October 2018 Volume L Number 10 The consumer resource for pilots and aircraft owners

DeltaHawk Diesel Update Page 2 Mooney Acclaim Ultra: Still the fastest certified piston single ... page 4

Another King Air face-lift … page 8 Preflighting the propeller … page 20 ADS-B in the tail light ... page 23 8 BENDIXKING AEROVUE 17 SPOTX MESSENGER 23 TAILBEACON ADS-B It’s a capable retrofit for old We put Spot’s latest handheld A patent dispute parks a cloud King Airs, but can it compete? satcomm to the test over uAvionix’s latest product

12 AFTERMARKET PLASTIC 20 PROP INSPECTIONS 24 COMMANDER 112/114 Money-saving tips for buying Technicians’ advice for keeping Single-engine Rockwells hold replacement plastic parts propellers healthy their own in the used market FIRST WORD

EDITOR Larry Anglisano WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR DELTAHAWK’S DIESEL? You know, I’ve been trying to keep my mind open to Jet-A-burning diesels find- SENIOR EDITOR ing their way in the U.S. GA market, but so far it’s been easy to shrug off the no- Rick Durden tion that the typical engine buyer has a real need for one. Most recently Textron canceled production of its diesel-powered Turbo Skyhawk JT-A, not a year since EDITORIAL DIRECTOR earning both FAA and EASA certification. The 155-HP Continental CD-155 Timothy Cole turbodiesel powerplant is still offered to buyers directly through Continental as an EDITOR AT LARGE STC’d installation for existing Skyhawks, Paul Bertorelli but whether Textron had buyers or not for SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT the JT-A Skyhawk, it’s still a tone-setting P.O. Box 8535 setback. Officially, Textron said the deci- Big Sandy, TX 75755-8535 sion will help streamline its production 800-829-9081 process. It’s not tough to read between the www.aviationconsumer.com/cs lines. Weeks before AirVenture at Oshkosh FOR CANADA this past summer, reader Rick Stanton Subscription Services called and asked if I could report on Box 7820 STN Main the DeltaHawk DH180A4 engine, since he was seriously noodling the idea of London, ON 5W1 transplanting one in his Skyhawk to replace his timed-out engine. That jolted Canada my memory to follow up with Wisconsin-based DeltaHawk because it originally said its four-cylinder, two-stroke diesel would be certified by AirVenture 2018. That didn’t happen, so I made tracks to the DeltaHawk display at the show where REPRINTS: Aviation Consumer can provide you or your organization the company was showing an enhanced 180-HP version of the engine that it has with reprints. Minimum order is 1000 been testing on a Velocity V-Twin experimental airplane. copies. Contact Jennifer Jimolka, 203-857-3144 DeltaHawk CEO Christopher Ruud admitted that the company put the brakes on the project (even backing away from the STC process), but a shot of funding boosted the company’s workforce to 35 employees (from three), plus it allowed AVIATION CONSUMER some developmental changes to the DH180 series. The direct-drive engine (ISSN #0147-9911) is (shown in the photo above) has a dry weight of around 340 pounds including published monthly by the turbocharger, the exhaust and accessories. I eyeballed the engines as installed Belvoir Aviation Group on the Velocity and they’re a lot smaller than the Lycoming engines that came LLC, an affiliate of Bel- off. That means smaller, lighter cowlings with less drag. There’s no Fadec on the voir Media Group, 535 Connecticut Avenue, DeltaHawk diesel, but instead mechanical fuel injection. Based on its testing to date, DeltaHawk says the 180-HP engine (which can be configured in 160- and Norwalk, CT 06854-1713. Robert Eng- 200-HP versions) burns 7.5 GPH at 75 percent power. Recent improvements lander, Chairman and CEO; Timothy H. include more glow plugs, better liquid cooling and a different bolt-on head struc- Cole, Executive Vice President, Editorial ture. DeltaHawk isn’t really talking about the final selling price of the engine, but Director; Philip L. Penny, Chief Operating it will certainly be more than a typical overhauled Lycoming IO-360, as just one Officer; Greg King, Executive Vice Presi- example. The initial STC will be for Cessna Skyhawks. dent, Marketing Director; Ron Goldberg, Ruud, who has lengthy experience in the turbine engine world, has a lofty Chief Financial Officer; Tom Canfield, Vice goal of certifying this engine without a TBO. He told me that DeltaHawk has President, Circulation. demonstrable data that proves it can monitor the engine for on-condition over- hauls. Since 2000 hours has become the general magic number for aircraft piston Periodicals postage paid at Norwalk, CT, engine TBO, Ruud believes that’s easily obtainable given the robust nature of and at additional mailing offices. Rev- diesel engine tech, citing the widespread use of diesels in the trucking industry. enue Canada GST Account #128044658. He’s right in that there are fewer moving parts and less complexity in running a Subscriptions: $84 annually. Bulk rate sub- compression ignition system rather than with spark ignition, plus there are no scriptions for organizations are available. electronics needed to run the engine. The first thought that came to mind was a Copyright © 2018 Belvoir Aviation Group drone application for the DeltaHawk engine and my instincts were right. LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in One of DeltaHawk’s business models is indeed U.S. military drone applica- tions and the fact that these engines can be built in Wisconsin is an advantage whole or in part is prohibited. Printed in under the current government, in my view. Yes, President Trump likes stuff that’s the USA. built in the U.S. and Ruud knows it. But Ruud admitted something most of us already knew: Demand for diesel Postmaster: Send address corrections to airplane engines is much stronger outside of the U.S. and over 60 percent of the AVIATION CONSUMER, P.O. Box 8535, Big inquiries for the DeltaHawk engine are from overseas buyers. Does that answer Sandy, TX 75755-8535. In Canada, P.O. Box the question in the above headline? You draw your own conclusions, and in the 39 Norwich, ON NOJ1PO, Canada. Publish- interim I’ll keep tabs on the DeltaHawk engine’s certification status and we’ll ing Agreement Number #40016479 report on the progress. —Larry Anglisano

2 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 LETTERS

MORE ON LSA SAFETY 40-year-old Cessna 172 up to date, considers the installation a minor alteration, I enjoyed your LSA accident review but in smaller bites and not having as long as the instrument has a TSO. article in the August 2018 Aviation to drop $20,000 all at once. When The ESI-500 has an STC, which Consumer. I was a Light Sport pilot ex- looking at the options for digital specifically defines the device as a standby aminer (DPE) attitude indica- backup instrument. A shop can lobby an for many years tors, the devil is FAA field approval as an alternate means until I retired in the details. of certification and you’ll pay for the ad- at the end of I’m a belt ditional effort, but with no guarantee that January this and suspend- it will be approved. year, so I have ers guy and not In our view, it’s worth getting a proposal more than a ready to get rid comparing that option with an Aspen Evo- passing interest of my vacuum lution EFIS, which has the air data outputs in the category. attitude in- for the Avidyne. Conspicu- dicator yet. I ous by its have two—the WHEN SIZE MATTERS absence is any vacuum and As a longtime subscriber to Aviation mention of the electric AI. Consumer, I would like to bring to your the Evektor Sportstar. We had (past I also have an Avidyne IFD540 that attention the common practice of mis- tense) several of them here in south- needs a baro input to sequence track- representing the actual diameter sizes ern Indiana, and I administered a to-altitude legs for missed approach of the two common round mounting lot of checkrides in the Sportstar. I guidance. To get the baro output I holes in standard aircraft instrument believe that the Sportstar is a major could buy an air data computer and panels. The 2-inch instrument panel player in the LSA community, with a appropriate altimeter, priced over hole referenced in the September 2018 couple hundred of them flying in the $6000. The more logical option low-cost EFIS article in Aviation Con- U.S. At one point I think they were seems to be an electronic attitude sumer is actually 2.25 inches, and the the third most numerous LSA, be- indicator, but Garmin’s G5, Dynon’s 3-inch hole is actually 3.125 inches. hind Flight Design and Legend. That D10A or Sandia’s SAI340 Quattro The problem with mistaking the ac- would put them in the middle of the don’t have the required digital out- tual size of the instrument hole is that pack of the ones you considered. And put. But the L3 ESI-500 does. some might assume the instrument I know the Sportstar had its share Unfortunately, it’s only approved won’t fit properly in the panel. of accidents. Why did you omit the as a backup, which means I’d have

Evektor from your accident statistics? to keep the old vacuum gyro in the BillFind us on Hemme Facebook Badge CMYK / .ai primary position—ridiculous given Spencer, Indiana Larry Boothe the ESI-500’s capabilities. via email When you looked at the backup That’s precisely correct. EFIS market in 2015 you mentioned We initially set out to include all the the FAA’s new guidance for install- LSAs, but because of the sheer number ing electronic attitude indicators as of manufacturers, had to pare it down to primary without providing a specific something manageable, both for editorial reference. Recently, L3 informed me space and time resources. That project its instrument is only for backup. required close to two weeks of work so Where is the paper trail to convince a CONTACT US we contained it by picking the top 10 shop to install one as primary? aircraft in the FAA registry. The FAA Editorial Office registry shows 92 Evektors in the U.S. Vince Fischer 860-614-1987 (EDITORIAL ONLY) That made it number 11 on the list. via email Email: [email protected] The registry lags so there are more than that, but that’s true of all the air- The shop is the one to create that paper Subscription Department planes. In retrospect, I might reconsider trail, referencing the FAA’s policy state- P.O. Box 8535 because the Evektor line has a pretty bad ment PS-ACE-23-08, which we specifi- Big Sandy, TX 75755-8535 accident record. Just a quick look reveals cally wrote about in that December 2015 800-829-9081 36 accidents, three of them fatal. That Aviation Consumer EFIS article. In Online Customer Service: would give it the highest overall rate, and summary, the policy statement says that www.aviationconsumer.com/cs toward the top in fatal rate, depending it’s acceptable to replace single-function on the time period considered. In a pre- vacuum-driven attitude instruments with Used Aircraft Guides: vious article, we did look at the Evektor electronically driven attitude indicators as 203-857-3100 and the results were about the same. long as they have an independent standby Email: [email protected] battery capable of meeting the intent of BACKUP EFIS SNAG multiple EFIS installation advisory circu- For weekly aviation news I’m trying to keep the panel of my lars. Follow the guidance and the FAA updates, see www.avweb.com

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 3 CHECKLIST

You’re not going to go faster in any other certified piston airplane. Pilot-side door, G1000 NXi and improved interior are big plusses...... but the wide, rotund and tall among us will still find the cabin tight.

riveted monocoque after section. The Ultra twins owe their stretched cabins AIRCRAFT FLIGHT TRIAL to one of Mooney’s ill-starred dead ends: the Porsche-powered PFM. Al- though the engine was disastrous, the airframe endured and became what’s Mooney Acclaim Ultra: known as the long-body airframe. That design matured into the Ly- coming-powered Bravo and, in 1994, Tops in Raw Speed the more successful M20R Ovation. A combination of market timing, a good economy and credible perfor- Mooney found a few more knots in the Ultra and mance made the Ovation a hit for Mooney. But the company’s 1997 at- gussied up the long body with a second door, NXi tempt to follow that with a revival of the turbocharged short-body M20K, avionics and a posh interior. the Encore, was another anemic seller. In 2006, Mooney addressed that by by Paul Bertorell essentially turbocharging the Ovation with Continental’s 280-HP TSIO- nerdy parlor game for aviation certification project for Mooney at 550-G. This became the Acclaim obsessives is to ponder how a time when we’re not seeing many and a couple of years later, with drag Amuch further Mooney can of those—from anyone. The results cleanups, it morphed into the Type S, stretch its decades old tube-and-sheet inarguably make the Acclaim Ultra which Mooney rightfully claimed was design into yet another new product. the fastest four-place certified single- the fastest piston single. In this report, we’re looking at the engine piston airplane and not just The 2008 downturn ended Mooney M20V Acclaim Ultra, and that leaves by a little. The Acclaim goes head to production and, except for parts sup- four more alpha designators for head with both its normally aspirated port, the company once again went something new. sibling, the Ovation Ultra (see Febru- into stasis until the China-based Although it’s really an incremen- ary 2018 Aviation Consumer) and both Meijing Group bought it in 2013. tal upgrade to the long-body M20 Cirrus models, the SR22 and SR22T An infusion of cash funded another series, the Acclaim Ultra was a major which, together, constitute the current soon-to-be stalled project, the M10 market leaders. That puts the trainer, a major redo of the long body Acclaim into a niche within and modernization of the factory. a niche—a slice of buyers Cosmetically, the airframe doesn’t who want speed, but care less look much different, save for the about cabin size or payload. new door on the pilot’s side. But this Pricewise, at $789,000 base, proved a major certification project the Acclaim invoices below the for Mooney, requiring two years to typical Cirrus models. massively rejigger the welded cage LONG BODIES The M20V traces its DNA to Both the Acclaim (foreground, top Mooney’s first all-metal models that then and now combined photo) and Ovation share the re- a hell-for-strong welded-steel designed cage and cabin that now cabin cage with a traditional has a pilot-side door, lower photo.

