even just one To see the dunker in action, log student. They also have a small mo- CONTACTS on to www.avweb.com and select bile system that can travel to a pool Survival Systems Inc. the video index. Pay no attention near you for $250 per person plus to the face of the worried and wet travel expenses. www.survivalsystemsinc.com editor. It’s not that bad. Really. There are some competing compa- 888-386-5371 nies out there. The Marine Survival

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 23 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE Grumman Tiger

A sporty balance of snappy handling, class-leading speed and a sliding canopy that has earned a cult- like following.

he Grumman Tiger owner copies sporting G1000 glass cockpits. airplane was a bit too hotrod-like for culture is as unique as the But that was a rocky return and it students who were still on page three Tairplane. To say these folks are ended in 2007 with financial turmoil of their logbook. The Yankee featured enthusiastic about these airplanes is and ultimate bankruptcy. Since, revolutionary construction, alumi- to understate the case. num-honeycomb sandwich Most owners will en- fuselage panels and bonded ergetically attest to the With its slide-back canopy and snappy skins. The fuel tanks were Grumman’s sports car- housed within a tubular like handling, healthy handling, the Tiger is truly a unique design. wing spar. climb and slide-back Following the Yankee was canopy that slides back the four-seat AA-5 Traveler for open-air flight. There’s arguably there’s been lots of buzz of the air- from American Aviation. It lots of appeal to these little cruis- plane coming back but nothing close had 150 horses under the cowl and ers. Non-Grumman enthusiasts just to real production has resulted. won’t understand. Some call them silly little airplanes. EARLY HISTORY Jim Viola’s 2003 AG-5B, fore- The population of Tiger airplanes Flashback to the late 1960’s when the ground of upper photo, won best is an aged batch—born in 1975, so model AA-1 Yankee designed by Jim of show at the American Yankee owners were enthusiastic when the Bede came on the scene. This was airplane went back into production a two-seat airplane that was inno- Association convention in 2009. in 2000 as Tiger Aircraft, LLC. It was cently targeted at student pilots but That’s a Cheetah in the number 2 a rejuvenated remake with some later that proved to be a bad idea. The slot.

24 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE GRUMMAN/AMERICAN GENERAL TIGER 8 ft. 22 ft.

31 FT. 6 IN TIGER SELECT MODEL HISTORY MODEL YEAR ENGINE TBO OVERHAUL FUEL USEFUL LOAD CRUISE TYPICAL RETAIL 1976-1979 AA-5A CHEETAH LYC. 150-HP O-320-E2G 2000 $20,000 38/51 800 LBS 128 KTS ±$36,000 1975 AA-5B TIGER LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $41,000 1976 AA-5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $43,000 1977 AA-5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $45,000 1978 AA-5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $47,000 1979 AA-5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $49,000 1990 AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $69,000 1991 AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $74,000 1992 AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS 135-140 KTS $79,000 1993 AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 950 LBS. 135-140 KTS $84,000 2002 TIGER AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 900 LBS 135 -140 KTS $120,000 2003 TIGER AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 900 LBS 135 -140 KTS $130,000

2004 TIGER AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 900 LBS 135 -140 KTS $140,000

2005 TIGER AG5B LYC. 180-HP O-360-A4K 2000 $21,000 51 900 LBS 135 -140 KTS $150,000

RESALE VALUES SELECT RECENT ADs 1978 TIGER 1990 TIGER AD 81-24-03 CARB AIRBOX INSPECTION 180K – DATA: AIRCRAFT BLUEBOOK PRICE DIGEST – AD 79-22-04 AILERON TRIM TABS 80K – $118,370 NEW – AD 77-08-03 STATIC SOURCE VALVE OVERHAUL 60K – – AD 76-22-09 OIL COOLER CHECK, REPLACEMENT 40K – – AD-76-01-01 UPPER ENGINE COWL HINGES 20K – 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 SELECT MODEL COMPARISONS

