What's New -- Products and Services

Each month, AVweb will bring you a quick survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners. This month we have a new audio panel, fiber-optic post lights and more. In some cases, AVweb has actually examined the product; in other cases, we are just letting you know it exists.

If you know of a new product or service other AVweb readers should hear about, please send us a note.

Fiber-Optic Instrument Post Light

Engineering Alternatives brings LED and fiber-optic technology to instrument panels with their new lighting system.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have long been known for their extended life span -- 100,000 hours in this system -- and very low power consumption. Now that LEDs are mass-produced and the price has come down, they can be used in many more situations.

Weighing less than two ounces, the LS-1 light source is placed somewhere in the instrument panel and connected to 12V or 24V DC. The source produces red or white (or other customized alternatives), which then is distributed to as many as 12 PL-1 post lights via lightweight fiber optic cables. The PL-1 post lights all protrude about 1.06" from the panel and then angle back to project the light source at the instruments.

The light source can be dimmed with any standard dimmer, and will illuminate most other brands of fiber optic instrument and label plate backlights.

More information is available from the Engineering Alternatives Web site.

PS Engineering PMA8000 Audio Panel

At the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Las Vegas, PS Engineering announced the availability of the PMA8000, an update to their PMA7000 line of audio panels.

The PMA8000 has audio features most desired by pilots -- such as split-COM mode, cell-phone interface, 6-place intercom, and dual, independent, music inputs -- but designed into a package that is a true plug-and-play replacement for the Garmin 340 audio panel. This makes PS Engineering audio features available to aircraft owners who don't want to upgrade the rest of a Garmin radio stack.

Other features include a built-in marker beacon receiver and an ability to serve as a remote control head for PS Engineering's future In-Flight Entertainment systems. An automatic intercom squelch system eliminates all of the traditional knobs or push buttons for radio squelch: Using digital processing, the system determines if the microphone is picking up voice or aircraft noise, and then opens instantly when voice is detected. An optional continuous loop recorder, capable of storing 16 messages, or up to a minute of incoming radio traffic, is also available.

Check out PS Engineering for more information.

FlightMax EX500 Training Software

Avidyne's new FlightMax EX500 multifunction display (MFD) is part of the growing "glass-cockpit" revolution in small GA aircraft. But lots of capability and functions means a steep learning curve, and it costs a lot (in time, money and -- sometimes -- safety) to learn how to operate these systems.

To allow pilots to learn the EX500 at their own pace, Avidyne has created a software program that emulates the primary functions of the MFD. Running on PCs with Windows 2000 or XP, the EX500 trainer allows the user to "fly" user-defined flight plans and retrieve graphical weather and TFRs along the route.

The trainer shows virtually all pages and functions as they would on the real product. The fully customizable software simulates all on-board sensors that could be connected to the MFD, including weather radar, traffic, lightning, and terrain. For owners who do not have one or more of these sensors in their aircraft, the simulator’s sensor settings can be changed to match the actual aircraft configuration. A navigation simulator is also included, which allows the user to create custom flight plans and provides basic GPS input for the EX500.

When running on a PC with internet access, the EX500 trainer retrieves actual weather (NEXRAD, METAR, AIRMET/SIGMET) and TFRs from the Avidyne Network Operations Center (NOC) and shows them on the display all along the route, similar to the way the EX500 does in flight. A simulated datalink function is also included for PCs without internet access.

The best part is that Avidyne is offering the trainer for free! You can download the trainer from the Avidyne Web Site, or order a CD for about $6 to cover shipping.

In a related note, Avidyne also announced that the FlightMax Entegra primary flight display has been certified on the New Piper Saratoga HP, TC, 6X, & 6XT and on the Lancair Columbia 350.

These aircraft configurations include several enhancements to FlightMax Entegra, including flight director capability on the EXP5000 PFD, primary engine instruments on the PFD, in-flight restart, taxi-during-warmup capability, and Avidyne's light-GA-exclusive portrait-version displays.

Details are available at the Avidyne Web Site.

Sporty's Chart Viewer DVD

Sporty’s Pilot Shop is offering FAA Terminal Procedures Publications digitally on one DVD, easily accessed with Sporty's Chart Viewer software. This DVD contains all instrument approach procedures (IAPs) for the United States, Alaska, Hawaii & Pacific, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, replacing 17 lbs of paper charts. Includes approaches, take-off minimums, arrival & departure procedures, and airport diagrams.

This single DVD can be used directly from the disc (requires DVD drive) or loaded to your PC hard drive (requires 3 Gb hard drive space for complete set of charts). Print out individual approaches for specific trips or load the entire country or individual states to your tablet PC or laptop for electronic access in the aircraft. (See also AVweb's article on electronic flight bags.) Charts can be accessed quickly by searching for state, city or type of approach procedure. DVD is updated every 28 days. Order each cycle or subscribe and receive updates automatically -- at under $10 for each cycle.

Works on Windows PCs, and uses Adobe Acrobat Reader to view charts. Check out Sporty's Web site for details.