4 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 to carry flight loads around the new door opening. And thanks to the composite experience gained through the M10 project, the forward cabin is now skinned with a fiberglass composite shell that may eventually evolve to carbon fiber. The shell, which is clipped to the steel cage, has implications for assem- bly efficiency because it allows techni- cians unrestricted access to install wiring, hardware and fixtures before the cabin is enclosed. That squeezes hours out of the build time and chips away at production costs. For pilots, the new cage and shell offer stiffer composite doors whose openings are four inches wider and an inch-and-half taller. The doors also get new latching mechanisms and tasty brushed aluminum handles. Both Ultra models offer the Garmin THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT G1000 NXi, top. The airplane sports dozens of less Displays are bright- obvious improvements, including er and refresh faster. a carbon fiber cowl, gear doors and wingtips and drag cleanups, includ- The interior reeks ing a gap seal for the flaps. Mooney of expensive leather, has always been obsessive about flush including tasty yoke riveting and still is. Lee Drumheller, coverings. Carbon who sells Mooneys for Fort Lauder- fiber cowl, bottom, dale’s Premier Aircraft Sales, likes to point out the flush-riveted aerody- is light enough to namic housing around the fuel vents. install unassisted. “No one else does that,” he says. Mooney’s production chief, Rob Dutton, says the company has nicked ogy with rockers rather than toggles. hundreds of hours out of production Critical items—master, alternator time, but the airplanes are still a com- field and emergency bus—have red plex build. The wing is a giant, single- rockers on the far left, while every- piece assembly with a riveted spar thing else is black. Exterior lights are that would do a suspension bridge on the overhead; not my favorite. The proud. The M20s still have wet-wing panel is well organized, but because fuel tanks, but now they’re sealed of its limited size, some switches are with improved compounds intended obscured by the yoke. to last longer before resealing. As does about every other new The control circuitry is the same airplane, the Acclaim Ultra has Gar- steel tubes Mooney has always used, min’s G1000 NXi. (See February 2017 yielding a precise if occasionally Aviation Consumer for a full review.) stiff control feel. The gear system is This system has faster processing for similarly tube driven via an electric a quicker startup and almost instant motor in the cabin center section. graphics refreshing. The displays are Along with the Beechcraft design, this brighter and crisper and Garmin system has proved to be the most reli- seems to have simplified the operat- able in general aviation and is toler- ing logic. version of the G1000. The GFC700 ant of less-than-perfect maintenance. The NXi is fully coupled to the has a reputation as the best new auto- Same for the flaps. They’re electrically GFC700 autopilot, with a vertical pilot in GA and it’s deserved. It allows activated with a ready-to-the-hand control panel situated between the flexible aircraft control and the ride is flap-shaped toggle on the panel with two display screens. The autopilot has silky smooth. presets for takeoff and landing. envelope protection for overbanking The Ultras are so loaded up that And while we’re on the panel, and overspeed, but it doesn’t have there aren’t many options, avionics both Ultras have a new version of it the blue bail-me-out righting button wise or otherwise. For ADS-B In and that includes reorganized switchol- pioneered in the Cirrus Perspective Out, the airplane has the GTX345R

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 5 max weight of 3380 pounds. Fill it with 89 gallons and the airplane has 230 PERFORMANCE DATA FOR 65 PERCENT CRUISE POWER, BEST MOONEY a payload of 323 pounds. Without 220 POWER MIXTURE ACCLAIM the AC, it would be 389 pounds. That makes it a two-people-with-baggage 210 CESSNA airplane. Down fueled to, say, 50 TTx* gallons, you can put three people into 200 the airplane, with moderate baggage. That’s three hours at middling power 190 MOONEY settings or four at economy speeds. OVATION 180 CIRRUS Obviously, this is a significant com- SR22T promise against the Cirrus SR22T, 170 which claims best-case useful loads CIRRUS of 1248 pounds. In the real world, it’s 160 SR22 * Discontinued less than that. But with three hours 150 in 2018 of fuel, plus a reserve, the Cirrus can carry four people. The tradeoff is the 2000 6000 10,000 14,000 18,000 22,000 25,000 Acclaim gets there a little faster and/ or goes a little farther because of its ACCLAIM: FASTER AT ALL ALTITUDES higher cruise speed. The Acclaim’s performance pro- With tanks full, it’s a two-place Oxygen—a 77 cu. ft. system from file, top chart, is nothing if not airplane with a moderate bag- Precise Flight—is standard equipment flexible. It’s faster at all altitudes gage load. Three people will be on the Acclaim, while it’s an option in the Ovation. That assumes owners than anything in the four-seat a push, leaving payload enough will want to climb into the high teens high-performance class, although for about 720 miles of still-air fly- or even up to the airplane’s maxi- it gives up some climb perfor- ing with a 45-minute reserve, as mum certificated altitude of 25,000 mance to the Ovation at lower shown in the chart below. Those feet. Some owners clearly do that, altitudes. numbers assume best economy but on our trial flight, Drumheller cruise below the pointed out that the Acclaim speeds ACCLAIM USEFUL LOAD AND RANGE oxygen altitudes. along handily at 12,000 feet, sans For owners who sticking a plastic tube up your nose. USEFUL LOAD 940 LBS don’t mind using There’s something to be said for that. The M20V gets that performance WITH AC OR TKS 875-900 LBS a cannula or mask, the Acclaim’s per- the same way the Ovation does, with Continental’s IO-550 engine, the de formance reward PAYLOAD TANKS FULL 406 LBS facto standard these days for high- is 230 knots-plus performance aircraft. The Acclaim’s RANGE in the flight levels, TSIO-550-G has two intercooled Kelly where it leaves the Aerospace turbochargers. The specs FULL TANKS RANGE 1025 NM competition far claim the engine is turbonormalized, behind. but I’d call it ground-boosted, deliver- THREE-SEATS RANGE 720 NM ing up to 34 inches of boost. While the Ovation gets 310 HP from the IO-550, the Acclaim’s ver- along with the GDL69A for XM data. may be a suitable alternative to AC. sion is derated to 280 HP. If that For $16,720, a buyer can add the For an additional $10,000, Mooney sounds like the Ovation will out- GTS800 active traffic system, but offers what it calls Fill and Fly. It climb the Acclaim, it will at sea level Drumheller says few buyers do be- covers all the maintenance and con- on a standard day, by a couple of hun- cause ADS-B traffic performs so well. sumables except fuel for three years dred feet a minute. That advantage Also on the option menu is FIKI- or 300 hours, whichever comes first. fades when the density altitude gets to approved TKS and air conditioning. That includes annuals and adding up about 7000 feet. The Acclaim main- But because of the weight hit, that’s the numbers, it strikes me as a good tains its rate; the Ovation doesn’t. an either/or, not both. The AC is a value. Even a new airplane can easily $28,900 option with a 66-pound have a $3000 annual. FLIGHT IMPRESSIONS penalty. TKS weighs 95 pounds fully Lee Drumheller says the Ultra’s pilot- charged and adds $64,990 to the NO HEAVY HAULER side door is a potent sales tool and it’s invoice. Surprisingly, Drumheller says Mooney’s turbocharged models have easy to see why. It eases ingress and neither option is particularly popular, never been payload workhorses and when both doors are open, the cabin especially in his southeastern terri- neither is the Acclaim Ultra. With is airier and more comfortable, even tory where icing is less of a concern. AC, the demonstrator I flew had an if a little contortion is still necessary. And with the second door, holding it empty weight of 2511 pounds for a The back seats are tight until the front open for a cooling breeze during taxi useful load of just 857 pounds on a seats are slid forward to the normal

6 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 flying position. The new seats—built and upholstered in-house—are done MORE INVESTMENT IN KERRVILLE up in leather similar to luxury sedans. Given Mooney’s string of bankrupt- Flight handling of Mooneys hasn’t cies, fire sales and musical CEOs, changed much since the Bravo days. a buyer about to write a check for Compared to a 201, the long bodies are stiffer in pitch due to the engine most of a megabuck for a new air- hanging so far forward. It takes a tug plane might logically ask: Are these to pop the airplane loose on takeoff guys gonna survive? and a touch to keep the stall lady The answer may reside in an un- from squawking. likely place: A fenced-in cage at the For landings, Drumheller re- back of Mooney’s main assembly minded me that the way to land a hangar in Kerrville. From within long body is to neutralize the heavy comes the parts support for a fleet within a year or two. “We think 50 forward pitch moment by running of more than 11,000 Mooneys, back a year is doable. The market can the electric trim full up during the to nearly day one. absorb that and that’s a sweet spot flare. That produces near-perfect Although that parts flow has for us,” Magnus says. The longer touchdowns every time. view sees demand in China, if not The Acclaim climbs briskly at been better in some years than about 1100 to 1200 FPM to as high others, support for the fleet for the M20 then for something you want, with good visibility over has never dried up entirely and else. the nose at 120 knots cruise climb Mooney sales manager Jeff Mag- One something else was sup- speed. Although Mooney lowered the nus says the Meijing Group wants posed to be the clean-sheet glareshield in the new models, the to keep it that way. Meijing, a composite M10, a program that view forward isn’t as expansive as a China-based real estate developer, envisioned a fixed-gear trainer and Cirrus or a Diamond. That’s a conse- along with other investors, bought a retractable cruiser. Mooney has quence of the small frontal area that Mooney in 2013, renaming the indefinitely shelved that project in gives the airplane its speed. company Mooney International. the face of weak potential demand. And the speed is impressive. The company admits to a capital The positive offshoot was that We climbed to 13,500 for a speed composite capability was moved to check—about 10 minutes—and noted infusion of at least $150 million, 206 KTAS, leaned 50 rich of peak at to include development of the Kerrville and leveraged into build- 21.9 GPH. That’s a little slower than now-shelved M10 project, factory ing the composite cabin shell for the POH numbers, but also not a improvements and the certification the M20U and V. And Magnus says practical fuel burn. On the economy of the M20U and V models. It also work done at Chino may yet find side, at 50 degrees lean, the Acclaim funded a Chino, California-based applications. “From the Meijing trued at 172 knots on 11.1 gallons. design and development shop, Group’s point of view, it just didn’t That equates to seven hours of endur- which has since been shut down. make sense to introduce three new ance and nearly 1200 miles of still-air Magnus says the company is in airplanes. In a couple of years, you range, with reserve. the aviation business for the long may see something similar to the If you want speed and economy, haul and sees a profitable future M10 coming back,” Magnus said. you’ll have to take the Acclaim high. Meanwhile, he says the factory At 25,000, it can do 216 knots on when the long-awaited Chinese 16 GPH, for a still-air range of 1000 general aviation market potenti- will begin supporting upgrades of miles-plus. But only with two people ates. This remains an aspirational older models with glass panels— and light bags. That’s probably the goal. A couple of M20s prepped Dynon is under consideration— buyer Mooney will have to find for for shipment to China were turned and modern interiors provided as this airplane and/or people who just back into the U.S. market simply kits. Such packages, he says, would don’t like the Cirrus for whatever rea- because China couldn’t readily be provided to Mooney service sons. The Mooney offers a $100,000 process the certifications. centers for field installation. lower price tag for comparably For the time being, the com- equipped airframes, but for someone pany is sustained by multiple who can afford to write a check for revenue streams from spare these aircraft, I’m not sure if price sen- sitivity is an issue. Drumheller says it parts and support, outside con- is not between the Ovation and the tract manufacturing for other Acclaim. Buyers who want to go fast aerospace companies and its just want to go fast and they’ll pay for own aircraft manufacturing. the hardware to do that. In the current flat market, pro- duction at Mooney is about one See a video of the Acclaim at airplane a month, but it hopes http://tinyurl.com/j95ht2a. to reach as many as 30 a year

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 7 AVIONICS FLIGHT TEST CHECKLIST

A well-executed, weight- saving integrated flight deck that excels in autopilot automation. Trackball and cursor inputs make data entry seamless. But it’s a touch world and some buyers might want a hybrid touchscreen interface.

and aural notifications, the King Air’s various system warning annunciators are left alone (as is the environmental system) to minimize installation com- plexity. In the B200 I flew, the exter- nal annunciators were nicely located in an area of the panel that’s forward of the power levers, plus there’s an BendixKing AeroVue: annunciator panel in the center of the glareshield. Engine and fuel system data is displayed on both PFDs. Cursor-Driven EFIS Like the Apex in the Pilatus, the AeroVue isn’t touchscreen. Instead, it uses a combination of bezel keys, The AeroVue EFIS retrofit is an automation injection knobs and joystick commands for en- tering data and navigating the menus. for aging King Airs. More STC approvals could give it But the best way to move around the a competitive edge in the turboprop refurb market. system is with the trackball cursor control device (CCD). In the King Air it’s mounted in the center pedestal by Larry Anglisano below the multifunction controller, which has an alphanumeric keypad t took a few years for Bendix- deck) looks and functions a lot like and various buttons and knobs used King to earn an STC for its AeroVue the four-screen Honeywell Apex for FMS data entry and for controlling Iretrofit glass cockpit for B200 King integrated avionics suite used on the the weather radar, terrain system and Airs, but that’s no surprise. Without Pilatus PC-12NG turboprop. Both a variety of other systems. question, the STC work was a major systems have architecture that trickles BendixKing told me it avoided a effort. The AeroVue is a complex sys- down from Honeywell’s Primus Epic touchscreen interface on the AeroVue tem with a three-axis autopilot/flight avionics. because the trackball and CCD is control system and automation that’s The suite for the King Air has proven on the Apex/Epic, resistant well-suited for business jets—which is three high-resolution 12-inch color to the challenges of inputting data where the system was born. LCD screens. There’s pilot and co- in turbulence. It works. But if you’re But the challenges aren’t over. The pilot primary flight displays and a used to flying with touch avionics, King Air avionics retrofit market is multifunction display. The displays you’ll initially reach up to finger the dominated by Garmin, which has are instant-on and the whole system AeroVue screens. You’ll get nothing been populating the G1000 system in comes up ready in roughly 20 sec- other than fingerprints on the glass. the older King Air fleet, in impressive onds. The screens have multilayer Garmin’s G1000 NXi for the King Air numbers, for a number of years. anti-reflective coating that permits a (or for anything) doesn’t have a touch For a taste of the AeroVue’s feature pretty wide viewing angle—as much interface, either. set and overall airframe interface, I as 80 degrees. They simply have to be The onscreen cursor is initially dis- flew with the system in Honeywell’s high performers for big cockpits and played with a circle around it when it’s STC airplane, a mid-1980s vintage the are. There’s a dedicated autopilot moved among displays or when reac- King Air B200. Here’s a flight report. controller directly above the MFD, tivated on the map after having timed plus two PFD controllers. out. The circle begins to fade away im- BIG SCREENS, NON TOUCH While the AeroVue has its own mediately and completely fades away The AeroVue IFD (integrated flight CAS (crew alerting system) for visual after five seconds until only the cursor

