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April 9, 2013
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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FIND THEM AT:
B-078
B-079
B-090
B-091 |
Aspen Avionics Introduces ADS-B Solutions
Designed to work with what you already have in your panel, Aspen's affordable NextGen ADS-B solutions provide an easy, cost-effective path to increased situational awareness and meeting the
FAA's NextGen mandate. Try our simple ADS-B solution finder to get started, at
AspenAvionics.com/EasyADSB. 
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Every airshow, no matter where or when, has its share of challenges, and hopefully its share of good luck, too, and this year's edition of Sun 'n Fun, in Lakeland, Fla., seems to have plenty of
both. No military jet team will appear to split the sky with a pure booming roar, thanks to the federal sequester. No military aircraft at all will make it to the show, but Sun 'n Fun CEO John "Lites"
Leenhouts has no gripe with that. "I understand that, I was in the military, and when you have to cut back, you cut down on the stuff that's not mission-oriented," he told AVweb on Monday. He
said the organization put out a call to warbird fliers around the country to come to the show and fill in that void, and quite a few are flying in from around the nation. "Our vintage ramp is fuller
now than it was last year, two days in," Leenhouts said. "The campground is fuller. This year looks to be a banner year."
Leenhouts said he offered discounts to vendors who hadn't been to the show in a while to get them back on the grounds, and he's shortened the airshow to three hours, instead of four, so the crowds
don't disappear to the flight lines too early. Despite the military pullout, the airshows will have a varied lineup of performers, with Michael Goulian, Patty Wagstaff, the Bat Copter, and many more,
and two night airshows, Friday and Saturday. The Geico Skytypers will fly for their first time at Sun 'n Fun, and Team Aerodynamic -- 12 RVs flying in formation -- will perform in the night show for
the first time. The Black Diamond jet team, featuring MiG-17s and L-39s, will fly Wednesday through Saturday. Here and there are signs that the industry is still not expecting airplanes to sell like
hotcakes -- Cessna's exhibit has fewer jets than it used to, and Cirrus skipped the show -- but signs of life and optimism abound, and there are plenty of shiny new aircraft of all shapes and sizes to
encourage any pilot to dream about their next set of wings. On Monday, the weather was near-perfect, with bright sun and gentle breezes. The forecast suggests some showers and rain later in the week,
but whatever comes -- tornadoes, sequesters, economic downturns -- for this one week every year, there's Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland.
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FIND THEM AT:
SNF-009 |
Bose® A20® Aviation Headset
Focus on what matters. Flying.
Better sound matters. So does comfort. That's why the A20 headset is designed with proprietary ear cushions to provide quality acoustic seals, even over eyeglasses. So you can fly
comfortably for hours. And 30% greater noise reduction than conventional noise-reducing aviation headsets means you hear more of what you need to hear. Also features Bluetooth® communications interface,* auxiliary audio input, and priority switching.
Learn more.
* Available in certain variants of the headset.
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The FAA's decision to delay its tower shutdowns until June was a save for Sun 'n Fun, but the federal government still has declined to pay all the expenses of sending 50 extra controllers and 20
technicians to cope with the traffic, so the bill -- an estimated $285,000 -- is going to the Sun 'n Fun organization. "That's a pretty substantial chunk of money," Sun 'n Fun CEO John "Lites"
Leenhouts told AVweb on Monday. To raise the funds, Sun 'n Fun has put together a coalition of donors in the state and local area who are pitching in to support the event. Leenhouts also said
the focus of Sun 'n Fun this year is on the pilot community, with more attention to workshops and sport flying, lower ticket fees for anyone who flies in, and less emphasis on the airshow.
Leenhouts also said the experiment last year to organize additional events year-round on the Sun 'n Fun campus was successful, and will expand in the future. Events included fly-outs to the
Bahamas, AOPA and EAA fly-ins and gatherings, a weekend fly-in for local scouts, and a barbecue fly-in last fall that brought in about 200 airplanes. A major change to the Sun 'n Fun site for this
year's event is a new paved road that leads to the LSA Mall and the ultralight area at Paradise City, with an improved grass strip that will allow operations to continue all day, even during the
airshow. Those changes have had an impact, according to Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association. At the new LSA Mall, he said on Monday, exhibitors are up from 25 a year
ago to 44 this year.
For more details from Leenhout's conversation with AVweb's Mary Grady, click here to listen to the podcast.
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FIND THEM AT:
D-034
D-035
D-036
D-037
D-038
D-043
D-044
D-045
N-011 |
Track Up with Garmin Pilot™
With new dynamic navigation maps in Garmin Pilot, you can now choose Track Up map orientation to see what lies ahead. You can also configure maps by turning on or off different
airspaces, airports, and other features. Garmin SafeTaxi ® airport diagrams are integrated right into the map, as well. Plus, you can now annotate procedures to
highlight approach minimums, jot down frequencies, and more.
Click here for more information.
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FIND THEM AT:
B-084
B-085 |
Come to See Sennheiser and Spectacular
Air Show Performers at Sun 'n Fun
Join Sennheiser at Sun 'n Fun (booths B-84 & B-85) and experience a new level of customization and comfort in the cockpit with the S1 family of aviation headsets. Try out our
groundbreaking S1 Digital with digital adaptive noise reduction or the S1 Passive with adjustable clamping pressure and judge for yourself. And if you have always wanted to ride along
with an air show performer, stop by our booth and find out how that dream can become a reality.
Learn more.