PAYLOAD/FULL FUEL CRUISE SPEEDS PRICE COMPARISONS TIGER AA5B TIGER AA5B 1978 AA5B ($47,000) CHEETAH AA5A CHEETAH AA5A 1978 AA5A CHEETAH ($130,000)($37,000) CESSNA 172 CESSNA 172 1978 CESSNA 172 ($38,000) PIPER ARCHER PIPER ARCHER 1978 PIPER ARCHER ($44,000) CESSNA CARDINAL CESSNA CARDINAL 1978 CARDINAL ($41,000) 500 600 700 800 120 130 140 150 30K 40K 50K 60K

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 25 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

The Tiger’s panel is exceptionally well designed with clearly labeled switches readily at hand and a large, center-mounted pedestal. Note the fuel switch, with the you- can’t-possibly-miss-this gauges and labeling. Still, one pilot mispo- sitioned the selector, killing the engine.

AG-5Bs before it folded. There were no major design changes during the Tiger’s production run, although there were some refinements. In 1977, much-needed soundproofing was improved and windshield thick- ness doubled to a quarter-inch. Other changes included minor aerodynamic refinements, including rubber fair- ings on the landing gear, improved windshield sealing and the addition Many of these smooth mods made of a nose-strut shock absorber. In their way to the Traveler to mold the 1978, the iron-butt-inducing seats model AA-5A Cheetah (the Cheetah were improved, and U-strips were retained the lesser 150-HP Lycom- added to the trailing edges of the con- ing). To this day, the Tiger is the trol surfaces to prevent delamination preferred machine and clearly more of the bonds. desirable than the Cheetah to many buyers. NO FRILLS The airplane was a reasonably We wouldn’t exactly call the Tiger a brisk seller until production ended Cadillac of the skies. It’s stark and a in 1979 after Gulfstream bought the relatively no-frills dwelling but this line, where the focus was on build- adds to some of the appeal. As with ing posh jets. Clearly, Gulfstream is most airplanes, anything goes in the a success story with or without the avionics retrofit world with owners little Tiger but perhaps Gulfstream loading oodles of electronics into the knew something Cessna didn’t panel, including glass displays, auto- when it pulled the plug on the Tiger, pilots and multiple IFR GPS systems. because the industry subsequently Compared to strut-braced Cess- more traditional fuel tanks. Gone tanked and Cessna threw in the nas, the Tiger and Cheetah are clean were those dangerous sight-gauge towel shortly thereafter on its single- speedsters. The Tiger has a published fuel gauges that held avgas inside of engine line of pistons. It was an ugly book cruise speed of 139 knots but the cabin. It was a different airplane. climate. owners generally plan on real world The Traveler tried to compete speeds of 130 to 138 knots. This isn’t with so-called complex aircraft such REBIRTH chump speed, since the AA-5, by vir- as the Cessna 177 Cardinal and Flash forward to the late 1980s tue of its slab-sided honeycomb panel Piper’s PA28R-series Arrow with little when the Tiger was born yet again fuselage, is hardly slick in the drag success. It wasn’t until Grumman at American General, who intro- department. Hard chines run along stepped in, threw its money on the duced the AG-5B around 1990. This the lower corner of the fuselage, and table and involved the famous Roy lasted until 1994 when the company the wing-fuselage junction has no LoPresti to work his aero magic on flat-lined. The parts inventories and fairing to smooth interference drag. the design. The result: the AA-5B rights were sold to Fletchair, one of The saving grace here is the Tiger. the two main suppliers of Tiger sup- bonded construction with flush The inside and outside of the port and a licensed distributor for rivet heads. The Tiger is the fastest cowling saw some changes includ- new factory parts. of the line since the Cheetah makes ing a 180-HP O-360 Lycoming that Original production for the AA-5B 12 knots slower, with the Traveler runs hot. More on that wart later. was 1323 airplanes, while 900 AA- bringing up the rear and slower yet, There was more fuel capacity and a 5As were built. A total of 834 AA-5 but will still blow away a 150-HP different elevator plus some signature Travelers were produced, as well. Skyhawk or older Warrior. Later LoPresti and slick airframe mods. American General built around 150 160-HP versions of the Warrior, with