8 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 We give the AeroVue high marks for ergonomics. The backup EFIS is logically positioned to the left of the pilot’s PFD, the PFD control- ler to the right and the audio panel at the top. That’s the MFD in the center image with INAV map, flight management and CAS windows. The photo at the bottom is the pedestal-mounted multi- function controller with trackball and cursor control device. remains. The logic behind the circle is so the operator can quickly identify it on a screen. If you’ve worked with multiple computer screens, you un- derstand. It vanishes from the screen after 60 seconds of inactivity and it’s displayed the same using the CCD or the system’s joystick. The bezel of each identical display has four groups of six buttons (12 per side) and their functions change depending on what is being displayed. White lines are located adjacent to each softkey that match each be- zel button with the corresponding softkey. I flew with the system on a bright summer day and found the LCD screens easy to read when sun- splashed. Each PFD controller is split into two sections. The upper portion has a dual in the AeroVue suite, includ- concentric knob for setting the baro, ing the ADS-B transpon- setting up bearing pointers and setting ders (there’s no ADS-B In), the nav/GPS course and map display the autopilot, the aircraft’s range, to name a few, while the bot- cabin pressurization system, tom part of the controller has a vol- plus the terrain and traffic ume knob for the VHF radios. There’s systems. It’s really a deep also a transponder Ident button, a interface with plenty of tuning knob and a nav source select redundancy, as you’d expect key for cycling through the navigation for a King Air. sources displayed on each PFD. The primary ADAHRS In addition to dual WAAS GPS channel supplies pitot and systems, a core component of the static data to the left PFD AeroVue is the KSG-7200 dual-chan- while the secondary channel nel ADAHRS. For old King Airs, this supplies the data to the right is a major step up from their ancient one. If one ADAHRS chan- remote gyros and air data computers. nel fails, simply press the The AeroVue saves a lot of weight— ADHRS button for the failed as much as 150 pounds—thanks PFD and the system con- to more solid-state magnetometers, nects the working channel. MEMS-based (micro-electro-me- Each display is backed up chanical sensor) accelerometers and with its own SAM stand- solid-state air data transducers. alone EFIS, made by Mid- In addition to supplying flight Continent Instruments and instrumentation to the PFDs, the Avionics. ADAHRS is used by other subsystems As for VHF radios, it’s

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 9 The screen grab at the top cap- tured on an autopilot-coupled approach shows the flight path symbol (FPS) with the Smart- View in path-based mode. The red arrows point to it, and the V and T labels, showing where the aircraft is going in relation to the heading and track. The photo in the middle shows a loaded Jeppesen chart, plus ac- tive approach segment data on the MFD. At the bottom, notice the engine data and radio status logically arranged on the PFD.

a lot of data displayed on the PFD, and where other manufacturers’ syn vis displays can be cluttered, I think the Honeywell engineers did a good job with the AeroVue’s presentation. Make no mistake, there’s a lot of data thrown at you, but it’s configurable and some data is shared on the MFD. For example, the field of view displayed on the PFD is also depicted on what is called the INAV (interac- tive navigation) display over on the MFD’s map page. On the PFD when syn vis is turned on (and in addition to familiar flight director command bars), there’s a flight path symbol, controller, the track and heading reference symbols cursor control and an acceleration chevron that aids device and the in energy management. In addition Bluetooth audio to (and in unison with) the flight panels made by director command bars, there’s the PS Engineering. option of displaying path-based and pitch-based symbology. SMARTVIEW In the path-based mode, the pri- SYN VIS mary reference for flying is the flight BendixKing’s path symbol, or FPS. In this mode version of 3D the flight director command bars synthetic vision are displayed with reference to the is called Smart- FPS—which is the primary guidance View and it has symbol on the PFD and is highlighted a deep feature in green. It’s the opposite in the pitch- set. It starts with based mode, where either the flying a traditional wedge (a single-cue aircraft symbol) blue over brown or gull wings (crosspointer symbol) out with the old two-piece (control flight display and then builds upon it are the primary and dominant refer- head and remote transceiver) and by overlaying the EGPWS (enhanced ence cues and displayed in green. In in with the KTR-2280 multi-mode, ground proximity warning system) the pitch-based mode, the FPS is still software-driven radio system called database for a synthetic terrain and displayed, but it’s de-emphasized with the MMDR. It handles all non-GPS- obstacle background on each PFD. The a smaller size and gray color. based functions, including transpon- system also adds HUD-like symbology In a flying world where many have der, comm, nav radios and a DME. to the display, a feature used on the transitioned to synthetic vision cues, I These are all operated using the PFD other Honeywell suites in jets. There’s think most will fly the AeroVue in the

10 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 path-based mode using the flight path autopilot will level symbol as the primary guidance. the aircraft at 3000 The FPS is the circular symbol with feet until reaching horizontal bars that indicates the the next point in the current flight path angle. It’s pretty stepdown, where it intuitive, moving up on the pitch descends. tape for increasing flight path angles King Airs are (relative to the horizon) and down for often flown single decreasing flight path angles. And, the pilot and I think FPS can be displayed in conjunction the AeroVue makes with the command bars. If the com- that chore easier, but mand bars are turned off, the FPS has like any integrated a green dot in its center and when the avionics suite, you bars are turned on, the dot is removed absolutely must so the symbol can better align with have a firm grasp on the flight director. system architecture. The FPS also includes an accelera- No, Garmin logic tion chevron, displayed as a green won’t work—not greater-than symbol to the left of close. BendixKing the FPS. Its position with respect to offers one-on-one, the flight path symbol indicates the real-world AeroView acceleration or deceleration of the air- transition training, craft, corresponding with the current plus use-case train- indicated airspeed. In the real world, ing videos. this is useful for setting the power for hand-flown climbs, descents and MOVING whenever you want to maintain a FORWARD constant airspeed, in which case keep BendixKing launches the chevron aligned with the FPS. the AeroVue for the Descending out of 9000 feet for King Air B200 into 5000 feet, the acceleration chevron a crowded market, positioned itself above the flight path and a space Garmin marker, indicating an excess in energy clearly owns with the and resulting speed increase. Pulling G1000 NXi retrofit. the power levers to idle put the chev- To date, Garmin says ron below the marker, offering at-a- there have been over glance cues of the aircraft’s decreasing 500 G1000 King Air systems installed. The AeroVue retrofit can ulti- energy state. Since the SmartView sys- Rockwell Collins also developed the mately shave as much as 150 tem is based on the aircraft track, the Pro Line Fusion, which has three 14.1- pounds from older King Airs PFD displays an onscreen “V,” which inch widescreen displays that have depicts the current heading, and a “T” both touch and cursor-control func- like the B200 shown in the top for the current track. tionality. The market still waits for photo. It also enables removing When the autopilot is flying (which Sandel Avionics to bring its modular- the complex AC inverter system in the King Air is probably the major- design Avilon flight deck for King Airs. ity of the time when flying instru- While that project seems to have gone used in some models, in favor of ment approaches), the AeroVue’s quiet, Sandel says it’s still working a more traditional DC avionics automation is impressive and has on it and maintains that the installa- bus, bottom. some built-in failsafe functionality for tion effort (and costs) will be sizably avoiding altitude busts. Honeywell curtailed compared to anything the calls it VNAV technology. On my market has seen to date. While Sandel weather radar, TCAS, the AeroWave demo we flew the RNAV approach to is hardly a stranger to the EFIS market, cabin Wi-Fi system and XM Weather, Stevens Point Airport in Wisconsin, it will depend on shops to embrace it, but typical fly-away prices might be in and with the decision altitude set in and the same goes for the AeroVue. the $450,000 range. the autopilot preselector window and BendixKing is currently building BendixKing says it’s working on the approach loaded, the system au- a dealer network that’s qualified to more STC approvals, but it is not tomatically stepped the aircraft down tackle the major installation required saying for which aircraft. There are to the published altitudes in the ap- of the AeroVue. There are eight ap- plenty of TBM, Pilatus and other proach procedure. For example, input proved dealers in the U.S. as we go first-gen turboprops equipped with 1300 feet in the preselector and the to press and BendixKing is targeting BendixKing EFIS 40/50 systems and a four-week install time for a typical based on the system I flew in the B200 retrofit. King Air, I think the AeroVue could See a video of the AeroVue at It’s impossible to nail project be a good fit. http://tinyurl.com/j95ht2a pricing, since there are options for Contact www.bendixking.com.

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 11 AIRCRAFT REFURBISHMENT CHECKLIST

The quality of aftermarket plastic will likely exceed Replacement Plastic: what was offered by the OEM. Lower Prices, More PMAs Cooperating competition is keeping prices within reason and inventories It’s finally a buyer’s market for aftermarket interior well stocked. and exterior plastic parts. Vantage Plane Plastics has Some components will the largest selection, but there are plenty of others. require trimming, drilling and painting. Know what you are buying. by Jim Cavanagh

hen we looked at the market ket plastic business is the dwindling decades because of its cost, weight and for replacement interior plas- OEM support for replacement plastic ease of fabrication. Fiberglass gained Wtic components nearly five parts for legacy aircraft. One exception popularity as some parts are intended years ago, prices were inordinately ex- is Piper, which has made an effort to to handle structural/aerodynamic pensive. But recent research (including get tooling to aftermarket shops for loads. Jim Bede used fiberglass for visits to several suppliers) proved that proprietary parts manufacturing. And wing root and tips to compensate for prices are falling and it’s easier than since these airplanes are still active, passenger weight, and because he saw ever to get high-quality replacements that’s good news for the aftermarket Cessna and Piper wingtips getting for worn and broken plastic parts. suppliers and for competition. trashed by hitting airport fences and The reason for the shift is partly be- Thanks to the handful of compa- other ground obstacles. cause suppliers are earning more FAA nies doing this, there are plenty of The problem with all plastic parts— PMAs (parts manufacturer approval), available replacement parts. Moreover, interior and exterior—is they eventu- while pricing is based more on actual all of the companies we researched ally become brittle due to UV light. cost rather than inflated OEM pricing. focus on building the parts that are Some older plastics used in legacy But shopping for replacement plastic— most prone to breakage and unusual aircraft have the consistency of tortilla especially for an aging interior—can wear and those that get replaced most chips and some had been pulled so be a complicated task. Here’s what to often. Yes, aircraft plastic lives a hard thin in forming that you could almost expect and how you might choose a life and a quick look around your own read through them. Others just wear supplier. aircraft—inside and out—will reveal out naturally or by human handling. problem components. Elevator tips, window trims, door A HARD LIFE Plastic has been used by OEMs for panels and plastic parts that need to The common thread in the aftermar- interior and exterior components for be removed for annual inspections might live the hardest lives, while oth- ers wear prematurely because they are prone to vibration. Parts that stick out might get hurt the most, and land- ing legs and fairings take a beating. Luckily, plastic parts can be repaired and some damage can be hidden, but eventually you run out of washers big enough to hide cracked or oversized holes. There’s no set lifespan for a given piece of aircraft plastic, but in general about every 20 years or so most plastic has degraded enough to require replacement. On the other hand, we’ve seen 40-year-old aircraft with original plastic components that look they just rolled off the factory floor. For preserving interior plastic,

That’s a plastic overhead panel on a CNC cutting machine in the photo to the left.

