What's New -- Products and Services

This month AVweb's survey of the latest products and services for pilots, mechanics and aircraft owners brings you a ground security lock, flight crew safety training, books, DVDs, artwork and more.

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

JMR Earl Ground Lock

JMR Earl has developed the Ground Lock to help with security of general aviation aircraft.

The Ground Lock attaches to the main aircraft battery when it has been disconnected from the electrical system, thereby rendering the aircraft incapable of operation. It can connect to military-standard type quick disconnects regardless of manufacturer.

The components are precision machined from tool steel and heat treated for durability. The lock assembly is encapsulated in a Delrin insulator for electrical safety.

Ground Locks can be keyed alike when multiple locks are purchased. Serial numbers and key codes are registered with JMR Earl for optimum security.

The Ground Lock costs about $250 per lock and includes two keys. For more information visit the JMR Earl Web site.

FACTS Hypoxia Awareness Training

FACTS Training recently announced the Hypoxia Awareness/Decompression module in the FACTS emergency procedures training curriculum is available, as a stand-alone safety program, at the client’s facility. The FACTS ROBD (Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device) provides crewmembers with the opportunity to experience hypoxia in a controlled and monitored environment. Hypoxia awareness can be a life saving experience that 92% of all crews surveyed agreed needs to be included in all emergency training programs.

Rather than physically exposing a subject to lower total pressure in a decompression chamber, crewmembers can experience the effects of hypoxia using a system that changes the composition of the gas mixture inhaled. The FACTS ROBD is the only hypoxia awareness tool readily available to corporate pilots, flight attendants, and even frequent flyers, without the risks involved in using a decompression chamber.

The FACTS ROBD can simulate up to 30,000 foot altitudes to train and familiarize crewmembers with the dangerous and paralyzing effects of hypoxia. While experiencing the ROBD, each crewmember is monitored for heart rate and oxygen saturation levels, and tested for reduced visual capabilities and degraded motor and cognitive functions, any of which could lead to catastrophic consequences in flight. Experience with the effects of hypoxia -- and how each individual responds differently -- provides the crewmember with a benchmark of their own time of useful consciousness (TUC) available to respond to an emergency, appropriately.

This program can be offered at the client’s facility, twice daily, to accommodate busy flight department schedules. Each crewmember receives a workbook, testing, and a High Altitude Hypoxia Awareness Training certificate upon successfully completing the program.

For additional information on FACTS Training, visit their Web site.

Dornier Wal Book

According to aficionados of Dornier aircraft, the history of this famous flying boat has never been recorded internationally. M. Michiel van der Mey's "Dornier Wal: A Light Coming Over the Sea," seeks to remedy this.

The sub-title comes from the Renaissance author Dante Alighieri, who lived in Tuscany in Central Italy, where the Dornier Wall was constructed in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Dornier Wal flying boat played a unique worldwide role in aviation because of its performances, construction, reliability, robustness, and the sheer sales numbers. However, the author contends this boat always remained in the shadow of the more famous Dornier X.

The Dornier Wal flying boat was used in military and civil aviation in many countries. In more than one Navy the Dornier Wal served as the "Eyes of the Fleet."

The contents of the book include:

• Construction of the Wal
• Expeditions, pioneer flights and records
• Military use of the Wal
• Civil use of the Wal
• Country overview
• History of the individual boats.

For more information visit this Web site.

Chelton EFIS For Part 23 Aircraft

Chelton Flight Systems has received FAA certification of a new Approved Model List (AML) STC for their Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) for all large, Part 23 aircraft, including commuters. This latest approval includes:

• Beech 1900
• King Air 350
• Twin Otter
• Paris Jet
• Cessna Citation 525
• Lear 23
• Merlin/Metro
• Shorts Skyvan
• Dornier 228
• Britten-Norman Islander
• BAe Jetstream
• Embraer Bandeirante
• Skytruck M28

The Chelton EFIS has been operated over the past two years through the FAA’s Capstone Program Phase II in Alaska, where thousands of hours have been logged in marginal and IFR conditions. Through implementation of this technology, Capstone has decreased terrain accidents.

The two-pilot system features dual primary flight displays with forward-looking synthetic vision, dual multifunction moving maps, dual GPS WAAS, full FMS, TAWS, air data computer with fuel totalizer option, dual AHRS, dual autopilot and nav interface, integrated master caution voice warning system, digital flight recorder. The Litef fiber-optic AHRS replaces the original mechanical gyros for autopilot control. A single-pilot system is available as well.

The system provides guidance from an FAA-certified Highway-In-The-Sky (HITS) predictive flight director and a real-time moving map. The primary flight display also includes three-dimensional terrain modeling. The EFIS monitors fuel flow, waypoint ETAs, weather, and more. Flight plans can be input prior to takeoff, then amended en route if weather or other conditions dictate. The system can be coupled to a three-axis autopilot so that all pilots need to do is watch their aircraft fly through the HITS (a continuous sequence of green boxes denoting the appropriate course).

The Chelton EFIS is supported by over 80 dealers throughout the U.S. For more information visit the Chelton Web site.

Flying the Garmin GPSMAP 396 DVD

In this new DVD from Sporty's Pilot Shop, Richard Collins explains and demonstrates the capabilities of the Garmin GPSMAP 396, a feature-packed, portable glass cockpit, cutting through the complicated manuals to provide a real-world perspective.

In addition to explaining the basic operation, Collins highlights the elements of the innovative XM satellite weather integration and shows how both VFR and IFR pilots can benefit from portable datalink technology.

You'll see how the unit provides terrain proximity warning, a visual display of NEXRAD radar, lightning, text weather and TFRs, all while providing pinpoint navigation guidance.

Flying the Garmin GPSMAP 396 is available for about $25 and may be ordered at Sporty's Web site.

The Flying Machines Paintings

Antik Arte & Scienza of Milan, Italy, has collected 200 works of art by Riccardo Cavigioli, a painter and aviator during World War I, and is presenting some of them on a Web site.

The airplanes are captured in watercolor, pastel, pencil, and other media, and display a vivid style that brings them to life.

You can see the artworks at the Antik Arte & Scienza Web site and there you can also order a catalogue.