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 Husky tow kit, aviator wings, metal bending tools and more.

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

TSA Security Course Online

Gleim has released a new TSA security awareness training course designed for both initial and recurrent TSA security training. This will help CFIs and flight school employees get their training completed. At the completion of the course a certificate is provided for record-keeping.

The course is free and is available from the Gleim Web site.

IFR Procedures Design Course

Aeronautical Services And Procedures (ASAP) from Slovakia has teamed with the Air Navigation Institute (ANI) of Switzerland to provide a basic IFR procedure design course.

ASAP has designed over 300 IFR procedures worldwide and ANI is one of the primary training institutions in IFR procedure design and provides such training all over the world. This combination of training and practical expertise will result in a course that will give the attendees a unique possibility to assimilate this complex subject.

For more information visit the ASAP Web site.

King Schools' "Flying the Garmin 430/530" CD-ROM Course

Pilots have a new way to learn to harness the power of the Garmin 430 and 530 with a new interactive video course from King Schools.

The course covers all aspects of the Garmin 430 & 530 panel-mount GPSs, including best-practices, moving maps, flight plans, "Direct-To" usage, page groups, nearest airport, navigation aids, what to do when there is an in-flight problem, activating approaches, departures and arrivals, course reversals, holding, missed approaches, terrain features, system customization, and, how to handle possible 430 / 530 malfunctions.

"Flying the Garmin 430/530" contains 7 CD-ROMs and runs approximately four hours before interactive questions. The student can print out a course completion certificate for the checkout instructor, FBO, or insurance company. The price is $249 from King Schools' Web site.

Private Pilot Aviator Wings

Disappointed that the FAA didn't give you real wings when you got your pilot certificate? These Private Pilot Wings (aviator wings) are similar to the coveted naval aviator wings. These handcrafted wings are made of solid, die-cast metal in 14 kt gold, antique gold or platinum finishes. The wings measure 3.25" x 0.75" x 0.125" and feature solid, screw-down nuts enabling the wings to be worn on a jacket, shirt or wall display. Private Pilot Aviator Wings are available for $24.95 from CFI Pilot Supply Shop and are guaranteed for life.

Jet Stream Aviation Cosmetic Detailing University

Jet Stream Aviation Products has opened the "Jet Stream Aviation Cosmetic Detailing University" located at their Dallas, Texas, (Love Field) airport facilities, to provide a three-day certification program for aviation detailing professionals interested in acquiring knowledge in the safe and proper procedures for detailing all aspects of exterior and interiors of jet aircraft.

Jet Stream University will teach the students the art of professional aircraft detailing. After completing the prescribed courses, each student will receive a certificate of completion and will be certified as an Aircraft Detailing Professional.

The program teaches high standards of aircraft cosmetics as well as products, procedures and tools that are required to perform each detailing task with the greatest efficiency and safety for the aircraft and the person performing each task.

For more information visit the Jet Stream Aviation Web site.

Tow Kit for Aviat Husky

Aviat Aircraft has developed an optional tow kit for the Husky that can be added to any new aircraft or retrofitted to any existing model. The total package, which includes everything from the tow hook attach bracket to the tow release mechanism that goes in the forward cockpit, can be installed at the factory in a day and costs $2,960.

The complete package adds about five pounds of weight and has a nominal impact on the center of gravity. The system is designed for a maximum tow rope weight of 1,200 pounds.

For more information visit the Aviat Web site.

Magnum Bender from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty

Building and repairing airplanes involves a lot of cutting and bending steel and aluminum plate. Achieving a good bend without stressing the metal, work-hardening it or cracking it, can sometimes be a challenge. Just getting a good grip on it for bending can be a challenge.

Aircraft Spruce & Specialty now offers a device called Magnum Bender. It can grasp and bend metal parts up to 1/8" thick x 6" wide. Those dimensions cover a wide range of bellcranks, tabs and aileron fittings.

The unique feature of the machine is the Universal Tooling Plate system, which incorporates slots for a clamping kit, or a row of five ultra-high-strength rare-earth magnets that will permit even small steel components to be positioned accurately. The magnets also allow for fine tuning of part position prior to bending with a 1/16", 3/32", 1/8" 5/32", or 1/4" radii. Corresponding radii are also available in metric increments. Each machine has 1-ft. and 2-ft. handles. An optional 24-piece clamp kit is also available.

Both the standard and metric versions of the Magnum Bender sell for $1,065 from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty.

AVLogbook Online Logbook

AlphaVictor has created an online logbook that goes beyond the expected capabilities of simply logging a flight. It also provides extensive tracking of medical renewals, flight reviews, day and night currency and instrument competency. For the professional pilot, AVLogbook also tracks 61.55, 61.58, 135.293, 135.297 and Cat II due dates.

One popular features is its ability to complete a logbook entry with as few as two pieces of flight data, the arrival point (destination) and the flight time (or Hobbs In time). AVLogbook is highly intuitive, remembering the last aircraft flown (along with all of it characteristics), last airport and co-pilot. AVLogbook also tracks expenses, providing a summary for tax purposes

The logbook was designed as a lifetime career-path tool. For the student pilot, AVLogbook provides a feature that allows the student to log their instructional time, brief/debrief times, enter the day's maneuvers from a pull-down menu, enter endorsements (solo, cross country, etc). The final page is printable from the Internet and provides for the instructor's signature and date.

Pricing for an annual subscription to AVLogbook is $18 per year for the basic logbook which completely serves the student and private pilot. Or $24 per year for AVLogbook with "ProPack" that offers the additional tools for CFIs, DPEs and resume connections for professional pilots.

For more information, visit the AVLogbook Web site.