12 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 using cabin sun shields and covers is a huge help. So while many plastic components aren’t structural by design, can you remove and still operate the aircraft without them, as many do when a broken plastic part breaks? Legally speaking, not always. Every certified aircraft has a type certificate data sheet and if a part is installed on the airplane when this sheet is generated, then legally that part has to be on the airplane. Does it make a difference aerodynamically or with regard to safety? Not always. A missing upper strut fairing isn’t going to hurt much, but it does open the attaching hardware to the ele- ments and contact, plus it was likely on the aircraft during its final certi- The precisely fication. Sure, there is nothing in the manufactured regs about how the parts look cosmet- instrument panel ically, so some field repairs and touch- ing up is perfectly legal. Break out the overlays in the epoxy. Replacing plastic parts that are top photo are non-structural and that do not require from Plane Parts. the disassembly of a critical or struc- tural component is perfectly legal un- That’s a flap der the approved owner maintenance handle trim cover list prescribed by the FAA, as long as for a Piper in simple requirements are met. Do the research before getting involved in the the middle, and repair. one of the larger molding tools A CROWDED AND COMPETITVE FIELD for an overhead There are over a half-dozen major panel, bottom. suppliers of aircraft plastic compo- nents (some specialize in interior parts), and that doesn’t include the what the OEM smaller shops that dabble in specialty charged for the plastic parts and mods. When you do part. The after- a web search for airplane parts—in- market companies terior or exterior—prepare for a lot of have (based on our comparison shopping. It’s an interest- research) developed ing and competitive industry. pricing structures From our experience, most of the that reflect the competition know one another and actual development have worked together at some point. and manufactur- Competition is keen, though, and the ing costs for a part, major players have spent years and and tossed in the millions of dollars to build manufac- certification costs turing capabilities, earn PMA approv- based on a potential als and in our sense try hard to offer number of unit sales anticipated. This are a mix of resins that stabilize over parts at reasonable costs, compared benefits the customer to no end. time. Describing them as heavy is to OEM offerings. In reality, from a A couple of the businesses we an understatement. The shops that quality and price standpoint, they are visited build parts for the OEMs using use OEM tooling are forbidden by actually the best watchdogs for the their proprietary tooling and materi- contract to use the tooling to make industry. als, and just looking at the tooling parts they sell to the aftermarket. On As mentioned earlier, the pricing would explain why OEM prices are the other hand, if you consider that structure of plastic parts is not always so high. It is quite well-engineered most aftermarket parts tools are made based on how much plastic is in the and built for a long life. How? Some from OEM parts, suppliers certainly part or, as was the case decades ago, molds are cast aluminum and most have access to accurate parts that they

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 13 the material as it is stretched over the SAMPLE AFTERMARKET PARTS tool, plus the shrinkage that comes as the newly formed part cools. (Science DESCRIPTION PRICE SOURCE 101: Things expand when heated and shrink when they cool.) Plane Plastics CESSNA CARDINAL WINGTIP $812 TEXAS AEROPLASTICS and most of the other shops use new PIPER PA28-SERIES OVER- $242.54 TEXAS AEROPLASTICS materials that have minimal if any HEAD CONSOLE shrinkage over time. PIPER PA32 INTERIOR WIN- $61.12 PLANE PLASTICS Over the last few years, Plane DOW TRIM ASSEMBLY Plastics reduced the price on most of MOONEY M20J REAR HAT $89.64 PLANE PLASTICS RACK PANEL its parts. We were told that it took a CESSNA 150 LANDING GEAR good look at aftermarket plastic parts $128.92 PREMIER AEROSPACE (P.A.S.T.) FAIRINGS throughout the industry and realized CESSNA 182K INTERIOR $99.99 PREMIER AEROSPACE (P.A.S.T.) they were just too expensive. Having DOORPOST based their prices on the old Kinzie BEECH BONANZA DORSAL $421 KNOTS2U catalog, they reviewed the actual pro- FIN FAIRING duction costs and re-priced the parts CESSNA 172P NOSEWHEEL $469.80 STENE AVIATION PANT accordingly. This price reduction—and a continued effort to ensure quality CESSNA 206 STRUT CUFF $118.12 STENE AVIATION and fit—makes Plane Plastics perhaps a volume leader that focuses on one- stop shopping. It sells parts, materials and paint, plus it offers cabin noise can reverse engineer. There are also that does vacuum forming, among reduction kits and carpeting. a number of tools that have been other things, and the general aviation Across town is Premier Aerospace purchased from the OEMs. When the division is in Alva, Oklahoma. Plane Services and Technology Inc. or decision is made to cease supporting a Plastics was once Kinzie Industries, P.A.S.T. Scott Brown is the president certain part, they sell the molds. This a small company that built parts for and co-owner of this youngest of works for the OEM, the customer with Schweitzer Helicopters. When the plastics companies. Brown and his a legacy plane and the shop. It also company purchased a Cessna that colleague, Bryan Powers, originally virtually guarantees the exact fit of the needed replacement plastic it built it worked with Kinzie, then Plane Parts, parts. and eventually began pursuing this and finally started off on their own to From a materials standpoint, the business. The plastic forming portion focus on OEM contracting. They did new plastic part has to be made of of the business was sold to Vantage this for a while before expanding to the latest fire-rated materials avail- Inc., which changed the name to build their own PMA parts. P.A.S.T. able, which has been the case since Plane Plastics. The company houses purchased Heinol and Company, the 1990s. Most parts are pulled from over 4000 tools, has over 3000 PMAs which built parts for Piper. Al Heinol .090 ABS plastic and some, as required and the company builds a number of honed skills in the auto industry by the original aircraft type certificate, parts for Cessna. and was responsible for submitting Kydex, which has enhanced fabrica- Dale Logsden hosted us on a visit nearly all of the Heinol parts for FAA tion qualities and flame retardancy. to the huge Plane Plastics facility and certification. The company still does admitted that the company had fit- contract work for Cessna and Cirrus. SOURCING YOUR PARTS ment problems in its early days. A P.A.S.T. gets by with just a handful There are essentially seven major play- longtime pilot and mechanic, Logs- of workers. We saw its large vacuum ers in the replacement plastic parts don explained that originally the tables that make parts from full business, including Vantage Plane management was more interested in sheets, and a small table to save time Plastics (www.planeplastics.com), having the largest catalog and put and space and for low-volume parts. Knots 2U (www.knots2u.net), Texas more effort into finding parts to use Being efficient with raw materials Aeroplastics (www.buyplaneparts. as models for tooling than ensuring is an important aspect of its pricing com), Premier Aerospace Services and proper fit. Eventually it realized that structure. The company tries to keep Technology or P.A.S.T. (www.premier- once you build a part, it needed to be a six-month supply of parts in stock. aerostore.com), Plane Parts Company trial fitted, modified, rebuilt and trial Brown told us the goal is to certify 10 (www.planeparts.com), Stene Aviation fitted again until it was right. Toward new parts per month, adding to its (www.steneaviation.com) and Maple- the end of the Kinzie reign, this already impressive inventory. In our leaf (www.aircraftspeedmods.ca). In practice was started and has continued research we found that its parts qual- our prior research we found two more, through the Vantage years. ity and pricing structure is right in line but Globe Fiberglass was purchased Building a plastics tool is no easy with other shops. by Knots 2U, while Heinol and Com- chore. We watched the tool guys at pany was purchased by P.A.S.T. Plane Plastics for a while and can KNOTS 2U, PLANE PARTS, We found that Vantage Plane attest that it’s time-consuming work. TEXAS AEROPLASTICS Plastics has the largest inventory. Some of the tooling can weigh well For years, Wisconsin-based Knots 2U It is part of Vantage Associates, a over a thousand pounds. The build was known as a high-quality speed California aerospace conglomerate process has to allow for thinning of mods shop. When the company was

14 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 sold to John Bailey, he realized that Fiberglass com- if the company was to grow it had to ponents require expand its business. Since it already made PMA mod parts for a number of more man-hours, Piper models and some Cessnas, Bai- top photo, which ley began to make and certify some means higher of the more popular replacement parts needed by Cessnas and Pipers costs. The inte- and eventually added other brands. rior components The company created a catalog, fat- shown in the tened the inventory and as business increased, it began buying smaller bottom photo are companies (including Metco for stain- ready to ship, less steel cowl fittings), plus a door but notice they’ll seal company. need to be paint- Bailey told us that between its own development and the purchase ed before you of other companies it has allowed for install them. nearly 50 new PMA approvals every year, and there were 30 in progress as we prepared this report. needed replacement Worth mentioning is that Knots 2U plastic parts for his is fortunate in being close to a big city own Piper Chero- ACO (Chicago), which also has a track kee. He was ap- record for setting records in approv- palled by the prices ing PMA applications. Still, in our he paid. experience the company is diligent in Plane Parts is sustaining a high standard of manu- different from the facturing, materials, workmanship competition in that and fit. Bailey’s own parts are just a it subcontracts man- portion of the catalog, but with the ufacturing to a local purchase of Globe Fiberglass, plus her- company that uses culean efforts to redo the tooling for CNC technology to reduced weight and better fit, his own make and trim the brand of composite parts is of unques- parts. The company tionable quality, in our view. focuses on selling Roanoke, Texas-based Texas Aero- parts that suffer the plastics has been around since 1981 most attrition and and has an extensive inventory of has a bit over 100 Cessna and Piper replacement ABS PMA’d parts in its plastic parts, which are thicker and catalog. generally more durable than many Plane Parts can OEM components. For a fee, the ship many parts company will paint exterior pieces the same day if the to match your current paint work— order is in early something to consider when replac- enough. Atkins told ing any plastic part. The company us that the return provides parts for Beech, Grumman, rate on parts has been less than 1 per- and simply shoot through the plas- Cirrus and Rockwell airplanes, as well cent in over 25 years of doing business tic into the flange, careful to avoid as many Van’s RV models. and the pricing has remained stable structure, electrical wiring and static All parts for certified aircraft are for quite a while now. Some (but not system plumbing. It isn’t necessary to FAA PMA approved, plus the com- all) of the parts are pre-drilled or pre-drill the piece because according pany keeps a good inventory and is dimpled because many OEM parts to him, the new plastic will not crack. ready to ship same day. Its prices have that had holes or dimples did not From what we saw, the engineering remained the same over the past few match the structure. He tells us that and attention to detail is evident in years. Texas Aeroplastics employs only very few Piper original parts actually the product’s fit. None of the parts are six people and is in the process of have precisely jigged holes and that all copied from damaged or new surplus moving to a large, off-airport facility. OEMs’ window and upholstery trim ones due to the shrinkage of plastic Los Angeles, California-based Plane pieces are installed individually as over the years. It uses newly manufac- Parts Company specializes in Piper they went down the line. tured parts as templates and test fits interior plastic parts. Owned and run Installing them yourself? His sug- them to multiple aircraft. If neces- by Bob Adkins and his wife, the com- gestion is to use a #4 stainless steel sary, the new part is refined until pany was started in 1992 after Adkins truss head screw and a nylon washer an exact fit is accomplished before

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 15 building the tooling. While the com- PRICE SHOPPING? CAVEAT EMPTOR pany’s pre-drilled and trimmed parts When it comes to pricing, we have might seem higher priced than others, found that the buyer needs to be there’s a definite value in installation aware of what he or she is getting. time savings, in our view. For example, if a part is available in Stene Aviation in Polson, Montana, plastic from one vendor and fiber- specializes in composite exterior glass from another, the fiberglass will Cessna parts. It has over 300 PMA’d be more expensive. In some cases, components for Cessna models (the it is quite a bit more expensive, and 150 through the 337) made from in others not so much. It’s really the lightweight, flexible “E” glass mate- rial that conforms well if there are amount of labor that makes the dif- dimensional vagaries. Stene recently ference, and of course, the fiberglass received FAA approval on a line of part will likely last a lot longer and comparison, we tried to choose parts for Piper models. Owner Will should be considered if the part is a some random parts that should be Stene told us the company will be roll- much used or abused item. available for certain models, but ing out composite landing gear doors Considering that there are a found that this isn’t always the case. and new nose bowls for Cessnas. It kazillion parts out there for most all When you factor in that Knots 2U, has worked closely with AeroLEDs to aircraft, a buyer can expect that dif- P.A.S.T. and Texas Aero Plastics have produce the Quasar LED CX wing- tips with integrated landing, taxi and ferent companies will make different combined to ensure that a customer recognition lighting. parts and all prices come from God- gets a part, there is duplication of a knows-where, so a good deal of re- Last is Mapleleaf Aviation in Can- number of parts in all three catalogs ada, which specializes in fiberglass search time online or on the phone is and in many cases, the prices are the parts for Cessna models. We mention in order. Doing an across-the-board same. For example, the later style them mainly because their parts aren’t comparison of all fabricators is diffi- overhead console for a Piper Archer exactly like OEM parts—they’re modi- cult. We had fits doing so and finally is $242.54 from all three companies, fied and considered speed mods—so gave up our search for a hands-down and it’s likely that just one of them be sure there is an STC in place and price winner. But specialty shops makes the component. This works the parts come with FAA paperwork. might seem to charge a premium. for their catalogs and all three com- When looking for interior parts, panies have gaps in their inventories THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT An interesting development in the Plane Parts Company in California that the others can probably fill, aftermarket plastic parts business is a only does interior parts, manufac- so in the end the customer really is tured using a CNC process. Based handshake agreement between three taken care of. of the major players to work together. on our research, its prices averaged This might help a buyer who’s There is nothing formal and they out to being a few dollars more per sourcing a number of parts at the are not partners, per se, but Knots piece, but their promise of having a same time. He can determine which 2U, which is growing hand-over-foot more accurate fit might be worth the company has the most parts avail- and is thickening its catalog by the extra money for some. able and can price out all of them. If month, along with Texas Aeroplastics Along those same lines, you one company is more efficient—per- and P.A.S.T., have joined together to should understand that not all shops haps in infrastructure and labor— carry at least a portion of each other’s will have the same inventory. For ex- the total package would reflect a product line. This helps to create a one-stop shopping store. If one of ample, Vantage Plane Plastics is big greater economy. them doesn’t carry the part needed, on interior parts and is in the process During our research we did find a of expanding its exterior parts inven- they will send the customer to one of number of random parts that were the other companies. tory and simply may not have what priced pretty close across the board. They still compete, of course, and you need. A lower strut fairing for a 1974 Cess- they still run their businesses inde- In an effort to get a true price na 172 is $66.05 at Vantage Plane pendently and have different philoso- Plastics, $72.91 at Texas Aero Plastics phies, but to see this kind of coopera- and $72.91 at P.A.S.T. The passenger tion in the midst of competing and door window trim for a 1980 Skylane growing their own businesses gives a is $138.27 at Vantage and $136.54 at sort of neighborly feel to the industry. Texas Aeroplastics, but wasn’t avail- From a tech standpoint, we’re glad to see these firms using more robust able from P.A.S.T. materials than the OEMs did. They Still, it pays to price shop. The cen- understand the processes, shrinkage ter floor console for a 1975 Skylane and the vagaries of vacuum forming. was $213.94 at Vantage and $163.39 Better yet is lower prices and shorter at Knots 2U. That kind of savings lead times—proof that competition pays for the freight—and then some. works for the buyer.