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speed pants, can just about run with a Cheetah, however. ACCIDENT SCAN: LOW INCIDENCE OF FATALS Where Skyhawks and Cherokees Two things were surprising about ber of accidents that are fatal com- could have a slight edge is in climb. our review of Tiger accidents. First, pared to the total—is a remarkably At sea level and standard tempera- there weren’t that many of them low 13.5 percent. Moreover, Tiger tures, the Tiger moves out at 850 and second, if you want to kill occupants have survived crashes that FPM, about on par with the competi- yourself in one of these airplanes, are fatal in other airplanes. We found, tion. (With a climb prop, a Tiger may you have to work at it. for example, one stall/spin and one see 1000 FPM.) But throw in high The incidence of fatal accidents CFIT in which the occupants survived. density altitude and the Tiger’s climb Otherwise, the accident record is performance sags behind the Archer for most airplanes we review is be- unremarkable, with runway loss-of- and Cessna’s strutless Cardinal. The tween 25 and 45 percent. But the Cheetah, with 30 fewer horsepower, Tiger’s fatal incidence—the num- control (R-LOC) leading the list. The can be a dog in hot weather climbs. “other” category is number two, Some energetic and skilled Tiger ACCIDENT SUMMARY containing a range of accident causes owners tweak as much climb as too weird to classify. R-LOC (14) possible from their airplanes—essen- The R-LOCs include a number of tially ignoring the book procedures OTHER (8) overshoots and undershoots, plus the and climb with some flaps hanging ENGINE (4) usual mayhem involving crosswind out. If the takeoff includes clearing FUEL EXHAUSTION (3) mishaps and simple loss of control, some obstacles on the other end of VFR INTO IMC (2) further evidence of one enduring the runway, taking off with one-third MID-AIR (2) truth in aviation: The single most reli- flaps might get the job done less the STALL RELATED (2) able consistency in aviation is that at pucker factor. CARB ICE (1) the runway/sky interface, some pilots PAYLOAD, RANGE, CFIT (1) simply aren’t good at maintaining HANDLING control reliably. Gross weight of the Tiger is 2400 pounds and typical IFR aircraft run 1450 to 1500 pounds empty. That tanks full of fuel, the Cheetah will fly it comes time to chock the airplane, leaves a useful load of about 900 a lot longer than you’d be comfort- put the chocks under the mains and pounds for the 180-HP four-placers. able staying in it. As for handling, not under the nosewheel. That’s enough for full fuel (51 gal- proud owners are spot on when they The drill for slipping the surlies lons) and three adults, plus a little say the Tiger is a sports car of the in the airplane consists of riding baggage. The Cheetah has an empty skies. It’s light and responsive with the brakes a few seconds until the weight only slightly less and a gross somewhat touchy controls, which re- rudder comes alive after angling the of 2200 pounds with useful loads ally makes it an autopilot airplane for airplane a bit right of centerline. around 750 pounds. Since the Chee- hard IFR. The popular autopilot for Once engine torque starts kicking, tah is a weak climber, loading full the airplane is of course the S-TEC 20 the wheel straightens and it’s off the fuel into the optional 51-gallon fuel or 30 with altitude hold. brakes pretty quickly. Pilots new to tanks makes it a two-place airplane. Landing is a reasonably easy affair the Grumman get all kinds of tense But loading might not be a huge in a Tiger (the Yankee, on the other about that castoring nosewheel, but issue anyway since the Cheetah lacks hand, sinks like a flying manhole there isn’t really much to it. Admit- any remarkable baggage space. Any cover when the power is pulled off). tedly, castoring nosewheels can play heavy items like large golf bags or Owners will say the airplane floats with your emotions. snowboards need to come into the and adding insult to injury, coming cabin and be laid over the back seat. in with extra speed in the airplane is OPEN CANOPY Center of gravity is normally not a a setup for the classic runway over- Talk about Grumman Tigers and the problem in either the Cheetah or run—a common thread in the wreck first thing that comes to mind is that Tiger, which is a good thing. reports. fighter-jet-like sliding canopy. We’ve The Tiger’s 51-gallon fuel capacity These airplanes have a swiveling all seen the ads of pilots with both yields about four hours of endurance nosewheel (it doesn’t caster all the arms out the canopy in flight grin- with reserve—a pretty good fit for the way around) so taxi is accomplished ning like goats. This slick canopy aircraft. with brakes. As with any castoring makes getting in and out of the air- Realistically, you’ll need to plan nosewheel, this takes some skill. Ex- plane a minor challenge if you have on still-air range with full fuel in the perienced Grumman pilots know just stiff muscles. Technicians curse them. tanks to be about 500-plus miles. The the right amount of speed to make Plus, you’ll get wet in the rain, but re- standard-tank Cheetah, by compari- the rudder effective for most turns. warded with excellent ventilation on son, has shorter legs. The 38 gallons If you try to push a Grumman hot days during taxi (and in flight). you pump into it is good for a bit less back into its tiedown without a tow That show-off canopy, however, than four hours, with reserves. This bar to help, you’ll risk both damag- can take its toll in a crash situa- equals about 450 miles. As a two- ing the nosewheel and create a com- tion. There’s a chance pilots will get placer with the optional 51-gallon edy show on the ramp. And when trapped in the aircraft if the fuselage

