April 10, 2013

By The AVweb Editorial Staff

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. AVflash! Senators Circle Wagons for Control Towers back to top  Senators Move To Stop Tower Closures A bipartisan group of senators will introduce legislation to stop the FAA from closing any control towers to meet its sequester cut requirements. "The Protect Our Skies Act, which is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 18 Senators, would prohibit the Department of Transportation (DOT) from closing any air traffic control towers, including those that are operated by the FAA," says a news release issued by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., one of the bill's sponsors. A half-dozen senators and NBAA President Ed Bolen were scheduled to have a news conference at the Capitol Wednesday to introduce the bill. The group said the control tower closure announced by the FAA two weeks ago was the "result of being targeted for sequestration cuts disproportionate to other agencies." The FAA announced last week that it was delaying the closure of the 149 towers until June 15 because of legal challenges that have popped up around the country. 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. ADS-B Dominates Sun 'n Fun back to top  More ADS-B From Sporty's As yet more portable ADS-B products hit the market, Sporty's Pilot Shop is out today with a second generation of its hot-selling Stratus. The new device is being produced in a partnership between Sporty's, ForeFlight and Appareo, which developed the hardware. Like the Clarity, it will feature dual-band traffic and an AHRS to be displayed on a separate app called Stratus Horizon. The second-generation Stratus -- which is out almost a year to the day after the first model appeared -- will sell for $899 and will be available in late April. It features battery life of up eight hours and has external jacks for GPS and ADS-B antennas. 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. Video: ForeFlight's New Stratus with AHRS Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos At Sun 'n Fun 2013, ForeFlight and Sporty's introduced the new Stratus ADS-B portable, which features two-band traffic and an AHRS. ForeFlight's Tyson Weihs gave AVweb a tour of the new gadget. Don't see a video screen? Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page. If that doesn't work, click here to watch on YouTube This video is brought to you by Aspen Avionics, Flying Eyes Pilot Sunglasses, Sennheiser, and Garmin. FIND THEM AT: D-034 D-035 D-036 D-037 D-038 D-043 D-044 D-045 N-011 Garmin G3X Systems Now Starting at $4,375 Now you have even more options when installing a Garmin G3X™. A new Garmin autopilot system brings robust capabilities to virtually any aircraft. An angle of attack pitot provides accurate, real-time measurement of wing performance to provide stall margin indication. And best of all, a new ADHARS unit and other essential system components means you can get a complete G3X system for a new low price starting at only $4,375. Learn more. Connecting Pilots back to top  SocialFlight Expands Reach, Gains Media Partners SocialFlight, a free mobile app that aims to bring pilots together by providing an easy source of information about aviation events, has grown to 15,000 users since its launch just nine months ago, founder Jeff Simon said at Sun 'n Fun on Tuesday. The app has also evolved to version 3.0. "We're adding 1,000 users a month," Simon said, "and the database users are adding 10 to 15 events a day. What we hear from users is, 'I'm flying more.'" Simon said he hopes the app will help the pilot community to grow and encourage pilots to fly more often, by making it easy to find a nearby event to fly to. Simon also announced that AVweb, Kitplanes, and General Aviation News have signed on as partners to bring SocialFlight's utility to their readership, both in print and online. SocialFlight will provide event information to the publications. Simon said the site will always be free to users, and he hopes to support it through advertising. Visitors to the SocialFlight site can sign up for a weekly email that will provide information about the events they are interested in, according to the parameters they choose. They can also choose to use various social-networking options. The ease of making connections via the site has encouraged users to create new events, Simon said. The concept will likely expand to other communities, such as motorcycle and car enthusiasts. AVweb's Mary Grady spoke with Simon about the app at Sun 'n Fun on Tuesday; click here to listen. 