16 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 SURVIVAL SYSTEMS CHECKLIST

Using the SpotX for SMS texting and short emails is SpotX Messenger: reliable enough to be useful in flight. Robust, Sized Right Designed for stashing in a pocket, it has a good keyboard and the menu Spot’s latest-gen personal satellite communicator has structure is shallow. a logical feature set, a sunlight-readable display and a We think the SpotX could customizable SOS function. be even better if it had a touchscreen interface. by Phil Lightstone SMS messages to your SpotX with- hanks to the internet and cellu- bandwidth-intensive apps, includ- out incurring any additional fees. lar telephone networks, ground ing weather graphics, to work well There are four key components to the Tcommunication services have via satellite. But portable messengers SpotX product: the SpotX hardware, become an expected component of can work well for search and rescue its activation and service plan, its preflight briefings, the filing of flight purposes, which includes SOS. configuration through the website plans and for staying connected Spot boasts that its communica- and the SpotX Device Updater appli- in the cabin. Within urban areas, tors (first released in 2007) are re- cation used to synchronize account telecommunications networks are sponsible for over 6000 saves—over information and update firmware. As as ubiquitous as water, although we 3000 in the U.S. we’ve learned from other satcomms, accept that performance is limited by Designed for the outdoors, the de- setup and activation altitude. vice is waterproof, shockproof, sports can be a chore. For the But the reality is entirely differ- a sunlight-readable 2.7-inch (non- SpotX, it begins with ent when flying in remote regions touch) screen and weighs 7 ounces. setting up an account of North America, where coverage is The keyboard is backlit and I found on the FindMeSpot patchy and broadband networks are it easy to type with—important in website from a Mac or akin to drinking through a straw. the airplane or anywhere. PC, requiring a credit Portable satellite communicators SpotX is powered by a recharge- card for payment and attempt to fill these gaps and the able lithium polymer battery and information about latest two-way comm is the $250 includes a Micro-USB cable and AC/ your hardware. SpotX, positioned to compete with DC charger. A full charge can be Garmin’s InReach Mini, which we achieved overnight. The hardware is reviewed in the July 2018 Aviation designed to operate in temperatures Consumer. Here’s a field report on the from -4F to +140F (-20C to +60C) SpotX. and conforms to the IP67 ruggedized hardware specifications. It’s submers- THE NETWORK, HARDWARE ible up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite The device has sufficient storage to constellations (Globalstar, for the hold up to 70 contacts and/or contact Spot products) complement ground- groups. A rocker style cursor pad based systems and in many locations (called the Directional Pad) allows provide the only available service. Ac- the user to navigate between menu cessible from most parts of the planet, pages and make selections. The key Globalstar’s LEO network provides in the center of the Directional Pad ubiquitous communications—data, serves as the select key. voice and internet services—although SpotX is assigned a telephone at much slower speeds than tradition- number for your appropriate coun- al terrestrial networks. GPS position- try during activation. This allows ing and a ground station network contacts in the same country to send connect the signal to the device. The current-gen Globalstar LEO system typically provides for 1 Mbps The SpotX, right, has a rugged connectivity, which works for voice build quality and QWERTY calls (typically at 90 Kbps), plus text messaging and short emails keys that are large enough for without attachments. Don’t expect efficient typing.

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 17 messages waiting to be sent, satellite connection and a battery indicator. The status bar also is a handy way to determine if your message has been sent. The main screen includes the Mes- sage, Check In, Social (social network- ing), Fetching New Messages, Track- ing, Navigation, System Settings and SOS menu icons. The Check In selection sends an SMS text or email to a list of contacts. The contents of the message and the SMS/email lists are controlled through your web account. Once the email or SMS is received by the recipient, they can simply open the email and click a link to either the FindMeSpot map page (powered by Google Maps) or directly to Google Maps. With a footprint When SpotX is powered up, that’s reminiscent of tracking is disabled by default. The Tracking menu displays the current an older Blackberry tracking interval, allows the interval device, we think the to be changed and turns tracking on SpotX is sized right and off. A higher tracking interval (2.5 minutes versus 60 minutes, for for the hand and for example) will use more battery (and use in the cockpit. has a higher monthly fee). It will run But, use caution in for 10 days in the 10-minute tracking interval mode. placing the device I have found that placing my SpotX in close proximity to on the glareshield of the aircraft GPS receivers. presents a clear view of the sky to the device. Spot recommends that the device be placed at least 12 inches and payment informa- from a GPS navigator and I have yet to tion. experience adverse interference with Once the activation the GPS navigators in my aircraft—a process is completed, G1000-equipped Cessna Skylane. the system will take On a side note, another user reports you to the My Devices that the SpotX was unusable in his page on the website. The Aviat Husky, which is a fabric airframe user’s and quick-start equipped with a Garmin navigator guides can be down- and an ADS-B transponder. After con- loaded from this page. firming the SpotX was the source of This page will also the GPS signal problems, he replaced indicate the last time the SpotX with a Garmin InReach, With your account set up or the hardware was synchronized and which works fine in the Husky. logged into, three steps are required. whether there is a firmware update To send a message, simply select The first is setting the serial number required for your hardware. It’s im- the Messages icon (using the cursor) and authorization code of the SpotX portant to keep it updated. Another and press Enter. The page has five hardware and a device name. The important step is adding your con- menu options: Message (to compose), second step—an important one—is tacts (and groups), SOS and Check In Contacts, Predefined, Fetch Rate and selecting the country because that outgoing messages and contacts. Cancel Messages. Selecting Messages determines the mobile telephone will display a list of all messages (both number of the device. The nuance is SPOTX FEATURE SET SMS and email) that were sent and additional charges may apply when The device’s menu structure is received. To compose a new message, texting from your SpotX to inter- uncluttered and simple. At the top scroll down to the bottom right hand national telephone numbers (like of the screen is a status bar where of the page and select the Pen icon. sending a message from your U.S.- a number of icons are displayed, This will take you into the message registered SpotX to a French mobile including the tracking mode, the composition page. “To” is highlighted device). Finally, select a service plan current system time, the number of and using the button in the middle

18 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 SPOTX AT A GLANCE

Sat antenna

Power/backlight key

Status bar Dimensions: 2.04 x 3.90 x 1.0 inches

Function menus

SOS key Track key

Back key

Directional Pad

QWERTY keyboard

Micro-USB port of the Directional Pad opens the a time-efficient technique for Search is staffed 24/7 with trained person- Select Contact page or you can scroll and Rescue (SAR) teams to execute a nel who have access to first respond- over to the Contacts icon on the far search in the event of an overdue air- ers. The average response time from right of the screen. Use the Direc- craft. You can provide access to Leidos the receipt of your SOS message until tional Pad to scroll down to select a Flight Service (formerly Lockheed) referring an emergency responder contact and the press the middle key through embedding the SpotX Share is 11 minutes. You may be liable for to select the contact. The contact’s locations into your flight plan. additional charges if you send a false email address or SMS address will be The initiation of a rescue begins SOS message. In countries where displayed as separate contacts in the with pressing the SOS button, which search and rescue services are pro- list. Once contacts are selected, scroll is behind a protective cover promi- vided on a fee basis, you can upgrade down to Message, which will navi- nently marked “SOS,” or through to the GEOS Member Benefit for gate you to the New Message screen, the SOS icon on the main screen. reimbursement of up to $100,000 in and begin typing your message. Vari- Once activated, the SOS icon will be SAR expenses at an annual cost of ous fonts can be selected, including displayed on the status bar and the $24.99. bold and italics, to highlight your SOS notification message will be sent Once an SOS message has been message. A message may be up to every 2.5 minutes until it is acknowl- received, the IERCC calls your emer- 140 characters. The Send Message edged. SOS may be canceled one of gency contact(s) to determine if it is icon (lower right of the screen) is three ways: powering off the device, a false alarm. It locates and notifies used to send the typed message. Re- pressing the SOS bezel key for three an emergency responder and then member, the display is not a touch- seconds and following the onscreen maintains an open line of communi- screen—all cursor movements are instructions or by selecting the Can- cation, including providing updates controlled by the Directional Pad. cel SOS command. of your location. The IERCC will The SpotX sends a notification also keep your emergency contact(s) SMART SOS with the device’s GPS coordinates informed. SAR leaders believe that SpotX will drop electronic bread- to the GEOS worldwide monitoring when stranded in remote regions, crumbs (EB) along your route of flight center (www.geosworldwide.com). two-way communications contribute with a drop resolution of 2.5, 5, 10, GEOS provides SOS monitoring and to a positive state of mind, which 30 or 60 minutes, depending upon emergency dispatch through its dedi- improves survival outcomes. the service plan and when tracking cated International Emergency Re- Tracking resolution is an impor- is enabled. For pilots flying on a VFR sponse Coordination Centre (IERCC) flight plan or itinerary, EBs provide based in Houston, Texas. The IERCC continued on page 32

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 19 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE and corrosion, you’ll be checking for maintenance-induced problems like missing safety wire and cracks around the attachment bolts, which happens Prop Inspections: when the bolts were overtorqued. But start with the basics—the right way. At the very least, you should be per- More Than Surface Flaws forming a visual preflight inspection of the blades for nicks, scratches, dents, erosion, corrosion and cracks. Appar- There are good reasons why the FAA is serious ent damage should be referred to an appropriately rated mechanic because about propeller maintenance. Performing the right a crack or bend, as two examples, are inspections and repairs is key to long service life. cause for removal of the propeller. You can check the propeller spinner attaching screws for security and check Staff report the spinner for damage, as well as for evidence of oil or grease leakage. Don’t hose rushed preflight walk- blades turning safely for a long time. be afraid to clean the propeller blades arounds are all the same—the We’ll mainly concentrate on inspec- periodically using fresh water, a non- Thand makes a quick pass over tion and repairs for metal props here, alkaline cleaner and a soft cloth or soft the prop’s leading edge and then but offer tips for wood and composite brush. Dry with a soft cloth. it hits the starter switch—you not props, when appropriate. If the aircraft (or prop) is new to really knowing if the propeller is you, this is also a good time make sure airworthy. We’ve been there. BASIC INSPECTIONS that the applicable installation, infor- Want a better respect for propel- A propeller and its systems are more mation and warning decals are on the ler inspections? Read NTSB reports complex (and critical) than you might propeller. These decals may include written about propellers coming off realize, evident by the detailed inspec- warnings against pushing or pulling in flight—they aren’t pretty. tion procedures prescribed by the on the prop, the model number, the To supplement shop-performed prop manufacturer. The good news correct bolt torque, dynamic balancing prop inspections and maintenance, is there is a lot of inspecting that can information and any other manufac- there are plenty of things an owner be done without even removing the turer’s identification. can do during service to keep the blades from the aircraft. The FAA’s ad- While you’re at it, conduct a func- visory circular AC 20- tional check including RPM control, 37E is worth a read as RPM limits, idle setting, responsive- it provides guidance ness and vibration. Of course, you for aircraft propel- have to start with a calibrated tachom- ler maintenance. In eter. We added an optical tachometer particular, the AC pro- to the flight bag years ago and it was vides information and one of the best investments we made. suggests procedures to Sporty’s currently sells the battery-op- both increase service erated TruTach II optical tach for $225, life and to minimize which is accurate to within 1 RPM and failures of metal works with up to five propeller blades. propellers. Wood and Simply hold it above the glareshield, composite props gen- point it at the prop and compare its erally follow different reading to the aircraft’s tachometer. Ta- repair guidance. chometer inaccuracy could be a direct If your tool collec- cause of propeller failure and excessive tion doesn’t include a vibration. high-quality magni- When parking the airplane, move fier, get one and a two-blade metal propellers to the one good work light. In o’clock position to minimize bird addition to pitting droppings and water retention in the spinner. Wood propellers should be That’s the rear stored in the horizontal to prevent moisture accumulation in one blade, pusher prop on a which would cause unbalance. Cessna Skymaster Last, be mindful of the surround- pictured to the ing area and surface conditions. Do not run up engines in areas containing left. There’s plenty loose rocks, gravel or debris. Avoid to inspect. quartering rear winds during ground