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and excellent dispatch records. A wart in the design is the absence of cowl flaps and the tightly-cowled engine has been known to run hot. Caring for the engine baffling is a must and many owners advocate engine monitoring systems. These monitors have been known to register upwards of 450 degrees, a big number for a low-output four- cylinder. Although it shouldn’t be a problem for any current airplanes still fly- ing, bond-line separation plagued a few early models. The culprit was an improper bonding sealant, Ameri- can Cyanamid FM-123, known as “purple passion” among production employees. The FM-123 was used in all Grumman-American aircraft built between April 1974 and December, 1975—including Tigers up through The phrase “sports-car-like” is about serial number 125. probably over-applied to aircraft, At least one delamination occurred but it’s true of the Tiger. That’s in flight in a 1975 Tiger, but no ac- Dave Ferrell’s AA5B based in cident resulted. At least two Tigers, Ocala, Florida, above. The price to serial numbers 15 and 19, were virtually rebuilt from scratch because be paid is semi-awkward ingress, of bonding problems. According to a lower photo. Pop the seat cushion former production employee, 30 or off its pan to spare the upholstery. 40 honeycomb fuselage test pan- els somehow found their way into production aircraft, possibly affect- the center pedestal/console, but you’ll ing Tigers with serial numbers below need to look down at the indicator to about 30. see how much flaps are hanging. Ex- A 1976 AD required rivets along perienced Tiger pilots tend to simply bond lines and the problem has since count to five for half flaps. A slight receded. But any buyer of a 1975 or quirk of the switch is that if you hold early 1976 Tiger should be aware of it down to extend the flaps and let the potential for problems. You can it go, it snaps back over center and check for the defective glue by pull- retracts them again. Gotta watch this. ing off the wingtip and inspecting The Tiger/Cheetah interior is the bonded seam at the spar-to-rib bends or warps to the point where comfortable, and the panoramic vis- or rib-to-skin joint. If there’s a purple the canopy can’t slide open. Keep a ibility and canopy view makes it feel line, you may have a problem. hammer in the aircraft to smash your roomier than it really is. Linebackers The Tiger/Cheetah castoring nose- way out of the thing if you wreck. will complain about lack of shoulder wheel can induce shimmy. Improper The Tiger’s interior and panel space. A unique and useful feature of tensioning in the spring washers, have stood the test of time, although the cabin is the fold-down rear seats, sloppy torque tube struts, worn tires many airplanes sport cracked interior which provide a six-foot-long cargo and loose axle nuts all contribute to pieces and broken instrument panel compartment that will hold a couple nosewheel shimmy. If there’s a single trim and overlays. This is true of of mountain bikes, several golf bags piece of hardware on the Grumman most vintage airplanes, but there’s or ski equipment for those excursions that requires attention and extra lots of plastic in a Grumman. The to the mountains. care, it’s this nosewheel. Lube it and fuel selector is idiot-proof, although adjust it by the manual is the require- without a “both” selection, it does MAINTENANCE ment. (Not many shops have the require switching tanks. For the fuel- Mechanics access the engine through manual and readers tell us that im- management challenged, the switch the split cowling and in general, the properly performed maintenance on is intuitive with arrows pointing to Grumman is designed to be easy to used airplanes for sale is common.) the active tank. The selector is conve- service. It’s a simple airplane with no The 1977 and later models have niently located and quite visible. retractable gear, hydraulics or other a shock absorber in the nosewheel, Working the electric flaps is accom- complicated systems. As a result, which helps, but these make removal plished with a toggle switch up on owners boast of low operating costs of the nose gear a pain in the shorts.