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. Podcast: SocialFlight Brings Pilots Together File Size 4.6 MB / Running Time 5:03 Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS Anyone looking for an excuse to fly might want to look up SocialFlight. AVweb's Mary Grady found out about the rapid growth of the site from SocialFlight's Jeff Simon at Sun 'n Fun 2013. This podcast is brought to you by Sennheiser, Bendix/King by Honeywell, Garmin, and Lightspeed Aviation. Click here to listen. (4.6 MB, 5:03) 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. Think of It as the Sun 'n Fun Home Edition back to top  Video: Redbird's Unique Take on Desktop Training Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos At Sun 'n Fun 2013, Redbird showed off a new desktop training device capable of flying detailed and novel flight scenarios for training. It's a dedicated box selling for $2,495. In this AVweb video, Redbird's Jeff Van West gave us a tour of the new product. Don't see a video screen? Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page. If that doesn't work, click here to watch on YouTube This video is brought to you by Lightspeed Aviation, XM WX Satellite Weather, Bose Corporation, and Bendix/King by Honeywell. 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. More Flight Data for Your All-Purpose Devices back to top  Podcast: WSI Introduces In-Flight Options File Size 4.3 MB / Running Time 4:44 Podcast Index | How to Listen | Subscribe Via RSS WSI is bringing its popular line of weather products to your computer or iPad. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli spoke with Jamie Zajac at Sun 'n Fun 2013. This podcast is brought to you by Aspen Avionics, Flying Eyes Pilot Sunglasses, Bose Corporation, and XM WX Satellite Weather. Click here to listen. (4.3 MB, 4:44) 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. Buy, Then Fly back to top  Piper Sells 35 Trainers To CAE Fleet Piper Aircraft has sold 35 single-engine and twin-engine training aircraft to CAE, which will add the airplanes to the Oxford Aviation Academy fleets in Phoenix, Ariz., and Oxford, U.K., the companies announced Tuesday at Sun 'n Fun. The agreement includes firm orders for 22 single-engine Archer TX training airplanes and 13 twin-engine trainers, as well as parts and service. Deliveries will start this spring. All of the aircraft will be equipped with Garmin G1000 avionics suites and Garmin traffic advisory systems. The airplanes will also be equipped with CAE-designed flight data analysis and cockpit video recording systems. The systems will record data, audio and video that can be replayed immediately after the flight to help debrief students using flight animation with synchronized audio/video. The systems also will enable CAE to gather data for statistical analysis that should help to improve safety and performance. Piper also said it's beefing up its global sales force to focus on fleet sales of trainer aircraft as well as the M-Class and Twin-Class lines. Peerless Electronics E-Commerce Store Now Open! Peerless Electronics Inc. has been supplying switches, circuit breakers, relays, splices, shrink tubing and connectors to many of the world's largest aerospace manufacturers since 1945! We are an authorized stocking distributor for Sensata Klixon™, Honeywell S&C (including Hobbs & MicroSwitch™), Eaton, OTTO, Leach, TE Connectivity (including AMP™ and Raychem™) and more! Our e-commerce store features spec sheets, photos, movies and one-stop shopping for your aerospace electrical component needs. To shop now, click here. Who's Where back to top  Who's Where? You Tell Us Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. Advanced Flight Instruction: A Teaching Guide for Aviators Available from AVweb Bookstore The tools and techniques world-class instructors use to stand out as the best of the best. Click here to read more or order. Advanced Flight Instruction Book: $21.95 eBook $19.95 The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! back to top  AVweb's Newstips Address ... Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. Looking for Low-Cost, Yet Effective, Marketing Options? Let AVweb assist your company in creating effective direct-response marketing campaigns to generate leads. No other digital aviation news media reaches more qualified subscribers more often. Text messages in newsletters combined with online banners reach over 255,000 readers monthly and deliver more new users to sponsor sites weekly than most print publications do monthly. Click now for details. Names Behind the News back to top  Meet the AVwebFlash Team AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource. The AVwebFlash team is: Publisher Tom Bliss Editorial Director, Aviation Publications Paul Bertorelli Editor-in-Chief Russ Niles Webmaster Scott Simmons Contributing Editors Mary Grady Glenn Pew Contributors Kevin Lane-Cummings Ad Coordinator Karen Lund Avionics Editor Larry Anglisano Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481]. Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.) Comments or questions about the news should be sent here. If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your phone or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here. Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.