20 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 runups because this can cause damag- ing stresses. Do not push or pull on propeller blades when moving the aircraft by hand. If you must, grab on to the blades as close to the hub as possible. Wood and composite propellers are susceptible to internal damage from small stone strikes that can create delamination or micro cracks and permit intrusion of moisture or damage to metal protection. When inspecting wood or composite pro- peller blades, look for cracks or de- lamination on the blade surface and at the edges of the blade. On wooden propellers, check the glue lines for debonding and look for warping and loss of protective coating or protec- tive metal edge damage. UNAPPROVED REPAIRS Don’t underestimate the If your preflight inspection of the pro- importance of inspecting peller does reveal questionable dam- the spinner, top photo. It age, resist the temptation to fly the aircraft—even to bring it to the shop. can come off in flight, with Simply have a mechanic put his or ugly results. The four-blade her eyes on it to determine if it might composite prop on the Cir- need to come off the airplane. And if you hit something—even a rubber rus shown at the bottom parking cone—don’t fly the aircraft has an STC for retrofit. without having the prop inspected by Notice the erosion strips on a mechanic. We know one pilot who admitted to hitting a cone, but still the leading edges of each flew the airplane on a 400-mile trip— blade. Don’t install any at night, in the weather—to find out prop modifications that one of the three blades was loose in aren’t approved for your the hub. He wins the Darwin award. We also know pilots who attempted airplane. to straighten a bent propeller. This is a setup for doing more (often hidden) damage. There are some pretty crude be present in the hub area be- unapproved repairs made. Never tween or adjacent to bolt holes repair any blade defect by welding, and along the hub pilot bore. heating or peening. Propeller manu- Cracks in these areas cannot be facturers do not permit this because it repaired and require immediate can induce premature blade failure. removal of the propeller. For example, any removal of the Do not fill any damaged areas of Since propellers create stress to the blade tip material that reduces the metal blades with bulk filler materi- surrounding structure, look past the blade radius below the minimum als such as epoxy or auto body fillers. prop for cracks and missing hard- specified for the propeller manu- This prevents areas of potential crack- ware—especially on the cowling. facturer’s model designation and ing from being inspected. Consider specific installation criteria is not that filling a damaged area will not COMMON DAMAGE: TIPS permitted. Other damage, including correct the stress risers caused by the Blade tip damage is perhaps the most cracks in the blade, might be spotted dent or those caused by the loading common and the manufacturer’s during the repair. Keep in mind that that introduced the dent. Also, do maintenance documents generally cracks can’t be repaired. Moreover, not paint over areas of corrosion on have instructions for repairing it. the presence of a crack pretty much blades—even with rustproof paint. But if the prop manufacturer doesn’t indicates that blade failure is immi- Corroded areas should be removed in publish the repair information, there nent and cracks on the leading and accordance with approved procedures are specific procedures to follow for trailing edges are especially prone to prior to applying the approved protec- repairing nicks, dents, pits and cuts propagation. tive finish. in the propeller’s tip. But you still Blend-outs or repairs should never When it comes to cracks, they may need to consult manufacturer’s data. be attempted on these cracks. The

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 21 FAA PLAYS HARDBALL WITH SENSENICH PROP SERVICE Proving that it takes propeller maintenance seriously, the by the manufacturer’s manual. The shop didn’t own the FAA last month issued an Emergency Order revoking the equipment necessary to test the spring loads, the FAA repair station of Sensenich Propeller Service (the FAA order says, and managers told employees to reuse the springs does not apply to Sensenich Propeller Company, although without doing the test as long as they passed the re- the two originally shared ownership). The FAA alleges that quired limits on visual and nondestructive testing. The the popular propeller repair and overhaul shop, located in shop then approved the propellers for return to service, North Windham, Connecticut, knowingly and intentionally the FAA says. performed maintenance on 47 McCauley propellers for 45 The FAA document also cites a number of instances separate aircraft that was contrary to instructions provided when the shop failed to replace springs, retaining rings, in the manufacturer’s overhaul manuals. The FAA further studs and screws, as required, and nonetheless approved alleged that Sensenich and its accountability manager the props for return to service. If you’re concerned that certified (signed off and returned to service) that the work your prop went through this shop, the FAA alleges the was done in accordance with the manufacturer’s overhaul violations occurred between March 2015 and at least manuals and FAA regulations when company officials knew February 2017. the props weren’t properly overhauled. The company didn’t respond to our request for com- In the Emergency Order, the FAA alleges that the work- ment, but the FAA says both the repair station certificate ers overhauling the props failed to perform a spring-load and the repairman certificate of the accountability man- test or replace the propeller return springs, as required ager have been surrendered without appeal. prop must be removed from service by filing with a fine cut file parallel to ly equipped and authorized mainte- and identified as unairworthy. If the damage and finishing with #240 nance personnel should accomplish the manufacturer did not publish and #320 emery cloth, as in the man- the dynamic balance procedures. guidance, any authorized repair to ner of damage removal from blade- There are two methods of propel- the propeller tip should be inspected leading edges. ler balancing—static balancing and with a minimum 10X lens to ensure Even more substantial damage dynamic balancing. Neither method that any sharp notches at the bottom might not render the prop a total can replace the other because they are of the damage have been removed. loss. Limited repairs may be made used for different purposes. For leading/trailing edge damage, on propellers by appropriately rated A propeller can be statically bal- if the manufacturer did not publish maintenance technicians either on anced only by removing it from the information to the contrary, some the aircraft or when the propeller is aircraft and evaluating the balance repairs can still be made. For nicks, removed. Minor dents, cuts, scars, on a special fixture. Only appropri- dents, pits and cuts in the leading or scratches and nicks may be removed ately certificated persons or shops trailing edges of blades, ensure that providing their removal does not may adjust propeller static balance. the bottom of the damage is removed weaken the blade, substantially Static balance weights are added to or first by rounding out and fairing in change weight or balance or otherwise removed from the propeller to correct the repair only slightly deeper than impair performance. In the end, it’s the measured imbalance, or material the damage. Initial removal of mate- best to leave the inspection and repair from the blades is removed by special rial should be done using a fine cut of more substantial damage to a certi- grinding techniques. file. fied and respected propeller shop. Dynamic balancing of a propeller All traces of file marks in the re- is done to provide for the lowest level paired area should be removed with PROP BALANCING of vibration in its operating range. #240 emery cloth followed by polish- Props can become unbalanced for a Although the propeller is the focal ing with #320 emery cloth and then variety of reasons, including mis- point of the balancing procedure, finished with crocus cloth or 600-grit handling. Unauthorized or improper it is the combination of the engine emery cloth and then visually inspect- repair of spinners has also been mounting system and the propeller ed. An individual edge repair should identified as a cause of propeller assembly that combine to provide the not exceed a depth of 3/16 inches. imbalance. It’s not rocket science; an given level of vibration. There are a lot We’ve seen far too many amateur unbalanced condition occurs when of variables. repairs done with coarse metal filing, the mass of the propeller is not sym- In the end, if you’ve replaced or had which leads to stress risers and even- metrical around the center of rota- a propeller overhauled you know it’s tual failure. tion. When the mass is unsymmetri- a sizable investment. The only way to For gouges, cuts and small dents on cal, a radial force and/or out-of-plane get long life from a prop is to operate blade faces, ensure that the bottom of moment couple is formed. it correctly and carefully, protect it the damage is removed first by round- Static and common dynamic bal- from the elements (a prop cover isn’t a ing out and fairing in the repair to ance procedures only correct the radial bad idea for outdoor storage) and en- form a saucer-shaped depression only force unbalance by adding an equal sure that even the most minor repairs slightly deeper than the damage. The force in the opposite direction with are done per the manufacturer’s and initial repair should be accomplished balance weights. Only trained, special- the FAA’s guidance.

22 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 ADS-B UPGRADES The $1849 tailBeacon shown in the center photo is a follow-on to the skyBeacon and has LED uAvionix tailBeacon: position and anti-collision light- ing, plus a full-up ADS-B Out ADS-B On The Tail transmitter and GPS. uAvionix says a typical tailBeacon The uAvionix tailBeacon is the latest certified low-cost installation might be accomplished in around 15 minutes. Weighing 2.9 ADS-B Out option, but a patent lawsuit from Garmin ounces including the 6-inch wir- could have potential buyers watching and waiting. ing pigtail, rebalancing the aircraft’s rudder will depend on the weight difference between the existing light by Larry Anglisano and the new tailBeacon, although in many cases the weight difference is or almost two years the market In addition to an LED position less than 0.5 ounces, uAvionix said. has been dazzled as Montana- light that meets TSO-C30c criteria, Fbased uAvionix introduced there’s also a built-in anti-collision BUZZKILL smartly designed ADS-B mandate strobe, which will likely require ad- As we go to press, the black cloud solutions that seriously curtail the ditional wiring. parked over the uAvionix facility in installation effort and cost. As we’ve The tailBeacon Montana is a lawsuit filed by Garmin been reporting, the first product has some smart, for patent infringement. aimed at the masses is the skyBea- but controver- In the legal document filed this con, a wingtip LED position light sial tech built past June, Garmin alleges that with internal WAAS GPS, L-band in, including uAvionix has taken/copied antenna, an ADS-B transmitter its patented AutoSquawk and wireless Bluetooth. With a technology—U.S. patent two-wire interface (power and number 8,102,301 (the ground) and a mounting “301 Patent”)—without footprint that’s the same as permission. Garmin’s many existing incandescent AutoSquawk curtails the position light housings, installation and reduces the $1849 bolt-on skyBeacon equipment costs of is about as simple as ADS-B mandate-compliant ADS- Out installs get. uAvionix has B Out upgrades because been selling the skyBeacon to the a pressure al- it eliminates the need experimental market while it sol- titude encoder to install a dedicated diered through the TSO certification that interacts ADS-B control head for process, which was awarded as we go with the exist- keeping the existing to press. ing transponder transponder’s Mode 3/A The follow-on product is the tail- through a patent- and altitude data in sync Beacon, a product that’s essentially a pending wireless inter- with the ADS-B Out data. repackaged skyBeacon and is de- face that uAvionix calls Other manufacturers’ ADS- signed to easily replace tail-mounted a power transcoder reading pressure B equipment—including FreeFlight position lights. Like the skyBeacon altitude and the current squawk code Systems and L3, to name two—re- (and unlike most other ADS-B Out without additional hardware or wir- quire the use of a control panel and products) the idea is to side-step a ing, although the power transcoder wiring for 978 UAT systems. big teardown installation by utilizing is not intended to replace the air- In an official statement, uAvionix the existing tail position light wiring, craft’s existing altitude digitizer for denies infringing on Garmin’s patent the existing circuit protection and Mode C functions. and says it has its own patent-pend- the existing mounting holes for the Configuration and setup of the ing method for using the transpon- original light. But like the skyBea- tailBeacon (and wingtip skyBeacon) der’s Mode 3/A and altitude data that con (which can’t be mounted inside are done through the uAvionix in- differs from Garmin’s 301 Patent. a wingtip fairing, for example), staller tablet app. Here you program “We are disappointed and frus- some installations will require more the aircraft’s call sign, ICAO address trated we have to go through the modifications when the light’s base and anonymous mode, plus the app expense, distraction and effort of de- doesn’t match the one on the tailBea- has a performance monitoring utility fending ourselves, but also recognize con’s mounting footprint, although so installers can verify the system is that disruptive products often attract there’s a good chance the existing working before launching on a test wiring can be used. flight in ADS-B airspace. continued on page 32

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 23 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE Commander 112/114 Rockwell Commander piston singles are sturdy, comfortable travelers, but the 114 is the better performer.

hese days you don’t have to production ended in 1979. Since preliminary designs and make put your eyes on a model 112 then, the design has been in and out suggestions. The result made Tor 114 Commander for long to of several hands, one pair of which its debut in 1972 and emphasized see why these airplanes had perhaps actually produced some 200 updated looks, cabin room and comfort over more ramp appeal than the competi- models during the 1990s. Here’s a raw performance. tion. At the time (somewhere It turned out that despite the big around 1972) North American cabin, the Commander 112 was Rockwell remained true to its quite deficient in useful load, result- military contract experience The Commander’s stability and ing in the 112A model, which came and built big airplane touches out in 1974. The 112A featured an in- into the small Commanders. predictability make it a perfect creased gross weight—from 2550 to Even well before the Com- IFR platform. 2650 pounds—at a nominal change mander singles came along in useful load. Owners tell us an Rockwell had been trying to early 112 can benefit from the 112A’s bring the right mix of ramp increased gross weight after applying appeal, features and performance look at the Commander 112/114 and a service bulletin and a few dollars. to the general aviation market. The what to expect and consider when Squeezing even more load- Lark, Darter and efforts to revive the shopping for one. carrying ability out of the airframe, Meyers 200 didn’t exactly work out Rockwell delivered the 112B in 1977, the way Rockwell had hoped. MODEL HISTORY still powered by the same 200-HP But it connected with the Com- The Commander single series began Lycoming IO-360-C1D6 as earlier mander 112, thanks to a cabin with life as the Rockwell 112, a 200-HP models. The 112B featured 16-inch dual doors that emphasized easy retractable designed to compete ingress and egress (more appealing against Cessna’s Cardinal RG, Piper’s than the single-door arrangement Arrow and Beech’s Sierra. During its Gus Corujo filmed the Rockwell on Piper and Mooney models), ag- development, Rockwell conducted Commander 114 climbing out gressive styling and a price just shy elaborate studies of pilot preferences in the main photo. Notice the of $25,000. It was a rocky road for and even aviation journalists (Avia- the Commander singles. A series of tion Consumer editors included) were hefty trailing-link landing gear model changes ensued and original invited to take a look at and custom paint work.

24 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE COMMANDER 112/114

35 ft. 8 in.

25 ft. 1 in.

Drawings courtesy www.schemedesigners.com 8 ft. 5 in.