28 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

READER SERVICES TO VIEW OUR WEB SITE Visit us at: www.aviationconsumer.com FOR BACK ISSUES See: www.aviationconsumer.com/backissues FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: Phone us at: 800-829-9081

TO CHANGE YOUR MAILING OR E-MAIL ADDRESS, RENEW YOUR improved spinners, but check to SUBSCRIPTION OR TO make sure. One experienced Grum- CHECK PAYMENT STATUS, man mechanic who wrote to us says VISIT OUR that even the new spinners have ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE: problems. Log on at: The Tiger was an early pioneer of the current trend toward castoring www.aviationconsumer.com/cs nosewheels and that means brake To change your address by mail, pads wear quickly. Although savvy attach your present mailing label to this form (or a copy of this form) enter pilots learn to taxi with minimum your new address below and mail it to: braking, good brake maintenance is important. Several owners reported repeated breaking of the rudder THE AVIATION CONSUMER Lycoming’s parallel valve 180-HP springs, and one owner told us he P.O. Box 420235 O-360, top, is a reliable choice for always carries a spare, just in case. PALM COAST, FL 32142 the Tiger, but tends to run hot. Ac- Just like Mooneys, Tigers have wet cess is easy through the split cowl. wings and it’s not uncommon to Name______smell leaking fuel. An AD addresses the fuel tank sealant. Company______If you have persistent shimmy prob- The airplane is relatively AD-free Address______lems, see a mechanic who specializes but there are two significant inspec- Address 2______in Tigers. And this is a good time tions: one 200-hour inspection of the to mention something odd: We’re McCauley prop hub for cracks and a City______not sure why, but some mechan- 100-hour inspection of the ailerons. State______Zip:______ics and shops in general shy away One potentially onerous AD E-mail______from Grummans—a snub of sorts. cropped up in 1998: AD 98-2-8 Several shops told us that some calls for inspection of the hollow To order or renew a subscription, enter your name and address above and Grumman owners tend to bellyache crankshafts bore for corrosion pits check the subscription term you prefer: about maintenance costs when they or cracks. It’s a shotgun AD that ap- [ ] 1 year (12 issues) $69 surface because they’re caught up in plies to a number of airplanes with [ ] 6 months (6 issues) $34.50 the “little airplane” mentality. The Lycoming engines. If nothing turns [ ] Check enclosed [ ] AMEX Grumman may look like a little toy, up, an anticorrosion treatment takes [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa but it’s a real airplane that requires care of the AD once and for all. If real maintenance. Don’t expect a free cracks are found, the crank needs to Card #______ride from most mechanics when the be replaced, and if corrosion pits are Expiration Date______airplane hits the shop. found, the AD becomes a 100-hour Signature______Pre-1979 Tigers (s/n 1047 and repetitive inspection until a new below) had problems with cracking crank is put in at overhaul. YOUR RENEWAL spinners, possibly related to propel- IS JUST A CLICK AWAY! ler vibration. Virtually all Tigers in PARTS, MODS, CLUB www.aviationconsumer.com the field have been retrofitted with The Tiger is unusually well sup-

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 29 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