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Sagetech, a company little known among general aviation pilots, has introduced a new portable ADS-B box at Sun 'n Fun that combines weather, traffic and a compact, sophisticated AHRS with synthetic
vision. If it sounds like this gadget can turn your iPad into a basic EFIS, that's exactly what it does, according to Sagetech. Measuring about two inches square and an inch or so high, the Clarity is
powered by an internal rechargeable lithium ion battery and from a perch on the glaresheild -- or perhaps elsewhere in the aircraft -- the Clarity transmits its data through a dedicated wireless
network, similar to other ADS-B devices already on the market. It works with about five popular tablet apps, including WingXPro.
There are two version of the Clarity. The basic model sells for $1150 and includes dual-band ADS-B (978 and 1090 MHz) and a 66 channel WAAS GPS. The Clarity SV model, which sells for $1400,
includes the AHRS. Both models fit into a soft, slide-resistant mount that attaches firmly to smooth, flat surfaces.
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FIND THEM AT:
D-051
D-053 |
Save $100 on Zulu.2 from Lightspeed Aviation
Gear up for the flying season with Lightspeed Aviation's Spring Sale. April 1 through May 31, 2013, participating dealers will be offering $100 instant savings on
the top-of-the-line headset from the company ranked #1 in the latest Professional Pilot Headset Preference Survey.
Click here to learn more.
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FIND THEM AT:
B-080
B-081
B-088
B-089 |
Bendix/King myWingMan Navigator App
There's no easier way to fly informed.
Ease-of-use is on every pilot's checklist — myWingMan delivers. With sophisticated yet intuitive flight planning, simply enter your start point and end point and go. It'll calculate your
best route — VFR and IFR — based on your weather and terrain conditions. Two- and three-way split-screen options give you flexible, custom views.
Just touch. And go.
Visit PreviewMyWingman.com.
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Well, it's not entirely new, but it's the first time this no-nonsense pickup truck of an airplane has appeared at Sun 'n Fun and in the U.S. The Discovery 201 is an offshoot of a Russian design
called the Akord 201, which found some service in Russia as a heavy-hauling utility airplane. The aircraft has a pair of Continental IO-360s (210 hp each) mounted on a high wing close to the
centerline, vaguely reminiscent of a PBY or a Grumman Goose. It's got a pair of clamshell doors in the back for loading heavy or large cargo and can easily accommodate more than eight feet if the rear
seats are removed.
Question is, what's it doing here?
Discovery Aviation's Rick Cunliffe told AVweb at Sun 'n Fun Monday that his company is planning to build the airplane at a production facility in Melbourne, Fla., and will market it in the
U.S. as a unique cargo and working airplane. The aircraft on display at Lakeland has been fully brought up to date with Garmin 500 EFIS equipment and although the exact price hasn't been set yet,
Cunliffe said it would probably be just under $1 million. The Discovery 201 is designed for operations from unimproved landing areas and it can also accommodate floats and skis.
For more, see AVweb's video in today's Sun 'n Fun coverage.
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FIND THEM AT:
C-049
C-050 |
Headset-Friendly Sunglasses
A private pilot in sunny California, tired of sunglasses becoming uncomfortable on long flights and causing noise leaks in his headset seal, has designed a completely unique pair of sunglasses.
Flying Eyes exist for one specific purpose: to be the best, most comfortable sunglasses to wear with a headset. Prescription lenses available by special order. Standard bifocal/readers in
stock. Visit us at Sun 'n Fun at the MyGoFlight booth (#C-049, C-050).
Watch the video review and take advantage of our special introductory price.
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FIND THEM AT:
C-024
C-025
C-026 |
Weather with Perspective
XM WX Satellite Weather gives you onboard perspective on the weather. Graphical data like Radar, Lightning, Winds, and more enhance your situational awareness and are compatible with the
industry's leading MFDs, EFBs, glass cockpits, and now the iPad. Additionally, flexible subscription options ensure you get the dataset that's right for you. Come see the latest from XM WX Satellite
Weather at booth C-024 during Sun N Fun 2013 or
visit us online at XMWXweather.com/aviation. 
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The president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association says the industry has been underreporting the impact of the LSA sector on aviation as a whole and is remedying that with new numbers.
Dan Johnson told AVweb at Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland, Fla., that his group took a conservative approach to reporting LSA numbers by relying solely on completed registrations with the FAA. That, he
said, left out whole segments of the industry that are legitimate contributors to its overall contribution. "We've been kind of underreporting the size of the community," he said. In fact, he said,
there are about 8,000 light sport aircraft flying in the U.S.
He said the association's previous reporting method ignored weight-shift aircraft, gliders and everything else that wasn't a completed airplane, which by definition has three-axis controls. If the
"alternative" types plus all the experimental and LSA-eligible kits that have been completed in the eight years since LSA became a reality are tallied up and added to the two-seat ultralights that
found a regulatory home under the new rule, that equals the 8,000. In terms of more immediate impact, Johnson said the more liberal accounting method brings to 383 the number of LSAs added to the
fleet in 2012. That's about half the number of single-engine piston aircraft reported by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He said that means light sport represented a third of the
market for single-engine aircraft in terms of the number of airframes. "We think that's a pretty significant number," he said.
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Traditional Tactics Need a Fresh Approach
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Isn't it time to initiate a digital marketing program with AVweb that will deliver traffic and orders
directly to your web site? Discover several new and highly successful marketing options to use in lieu of static print or banner campaigns.
Click now for
details.
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