COMMANDER MODEL HISTORY MODEL YEAR ENGINE TBO OVERHAUL FUEL USEFUL LOAD CRUISE TYPICAL RETAIL 1972-73 COMMANDER 112 LYCOMING IO-360-C1D6 2000 $28,000 60 1020 LBS 130 KTS ±$40,000 1974-76 COMMANDER 112A LYCOMING IO-360-C1D6 2000 $28,000 60 1020 LBS 140 KTS ±$47,000 1976 COMMANDER 112TC LYCOMING TO-360-C1A6D 1800 $40,000 60 1020 LBS 177 KTS ±$54,000 1777 COMMANDER 112TC-A LYCOMING TO-360-C1A6D 1800 $40,000 60 1020 LBS 157 KTS ±$59,000 1977 COMMANDER 112B LYCOMING IO-360-C1D6 2000 $28,000 68 1020 LBS 142 KTS ±$55,000 1977-78 COMMANDER 114 LYCOMING IO-540-T4B5D 2000 $35,000 68 1235 LBS 157 KTS ±$95,000 1979 COMMANDER 114A LYCOMING IO-540-T4B5D 2000 $35,000 68 1235 LBS 157 KTS ±$100,000 1992-99 COMMANDER 114B LYCOMING IO-540-T4B5 2000 $35,000 68 1235 LBS 157 KTS ±$140,000 1995-99 COMMANDER 114TC LYCOMING TIO-540-AG1A 2000 $50,000 68 1154 LBS 177 KTS ±$170,000 2000-02 COMMANDER 115 LYCOMING IO-540-T4B5 2000 $35,000 68 1153 LBS 149 KTS ±$210,000

COMMANDER RESALE VALUES SELECT RECENT ADs 1976 112A 1978 114 DATA: AIRCRAFT BLUEBOOK AD 2002-12-07 REPLACE OIL FILTER CONVERTER PLATE 350K – GASKET OR REPETITIVELY INSPECT – 275K – REPLACE OR REPETITIVELY INSPECT – AD 2003-14-03 CERTAIN ROTARY FUEL PUMPS 200K – – 125K – AD 2006-20-09 REPLACE ENGINE CRANKSHAFT AT OVERHAUL OR AFTER 12 YEARS – 50K – AD 2008-14-07 REPETITIVELY INSPECT EXTERNALLY 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2018 MOUNTED FUEL INJECTOR LINES

SELECT LATE-MODEL COMPARISONS

PAYLOAD/FULL FUEL CRUISE SPEEDS PRICE COMPARISONS 1976 COMMANDER 112 1976 COMMANDER 112 1976 COMMANDER 112 ($51,000) 1977 MOONEY 201 1977 MOONEY 201 1977 MOONEY 201 ($68,000)

1978 CESSNA 177RG 1978 CESSNA 177RG 1978 CESSNA 177RG ($56,000) 1977 BEECH SIERRA 1977 BEECH SIERRA 1977 BEECH SIERRA ($33,000) 1977 PIPER ARROW III 1977 PIPER ARROW III 1977 PIPER ARROW III ($62,000) 500 600 700 800 130 140 150 160 30k 40K 50K 60K

DecemberOctober 2018 2009 www.aviationconsumer.comwww.aviationconsumer.comwww.aviationconsumer.com The The Aviation Aviation Consumer Consumer • •• 25 25 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

A Commander has enough panel real estate for modern avionics upgrades. The 114 panel at the top sports a stack of Garmin ra- dios, S-TEC autopilot, electronic engine monitor and a Sandia electronic AI. The one at the bot- tom is in David Dickerson’s Com- mander 114B. It has BendixKing Silver Crown avionics.

up drag improved cruise speed by a handful of knots. In 1979, the final year of Rockwell production, the 114A Gran Turismo model was offered. It featured a three-blade prop, new cowl flaps and an upscale interior; its aver- age equipped price was close to $100,000. COMMANDER 2.0 Rockwell’s production of the Com- mander singles stopped in 1979, but it wasn’t until 1988 that the company got out of the GA business altogether, eventually selling Com- mander rights to Gulfstream, which never produced any of the models. The Commander line soon was reconstituted by a company bear- ing the nameplate’s original name and funded by interests in Kuwait. Headed by Randall Greene, the com- pany purchased a facility in Bethany, Oklahoma, to maintain and repair the existing fleet, and worked toward bringing to market a new model, the wingtip extensions, which allowed T4B5D for 1977 and later models), Commander 114B. raising the gross to 2800 pounds it was often characterized as the In 1992, Commander certified the for a respectable useful load of 1020 airplane the 112 should have been in 114B, which included a 28-volt elec- pounds. By this time the price had the first place. Base price was about trical system (instead of the original climbed to the $50,000 range, which $47,000, and around $63,000 when 14-volt), plus several speed mods was comparable to the Piper Arrow decked out with options. making it faster than the original III. Only minor changes were made in 114, including a newly designed, The B model actually rode on the the all-too-brief four-year production aerodynamically cleaner cowling. coattails of the turbocharged 112TC run of the 114. In 1977, aerodynamic The net result was a cruise-perfor- model, which came out a year earlier improvements gave slightly improved mance improvement of 8-10 knots. with the longer wing. A TC-A model performance. Also, soundproofing Most notable among the changes are brought with it little more than an- was added and fixes were made for a standard-equipment three-blade other 37 pounds of soundproofing. earlier compass interference and prop. Base price of the first 114Bs All 112TC models were powered by a trim-tab freeze-up problems. In mid- was $169,500 (average $215,000, 210-HP Lycoming TO-360-C1A6D. 1977, Rockwell improved the door equipped). A turbocharged version, As is so often the case with a new locks and handles, replacing the the 114TC (powered by a Lycoming aircraft, continuing improvements earlier flipper-style handle to a pull- TIO-540-AG1A), was added in 1995, and a larger engine resulted in a new out/push-up style. Also incorporated with an average equipped price of model, the 114, which arrived in were main gear inner door mods, $417,000. 1976. Powered by a 260-HP IO-540- which filled a small, drag-creating In 2000, Commander upgraded T4A5D Lycoming engine (an IO-540- gap. The additional attention to gear- the model again with improvements

26 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

including a lowered instrument panel, improved seats, an upgraded electrical system and TKS de-icing. These aircraft are designated the 115 and 115TC, respectively. The later Commanders had mod- ern Garmin avionics (GNS530/430 combinations) and BendixKing’s KFC225 digital autopilot, which proved to be a good match for the airplane’s performance—when the system was working—based on our experience with more than one model 115. Our advice is to pay particular attention to the autopilot’s performance when considering one of these later-model Commanders. Earlier ones might be equipped with Century autopilots and many were retrofitted with S-TEC systems. Production ceased in 2002 at the Bethany plant and the company eventually went into bankruptcy. In 2005, 50 Commander single owners banded together, formed the Com- mander Premier Aircraft Corporation A Commander (CPAC) and purchased the assets gets high marks from bankruptcy. for cabin comfort, After moving jigs and other equipment to Cape Girardeau, Mis- with generous souri, CPAC set about to produce legroom and de- spare parts for the fleet, but no new cent ergonomics. airframes. In mid-2009, CPAC an- nounced it had approved a letter That’s a newer of intent to sell itself to Montreal, leather interior Canada-based Aero-Base Inc. At this in the 114 shown point, there are no new production here. Commanders. In all, some 759 Model 112s of all variants were made by Rockwell, along with about 500 114s. In the Climb performance and range of soften otherwise firm arrivals, there 1990s, Commander manufactured the 114 are both adequate. Listed has been a relatively high propor- approximately 127 114B models, plus rate of climb is just over 1000 FPM tion of gear-collapses accidents in the 27 114TCs, while production of the for the 1976 model and 1160 FPM past, so it may not be quite as good 115 and 115TC hovered at around 15 for later ones, comparable to the at sopping up thuds as conventional or so each. Adding all that together, Mooney 201 and Cessna Skylane RG. wisdom suggests. we come up with around 1450 copies The 68-gallon fuel supply is enough Early gear collapse incidents of the various Commander singles for four hours or so at high cruise, typically involved the nosegear and, produced to date. but the 114 lacks the reserves of the according to users experienced with Mooney and Skylane RG, both of the type, eventually were thought to PERFORMANCE which carry more fuel and burn less result from distortion of a thin-wall Blazing speed has never been a sell- of it. tubing pivot pin used in the nosegear ing point for any Commander single. True to its government-contracting trunnion/drag brace assembly. The At 130 knots or so, the original 112 and military experience, Rockwell distortion, it is speculated, results can barely get out of its own way; a built into the Commander line “big from hard or nosewheel-first land- fixed-gear Piper Archer with 20 less airplane” touches when it comes ings. In subsequent models, this horsepower usually can stay even. A to systems. The gear system, for part was changed to a solid pin and Beech Sierra, renowned for its casual example, is massively built, using a collapse incidents ceased. The newer- cross-country pace, can eke out retraction/extension system similar style pin can be retrofitted to any another five knots or so more than a to the Piper Arrow and based on an model without need for an STC and 112. The 114, meanwhile, offers what electrically driven hydraulic pump. has been installed in many of the might be called a gentlemanly cruise Although pilots rave about the earlier 112s and 114s. of about 150 knots. trailing-link design and its ability to Meanwhile, ventilation, electrical

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.comwww.aviationconsumer.com The The Aviation Aviation Consumer Consumer • • 27 27 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

and fuel systems are well thought ROCKWELL 112/114 WRECKS: ENGINES out, in our view. Some later models During our review of the 100 most started a fire. are equipped with air conditioning recent Rockwell 112/114 series Nothing in the accident record of and 130-amp alternators, provid- accidents, we were struck by two the Rockwell 112 and 114 raised any ing more than enough juice to run a things: the relatively few runway flags concerning design of the line. well-equipped cockpit. The fuel system is unique among loss of control (RLOC) mishaps and The number of fuel-related acci- low-wing aircraft for having a both- the high number accidents due to dents was higher than we expected tanks-selected option. One problem poor or lack of maintenance. to see; however, only two involved with the system, however, can crop We credit good overall design for failing to select a tank with fuel in up when the airplane is parked on an the fact that there were only nine it—a problem with systems that uneven surface and “Both” is select- RLOC events—evidence that the give pilots tank selection options ed: Fuel can fill the lower tank, caus- marque’s reputation for good han- beyond on and off. The remainder ing it to overflow. Switch to “Off” to dling is deserved. We think further involved pilots running completely prevent this problem. support for the rep is shown by the out of fuel or failing to remove con- The engine compartment suits low number of stall crashes—three. taminants before takeoff. the overall size of the airplane and We hypothesize that more than We do not consider a 112 or 114 the engine’s rear-mounted accessory case is readily accessible to fix what a few pilots bought the complex as a backcountry or short-field breaks. Getting to that point, how- Rockwell singles because of the low machine, so respect for takeoff ever, requires removing the single- purchase price then discovered that performance numbers as well as piece top cowling half. Doing so isn’t a complex airplane is expensive to density altitude is warranted. That an extreme burden, but is one more maintain and scrimped on mainte- was confirmed by four pilots who thing to plan for when doing much nance. Two fires due to failure to do hit obstructions after takeoff and more than checking the oil. routine inspections of the exhaust two crashes in the mountains where Owners give the cabin high grades system on turbocharged models got the pilots flew into rising terrain. for roominess and volume, if not our undivided attention as did three Eight pilots pushed on trying payload: The 112s generally have 30 crashes in which the fuel lines were to fly VFR into IMC and crashed. to 150 pounds less useful load than so full of crud that fuel couldn’t get Three went well below approach other 200-HP retractables, although the margin diminishes with the A to the engine. minimums and hit terrain. One, and B models. Part of this is due to One owner decided that having instrument-rated, lost control not the high-parts-count build; there’s had two prop strikes didn’t warrant long after he entered the clouds on a lot of stuff in the Commander checking out the engine or propel- an instrument flight plan. airframe. ler. The reward for his diligence was An owner who requested a GPU And, while the 114’s loading a prop hub that failed in flight due start had the aircraft’s battery picture is much better, there’s no to propagation of a fatigue crack explode when he turned on the free lunch: The 114 comes with a initiated by one of the prop strikes. master switch. The GPU was putting zero-fuel weight (ZFW) limit of 2852 Poor or nonexistent maintenance 28 volts into a 14-volt system. pounds for normal-category opera- on airframe components such as Finally, we felt the terror and tions, 2500 for the utility category. the landing gear caused seven ac- shock of the Rockwell pilot who was With a typical empty weight of 1905 pounds, according to the Aircraft cidents, including two in which the idling on a narrow taxiway when Bluebook, this limits cabin payload nosegear steering system failed and a P-51 ran into his airplane and to around 950 pounds for everyday the aircraft ran off the runway. One chopped off the tail. flying. Other models certificated owner declined to repair his leak- subsequent to the 114 also have a ing fuel system despite warnings zero-fuel weight in their paperwork: from other pilots. The leaks grew so ACCIDENT SUMMARY The 112TC, 112B, 112TCA and 114B extensive that, to our surprise, the include the limitation, with the exact ENGINE/MECH (23%) airplane didn’t catch on fire, it just value determined by CG location. By lost so much fuel on one flight that OTHER (18%) the time the 114TC came along, the only air was available to the engine. FUEL-RELATED (14%) ZFW was set at 3000 pounds, 305 We rarely see anything new IMC FLIGHT-RELATED (14%) less than max gross, regardless of CG. when we review accident reports; RLOC (9%) AIRFRAME/MECH (7%) INSPECTION REQUIRED however, we were struck by the By the mid-1980s, not long after owner who decided to design, build BOTCHED GO-AROUND (4%) Rockwell production ceased, struc- and install a “lower drag” exhaust LOW FLYING (4%) tural problems began cropping up in system for his airplane. It lasted six HIT OBS AFTER TO (4%) the fleet: Wing spars were cracking hours before the collector cracked, STALL (3%) due to stress caused by gear retrac- hot gases opened up a fuel line and tion. Two lengthy service bulletins (Gulfstream Aerospace Service Bul-