an excellent newsletter, sponsors re- gional fly-ins and serves as a pipeline to technical expertise. The group also has a special group insurance plan that may save you money and can direct you to approved instruc- tors for Grummans. Contact www. aya.org. READER FEEDBACK I’m now over 200 hours in Grum- man Tigers, and they are a consis- tently dependable and simple aircraft to fly. Admittedly, learning to fly a Tiger after training for 70-plus hours in a Piper Warrior, my first reaction was that they were a bit touchy and difficult to control. Now (and after only a few hours with a Grumman savvy instructor), I understand that they respond well to a light touch, are truly a sports car of the air and are safe when flown Larry Tatsch’s Tiger in cruise flight and lower cowlings, plus wingtip and with an eye to some key numbers on over Lake Michigan. “Even without wing-skin embedded halogen land- approach. The agile handling and that complexity, I routinely cruise ing lights and roller canopy tracks. extreme ground maneuverability are at 135 knots and could wring They can also handle honeycomb a fine combination. These are fun, another couple of knots out of it if and wing repairs as well as interior fast aircraft to fly. and engine work. The best safety recommendation I I didn’t mind wasting fuel.” Fletchair has a split nose cowl heard when learning to fly then was: STC, which eliminates the need to “Don’t land these aircraft too fast.” take off the spinner and prop to get Many C and P brand pilots don’t ported, in our view. Fletchair (800- at the starter, alternator and front en- have experience with aircraft with 329-4647 and www.fletchair.com) gine baffles. This applies to the 1975 smooth skins, and are more used to has long specialized in Grummans. Traveler up through the 1979 Tiger. the draggy flight characteristics of When American General folded, The AGAC Tiger already has a split planes with rivets on the wings and Fletchair acquired the parts inven- nosebowl, as do the newer Tigers fuselage. tories and manufacturing rights. that came from Tiger Aircraft. The Tiger will glide better and will FletchAir, Inc. is known worldwide Another recommended mod is a not bleed off speed as fast as some as the single largest manufacturer Sensenich propeller in place of the aircraft. Speedwise, 70 knots cross- and distributor of parts for Ameri- AD-plagued McCauley. This also ing the threshold is a good target, can, American General, Grumman- eliminates an annoying RPM restric- which generally equates to some- American, and Gulfstream-American tion between 1850 and 2250 RPM in where near 1500 RPM with full flaps copies. descending flight—right at the usual on final. If you bring it in too fast, it David Fletcher, President of ILS approach speed. Unfortunately, will not just flop to the runway. Set FletchAir, has grown up with the installation is not intuitive and com- up a controlled approach and man- Grumman family of aircraft and has mon installation errors have led to age airspeed for a highly predictable been a stocking Grumman dealer problems with the bulkhead and/or result. since 1974. propeller attach bolts. The compact cowling can create Air Mods NW (www.airmodsnw. Other mods of note: Approach some cylinder overheating prob- com) does wing repairs, refurbish- Aviation (www.approachaviation. lems if the mixture is too lean or ments and upgrades, and has a com has a ram air induction kit; the baffles are in bad shape. Cowl number of STCs for the Tiger. Air Powerflow (www.powerflowsystems. mods are available from a number of Mods also sells oil coolers and a com) has a tuned exhaust system; sources that offer better cooling and baffle modification that reduces oil Dallas Metroplex Aviation or DMA lower drag than the square inlets na- temps by 25 to 40 degrees. This is a has speed mods for the Grumman tive to Tigers. worthwhile mod in our view, given (www.dmaspeedmods.airweb.net). It’s important to keep cylinder the heat these engines throw. And of course, LoPresti Speed temps under 400 degrees F in cruise Air Mods can turn Travelers and Merchants has their signature cowl- to minimize coking on the valve Cheetahs into Tigers with a 180-HP ing (www.speedmods.com). guides and reduced cylinder life. conversion. They also can convert Grumman owners enjoy one of Lean aggressively on the ground to Travelers and Cheetahs to constant- the best owners groups around, the avoid lead build-up on the lower speed props and install split nose American Yankee Association. It has plugs and use a lead scavenging run

