Goodies and Gadgets - October 2011
Get iPAD Freedom with MyClip
More and more pilots are incorporating the versatile iPad in with their flying. The only problem is, where do you put the iPad during a cross country flight? MyClip has come up with a practical solution that turns the computer into a kneeboard. This allows hands-free operation while airborne while making it easier to type or change screens. It also secures the iPad when working on tables or other slippery surfaces.
The unit is also designed to work with the HP Slate, the Galaxy Tab, the XOOM and the Acer Tablet. When introduced this past summer at AirVenture, more than 400 pilots purchased copies of the MyClip accessory.
Wicks Aircraft Supply has the units in stock and is selling them for $39.95. To order a MyClip, visit www.WicksAircraft.com or call 800/221-9425.
PropPastie Spinner Cover
PropPastie is a new style spinner cover, designed to minimize snow, ice, and water from lying on your propeller hub and bearings and freezing inside your spinner. It fits all light aircraft.
The proper way to position a propeller in the winter is to have a blade vertical on the bottom to allow water to drain. However, this will allow water, snow and ice to sit on your propeller hub and bearings. This could have disastrous effects should any water leak into your propeller hub. Without PropPastie, blowing snow also could end up inside your spinner and cause a detrimental imbalance.
PropPastie will protect your controllable pitch propeller hub and bearings from water and ice and protect your engine and airframe from vibration caused by snow and ice in the spinner.
Made in the USA with the highest quality UV-stabilized materials, it is designed to withstand all but the most extreme temperatures and has remained in position in testing, in up to 51 mph. gusts. The material selected stiffens in cold temperatures. This in combination with Velcro holds PropPastie in place.
PropPastie can be purchased at Aircraft Spruce. For more information, contact Aircraft Spruce at 1-877-477-7823 and reference part number 13-10282, or visit www.aircraftspruce.com.
Garmin Unveils the aera 796 and 795 Portable Touchscreen Aviation Navigators with 3D Vision
Garmin International Inc., has announced the aera 796 and aera 795, a new series of portable aviation navigation devices. As Garmin’s new flagship portable aviation product, the aera 796 incorporates the popular features of the GPSMAP 696, while also adding new capabilities such as a touchscreen user interface, pilot-selectable screen orientation and 3D Vision. The aera 796 also takes the pilot one step closer to a paperless cockpit with a digital document viewer, scratch pad and pre-loaded geo-referenced AeroNav IFR and VFR enroute charts. The aera 796 and 795 was on display and available for purchase at the AOPA Aviation Summit.
“Pilots continue to embrace touchscreen in the cockpit because they see how much faster and easier it is to access information while in flight,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. “Not only does the aera 796 have the increasingly popular touchscreen user interface, but it is so robust with features and capabilities that only a dedicated aviation device can offer. With everything from 3D Vision to electronic charts and weather data, it’s almost like having a glass cockpit that you can fit in your flight bag.”
The aera 796 has a high-resolution, 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode. The physical design has been optimized to fit on the yoke and is sized perfectly as a knee-mounted device. There are four touch keys on the bezel of the unit representing “Back,” “Menu,” “Direct-To,” and “Nearest” for quick navigation to frequently used functions. And because the aera 796 is customizable, the user can pick favorite features or pages to anchor as icons along the bottom of the screen for faster access. The display has large, finger-touchable icons with intuitive pictures and labels to indicate their function such as: map, terrain, 3D Vision, WPT info, FPL list, active FPL, numbers, doc viewer, charts, weather, SiriusXM and tools. Pilots can choose any of these functions by simply touching the appropriate icon. The touchscreen interface also allows the pilot to quickly pan across the map and pinch zoom.
The aera 796 features 3D Vision, a unique 3D view of database-generated terrain. 3D Vision uses GPS position and the terrain-alerting database to recreate a behind-the-aircraft perspective view of the topographic landscape.
North American customers that do not require XM WX Satellite Weather and SiriusXM Radio, may be interested in the aera 795 Americas that has identical features to the aera 796 except that it is not XM capable.
The aera 796 and 795 are available immediately for an expected street price of $2,499 and $2,199, respectively.