28 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

READER SERVICES TO VIEW OUR WEBSITE Visit us at: www.aviationconsumer.com

FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: Phone us at: 800-829-9081 That’s Rick Crepas’ 1978 Rock- on the repair and upgrading of all well Commander 114 in the Commander 112/114s in the U.S. TO CHANGE YOUR MAILING OR photo. He chose it over a Bo- and overseas. Announcing the settle- EMAIL ADDRESS, RENEW YOUR ment, COA President David Kaplan, SUBSCRIPTION OR TO nanza and a Mooney for its and attorneys Stanley H. Rozanski CHECK PAYMENT STATUS, cabin size and likes it better and Steven R. Levy, noted it was val- VISIT OUR than his T-34 Mentor. ued in excess of $12 million. ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE: A final airworthiness directive (90-4-7, which superseded AD 87- Log on at: letin Nos. SB-112-71C or SB-114-22C, 14-03 and also is the most recent www.aviationconsumer.com/cs depending on aircraft model) were type-specific AD) incorporated the issued by Gulfstream, by then the revised procedures described in the To change your address by mail, attach your present mailing label to marque’s owner, calling for inspec- third version of the service bulletins. this form (or a copy of this form), enter tion and repair if needed. There were That AD called for repetitive inspec- your new address below and mail it to: other mods to brace the spar if it tions until the modifications called wasn’t cracked. All of this was given out in the wing-spar service bulletins the force of law by AD 87-14-03. were completed. Actual work on the THE AVIATION CONSUMER The wings weren’t the only mods has been performed by the P.O. Box 8535 problem. The tail’s vertical spar new Commander Aircraft Co., and Big Sandy, TX 75755-8535 attachment was cracking, too. A newer 114Bs and 115s had them fix—for $2500—was mandated by incorporated at the factory. AD 88-05-06. Then there were the For those paying attention in the Name______seats. The history of this problem 1970s, the irony of all this is how Company______goes back to the mid-1970s and Rockwell’s original marketing efforts AD 77-16-09, requiring strengthen- highlighted the 112/114’s strength. Address______ing of the front seat framework and Having said that, the Commander Address 2______seat belt attachment. Then in 1985, line is, nonetheless, a robust if com- City______another AD (85-3-4, now in Revision plex airplane whose build method 2) came out following a couple of has more in common with military State______Zip:______accidents in which front seat rollers aircraft than with a modern Cirrus, Email______failed and the seats came loose. This as an example. And the good news involved aircraft in compliance with is that since the wing spar AD was To order or renew a subscription, the earlier AD. The new AD ordered released in 1990, the Commander enter your name and address above and modification of the front seat base line has had only one additional AD, check the subscription term you prefer: and relocation of the shoulder strap an inconsequential bulletin for the [ ] 1 year (12 issues) $69 anchor to the cabin roof between the 114TC requiring replacement of an [ ] 6 months (6 issues) $34.50 front and rear seats. exhaust clamp. There are no ADs on [ ] Check enclosed [ ] AMEX As one result of these ADs, the the 114B and subsequent models. [ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa Commander Owners Association Finally, the Commander wing un- (COA) was formed. The issue was derwent fatigue testing, with proven Card #______not only the efficacy of the wing good results. Expiration Date______modifications, but who was going Signature______to pay for them and the tail mods. MAINTENANCE By spring 1989, after almost three Other than compliance with the YOUR RENEWAL years of legal pressure from COA, ADs, the good news is maintaining IS JUST A CLICK AWAY! Gulfstream Aerospace and Rockwell a Commander single isn’t anything www.aviationconsumer.com International agreed to a settlement out of the ordinary. Still, potential

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.comwww.aviationconsumer.com The The Aviation Aviation Consumer Consumer • • 29 29 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE

features an over-center position. There’s also a neutral, or power-off, position in between. According to the FAA, a fatal Commander ac- cident investigation found a model 112 with its flaps fully extended shortly after takeoff. The FAA cau- tions pilots to verify the flap switch’s operation on the ground as part of the preflight procedures. We think exercising the flaps stop-to-stop is a good idea during preflight on any airplane. AFTERMARKET MODS Despite a relatively small popula- tion in the field, there’s a long list of STCs available for the Commander 112/114 series. A good source for research is Commander Owners Group, or COG (www.commander. org). COG’s website has good in- The Commander’s beefy trailing- formation on buying and operating link landing gear might soften these aircraft, plus a forum. Cost firm landings, but thorough is $75 a year. Another resource is CPAC, which also maintains a web- inspection is a must. Gear col- site at www.commanderair.com, and lapses aren’t uncommon to some has secured FAA parts manufactur- Commanders. ing authority (PMA) for a number of components. Most mods offer minor improvements or replacements of wing and tail AD-required mods existing parts. have not been performed need an There are engine mods, too. One inspection every 100 hours, or until is the Hot Shot turbonormalizing terminating modifications are made. system offered by RCM Normal- There’s also a fuel line inspection AD izing (www.rcmnormalizing.com, applicable to nearly all fuel-injected 805-215-2982). The company also Lycoming engines regardless of air- has spring door kits, a sturdy land- buyers would do well to check over craft model. ing light mounting kit, plus a flap the paperwork to verify the logs re- Other problem areas reported by gap and aileron seal kit, which is flect compliance. Owners and shops owners include nosewheel shimmy, advertised to boost cruise speed by 3 familiar with the rest of the fleet tell corroding flap attach brackets and knots or more and offer better climb us there are very few aircraft without aileron hinge cracks. All in all, once and tighter slow-speed handling. the mods, but they likely do exist. the SBs and ADs are resolved, there’s Want to make your Commander Do your homework before buying nothing special about maintaining a hot rod? Vermont-based Aero- any Commander, which is true of a 112/114 when compared to other dyme (www.aerodyme.com, 802- any used aircraft, of course. piston airplanes of similar vintage. 264-6400) has two STCs for engine The 200-HP Lycoming engine on Good news includes field sup- upgrades on both 112s and 114s. the 112 Commanders is generally port: Parts availability is, reportedly, The 580 Super Commander upgrade considered a reliable player these no problem at all. We’re also hear- was born when company founder days, as is the 260-HP version on ing from owners that overall, their Jim Richards wanted more speed the 114. But the turbocharged model airplanes are easy to maintain and from his own model 114. With help had reports of broken or cracked upgrade. from Lycoming, the 320-HP IO-580- turbine housings and the aforemen- Finally, a recent FAA Special B1A STC made that happen. With a tioned exhaust clamp problem. Airworthiness Information Bulletin Hartzell 78-inch three-blade scimitar In addition to the airframe ADs (SAIB) calls owners’ attention to prop, a new ram air induction system originating in the mid-1980s, an in- the possibility a Commander’s flap and dual exhaust, Aerodyme adver- dividual example of a 112/114 might switch may be operating or installed tises 185-knot cruise speeds (175 be subject to an AD on Hartzell improperly. The normal switch’s true), 2500 FPM sea-level climbs and prop hubs: Some two-blade props operation is relatively common 1200-foot takeoff performance. Once installed on early models may need across different manufacturers and is it’s off, a Super Commander has a regular inspections. Meanwhile, spring-loaded in the extension posi- 21-percent climb gradient that can the very few airplanes on which the tion. To retract the flaps, the switch hustle to 12,000 feet in 12 minutes,

30 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018 USED AIRCRAFT GUIDE USEDAVweb_Vrt_BlvrAvtnAd_final_4C AIRCRAFT GUIDE 12/13/06 8:41 AM Page 1

AVweb’s TOP FIVE • Podcasts – Biweekly podcasts with aviation newsmakers The 580 Super Commander met and exceeded my requirements. • Brainteasers – Put your What tipped the scale was the roomy mod from Aerodyme includes a aviation knowledge to the test 320-HP Lycoming IO-580 and cockpit, two doors and that it can handle four adults with no weight with these interactive quizzes a Hartzell scimitar prop. Expect and balance issues. The two-door • – cruise speeds near 180 knots design was very important to me Video of the week Some of the most interesting down low. because I fly with my family and I wanted two ways out if anything plane and pilot videos around goes wrong. • – says Aerodyme. The mod is available The airplane attracts a lot of at- Picture of the week for 114/A/B, 114TC and 115-model tention everywhere I go. A ramp A showcase for our readers Commanders. Aircraft Bluebook sug- comment I’ve heard more than once: keen eyes an impeccable taste gests adding $80,000 to the average “Now that is what an airplane should in aerial photography retail price of a used Commander. look like.” The large spinner, great Aerodyme also has an STC to lines and the mid-tail give it a pres- • The Pilot’s Lounge – retrofit the 210-HP Lycoming IO-390 ence on the ramp that is hard to beat. Need we say more! into Commander 112s. This package As an IFR platform it is perfect, in includes a similar intake and exhaust my view, because it’s stable, predict- change and the 74-inch prop. The net able and inspires confidence. Now All this and more gain is about 25 HP worth of perfor- that I have made multiple long- mance, about 1200 FPM climb at sea distance trips, I am absolutely in love FREE level and cruise in the high 130s at with this airplane. It is extremely 12 GPH. well built, looks great, has a comfort- at AVweb.com The FAA repair station also does able cabin, is fuel efficient and gener- avionics upgrades, engine monitor ally affordable to purchase and own. installations, rebuilds instrument The Commander may not be as panels, plus supplies service parts fast as some other four-place aircraft, and offers airframe inspections. but I would rather show up little later It currently lists an annual inspec- and fresh, than be quicker and fa- tion for $2195, and $1500 when tigued. The first long trip I took with done in conjunction with one of my wife along was to South Carolina Aerodyme’s STCs. There’s also a $250 from Michigan, which took just over landing gear actuator refurbishment three hours. My wife got out of the service. plane and commented that she felt great, and couldn’t believe we were OWNER FEEDBACK already there. She has back issues, so I purchased my 1978 Rockwell that statement meant a lot. It’s been SUBSCRIBE Commander 114 approximately six her experience on multiple trips. months ago and have flown it 105 I have owned several aircraft, in- TODAY! hours so far. cluding my current 1957 Beech T-34 I was looking to purchase a true Mentor, along with the Commander at four-place airplane that would be a and the Commander is my favorite. good IFR platform. I was looking at AVweb.com/register Mooneys, Bonanzas and Command- Rick Crepas ers. Ultimately, the Commander via email

October 2018 www.aviationconsumer.com The Aviation Consumer • 31 FEEDBACK WANTED COLUMBIA 300/350

We’re preparing a report on the Columbia/Cessna 300/350 piston single market in an upcoming Used Aircraft Guide in Aviation Consumer. We want to know what SpotX satcomm start at $11.95 with a 12-month commitment and allow for 20 total it’s like to own these airplanes, (continued from page 19) messages. Unlimited messages with how much they cost to operate, no commitment (Flex) is $39.95. Visit maintain and insure and what tant factor in reducing the size of www.findmespot.com for a complete they’re like to fly. If you’d like your the search area. From an SAR point fee structure. airplane to appear in the maga- of view, 2.5-minute tracking resolu- Satcomm fees aren’t cheap, but zine, send us any photographs tion can help reduce the search area. like the SpotX, could be worth it for (full-size, high-resolution please) With GPS-derived latitude/longitude those needing ubiquitous access to you’d like to share to the email included in the tracking messages and texts, email and SOS whether on the below. We welcome information SOS message, the search area can be ground or at high altitudes, maintain- on mods, operating expenses or narrowed. Pinpointing the device’s ing the cyber umbilical cord. any other comments that can last known location will be based upon the specifics of the terrain, for Contributor Phil Lightstone is a long- be helpful for buyers consider- example in an open field versus under time IT and telecommunications profes- ing one. Send correspondence by a forest’s canopy. sional and aviation author. November 15, 2018, to: The SOS message may be custom- ized from your online internet ac- uAvionix Aviation Consumer count and will be sent to the IERCC. Email at: There’s also a service for non-life- (continued from page 23) ConsumerEditor@ threatening situations, and Spot has hotmail.com partnered with the NSD Motor Club unwanted attention from incum- for 24/7 vehicle/motorcycle services. bents,” uAvionix said. The company It’s available in the U.S. and Canada said it won’t be able to comment on products “are not merely for amuse- and is $30 per year. Working along- the proceedings, which will take some ment, to satisfy idle curiosity or for side the SpotX device is the Spot app time to resolve. strictly philosophical inquiry, but for iOS and Android smartphones and Garmin doesn’t comment on any instead have a definite, cognizable tablets. The app displays georeferenced ongoing litigation, although the litiga- and not insubstantial commercial breadcrumbs superimposed onto a tion document states that it sells the purpose.” Yes, the uAvionics ADS-B Google map. The app allows filtering GDL82, GDL84 and GDL88 ADS-B products directly compete with Gar- to display your breadcrumb track of systems to Garmin OEMs and dealers, min’s low-cost (under $2000) ADS-B a specific flight and I found it to be and it “competes directly with uAvion- Out solutions. a handy application for others to see ix.” The document also says uAvionix Some buyers are understandably your flights. approached Garmin with “promises of concerned about investing in any new technology in the drone market uAvionix product given this lawsuit. CONCLUSION and Garmin engaged in extensive The company said publically that “this So far I’ve used the SpotX for more communications and meetings with suit in no way impacts our ability to than 30 hours and find the website, uAvionix throughout 2016 and 2017,” certify and ship any of our products— updater application and the SpotX and realized that uAvionix had not including the skyBeacon and tailBea- device itself easy to use. The hardware developed any new technology. It con. We are innovators with integrity is robust and the display is easy to goes on to say Garmin made efforts to and are defending that integrity.” read in direct sunlight, while sending resolve the infringement on the 301 With the ADS-B equipage mandate and receiving messages in the airplane Patent before resorting to litigation. nearly 15 months away, we’ll be fol- is simple—click, type and send. The document reitorates that the lowing and reporting on this litigation Basic monthly subscription fees uAvionix EchoUAT and skyBeacon in future ADS-B coverage.

32 • The Aviation Consumer www.aviationconsumer.com October 2018