30 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

at the end of the flight (run up to cylinder head temperatures to reach 135 knots and could wring another 1800 RPM, lean, wait 30 seconds) to into the yellow when climbing heav- couple of knots out of it if I didn’t keep things clean. ily loaded at high OAT. mind wasting fuel. Older aircraft typically do need The aircraft came from the factory The American Yankee Association, parts to replace some of the original equipped with dual Garmin 430s, the club for all Grumman aircraft, ABS plastics, and I’ve replaced the transponder, audio panel and S- is a great support group, with lots of horizontal stabilizer on two different TEC 30 with altitude hold and nav helpful experts willing to share their aircraft with fiberglass. Parts and tracker. expertise and a great annual conven- support are very available with great Options we have added to N50BX tion. customer care from Fletchair and include pulse lights, four-probe EGT a cadre of talented A&Ps that can and CHT, fuel totalizer, Stormscope, Larry Tatsch handle these birds is easily reach- air/oil separator and fine-wire spark Ringoes, New Jersey able through simply asking on the plugs. We have also mounted a Gar- Grumman Gang (www.grumman. min 496 to provide XM radio and net). Painting requires working with weather. We accomplished the dual someone who knows how to handle WAAS upgrade as soon as it became the bonded wings, but there are available. Silver Eagle many of those shops around. Knowing what we know now, These aircraft flight plan at 130 would we purchase another Tiger? (continued from page 20) knots almost universally. They Absolutely and without hesitation. typically get 700 FPM climb at lower or three knots of excess speed away. altitudes and 90 KIAS even in warm John L. Geitz Ah, but there’s a method to this weather. Burning about 11 gallons Roanoke, Texas madness. Fly short final at 90 knots, per hour at 8000 feet, leaned out, slow it toward 80 over the numbers they have almost a four-hour cruise After earning my private pilot license and plop it on the runway. It’s a bit capability (maintaining reserves) on in 1997, I joined a flying club and graceless, but when you pull the their 52-gallon tanks, of which only flew a 1974 Cessna 172 and a newer prop past the detent into Beta and 50.5 are usable. Still, that’s bladder- Piper Archer II. After a year, I real- stop in 500 feet, you get over that. busting endurance. ized that we could make good use It’s an absolute agita reducer to have I pay about $1000 a year for insur- of an airplane if it were available the reverse thrust available. Between ance for a VFR pilot. Annuals run on our schedule. I read about the it and amount of takeoff power about 20 to 24 hours of time (I have Grumman Tiger, and was impressed available, the Silver Eagle can get a great A&P in Forest Hill, Maryland) with owner comments and its speed into and out of runways where the and unless I’m installing a new tach relative to others in its class. Super Cubs are parked. or fuel flow or doing something else After a brief search, I found a 1977 that’s an upgrade, I can predict a Tiger that was in good condition but CONCLUSION reasonable annual expense. could use some avionics, paint and Unless our Berkshire Hathaway Two full-sized bicycles fit well interior upgrades. I’ve continued to stocks pay off beyond our wildest into the cargo bay (front wheel upgrade my Tiger since purchase, dreams, we’re unlikely to be able to removed) when the rear seats are adding a Garmin GNS430W, an afford a mod like the Silver Eagle. folded down or removed. Simple, EGT/CHT gauge (which I consider But we nonetheless concede a fond- fast, and capable of hauling three a necessity), new paint and interior. ness for it. It’s a nice match of the 200-pounders even with full fuel My Tiger is IFR certified. It is a very right size powerplant to an airframe (mine has a 930-pound useful load), competent instrument platform. that’s not made anymore and that this versatile aircraft is a great value I’ve had my Tiger for 12 years now slots it into a unique niche. and performer. and have flown between 70 and 100 Further, O&N is old school, hours per year. Among the more meaning Myron Olson comes from Peter Langlois lengthy trips my wife and I have the days when a mod business Leesburg, Virginia taken were from Princeton, New considered customers as long-term Jersey, to Cody, Wyoming, Freder- clients, not just one-off opportuni- We purchased our Tiger new at the icksburg, Texas, and last year to Red ties for a sale. It’s no coincidence West Virginia factory in November Deer, Alberta. We did the return that O&N continues to service most of 2003. Since that time, we have trip from Texas to New Jersey in one of the mods it has performed. It has flown the aircraft 500 hours; day, day­—about 12 hours with two fuel also picked up support for the prod- night, IFR and VFR. The aircraft has stops. ucts of one of its competitors, the been fool-proof. The only unsched- Maintenance and annuals are Tradewind Tubines Bonanzas, which uled maintenance we have had to pretty straightforward, with no also use the Allison turboprop. confront was a failed ship’s battery at more than the usual surprises. The When we visited O&N in June, the about 300 hours. simplicity of the design and lack of company was completing work on The aircraft consistently burns 9.2 constant speed prop and retractable yet another conversion—turbines for GPH while truing 132 knots. The gear reduce maintenance costs and the popular Cessna 340 pressurized only operational concern we have improve reliability. Even without twin. We’ll take a look at that mod experienced is a tendency for the that complexity, I routinely cruise at in a future issue.

September 2010 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 31 FEEDBACK WANTED ROBINSON R22

For the December 2010 issue of Aviation Consumer, our Used Aircraft Guide will be on the Robinson R22 , the world’s most popular light helicopter. tion of avgas is market force enough We want to know what it’s like No Slam Dunk to sustain heavy fuel engines, despite to own these helos, how much (continued from page 7) their shortcomings. But can the short- comings be fixed? they cost to operate, maintain Luc Pelon of SMA thinks so. Part and insure and what they’re aircraft will be stagnant or perhaps of that will be educating both buyers like to fly. If you’d like yours to even dropping by some 1 percent a and aircraft manufacturers of diesel appear in the magazine, send us year between now and 2040,” he adds. advantages, including that they aren’t any photographs you’d care to He rightly notes that avgas has and is always heavier than gas engines and share. We accept digital photos vanishing outside the U.S. and is even that they don’t smoke and vibrate. In e-mailed to the address below. threatened in the U.S. This, in part, is other words, he thinks diesel short- We welcome information on why Continental decided to buy diesel comings are more perceived than real. mods, support organizations or technology it could rapidly develop Thus far, among modern diesels, any other pertinent comments. rather than invent its own. It wanted the SMA SR305 is the only engine Please send information on the a nimble response for the U.S. market with power density similar to gasoline but also to remain a player in offshore engines. Thus far, it doesn’t appear to R22 by October 1, 2010, to: sales growth, which is almost certain have the short service cycle and main- to demand heavy fuel engines. tenance headaches of the Thielert, Aviation Consumer “Diesel,” adds Tiessier-duCros, but only about 100 SR305s are flying, e-mail at: “when debugged, will be much more compared to more than 1000 Thielert/ [email protected] reliable and less costly to maintain. Centurion models, including many So, if TCM working on the SMA li- in military UAVs. Pelon concedes that cense decides to go all the way and fi- the cost of converting existing aircraft faith. It hasn’t been demonstrated yet. nally come out with a reliable diesel, I to diesel is too expensive. And that’s why Continental’s entry estimate that they will equip still only “If you do as many engines as into the market is so significant. It’s a 10,000 planes in 2016, of which only Lycoming and Continental have in the major engine company with the clout 800 will be in the U.S., but 50,000 past, then you are going to get your re- to sell diesel to an OEM or two. Cir- airplanes in 2020, of which 5000 will turn on investment for manufacturing rus seems a likely candidate. If Andre be in the U.S.” castings and forgings and so forth,” Tiessier-duCros’s numbers are close to We know that just about every says Pelon. But you can’t change the reality, diesel will ramp up slowly and aircraft manufacturer has looked or laws of physics; compression ignition will still rely to some extent on North is looking at diesel powerplants. Alan will always require higher compres- American sales. Klapmeier told us that Cirrus took sion ratios and cylinder pressures To benefit from the economy of a run at both the SMA engine and and that translates to more structure. scale that Pelon sees as necessary to Thielert’s 4.0. The former had cold Minimizing that structure to save drive down purchase costs, some mag- weather start issues, he said, while weight requires careful application of ic volume number is a must, although the 4.0 was just too heavy. Cessna technology and that, in turn, requires no one knows what that is. We agree announced a Thielert-powered 172 in more investment. Pelon says SMA’s with the diesel optimists about the 2007, but drew back just as Thielert market surveys suggest that buyers inevitably of the trend lines that point was going under, saving itself untold will opt for a diesel that’s up to 15 per- to aircraft diesel being sustainable, but grief, we’re sure. Cessna’s Bob Stan- cent higher in cost than an equivalent we also note that it hasn’t happened garone told us the company is still gasoline engine, so that’s the market yet. Sustainable means the company examining diesel, but he declined to target. Reliability and durability are making the engines doesn’t go bank- say which ones. assumed—say at least a 2000-hour rupt and that it can demonstrate sales Among the diesel cognoscente, it’s TBO—but the crunch comes because in the hundreds and thousands, not accepted that the threatened extinc- buyers are expected to take that on in the dozens.

32 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com September 2010