Was thinking of dropping into Sywell on the Friday, but weather made Saturday the only viable VFR day of the 3-day Expo. I thought about those people flying in, of mixed competence and experience and all crammed into a single day, milling about over the reservoir before making a break to the threshold…. and put my feet up with a latte and the Guardian instead.
If the weather allows me to fly VFR to Prague Letňany for the EFA airshow next week, we’ll see how others manage this sort of thing.
EFA is run by the same company that runs AeroExpo at Sywell
I flew it once and decided I would never do it again unless the procedure is changed.
The limitations of see and avoid, the ill-defined height of the holding stack, the planes descending through cloud, the lack of ATC/radar, the lack of radio transmissions, and the inability of pilots to follow the unclear procedure proved all too much.
I don’t even know where or how high to look to work out where all the other planes are.
Yet I was cut up several times and was lucky I wasn’t involved in some sort of incident.
You can be a top RAF pilot with vision exceeding 20/20 and tens of thousands of hours and still fail to see.
I wandered around AeroExpo today. It’s not terribly big as a flying show. I enjoyed it.
Garmin seem to be pushing the field. They are launching new products and upgrades for existing products at quite a pace. One of the chaps on their stand told me that the GTN series will soon show VFR visual reporting points on their base map. That will assist VFR flying with that device enormously and widen its appeal, despite its main IFR focus. They are also applying for a global STC (“we expect it very soon”) for their new stand-alone and panel-hidden ADSB-out (and in) transponders so that they can be connected to GTN and legacy GNS(!) devices to show ADSB traffic on screen. I think I might upgrade to one of those when they are released with the STC (which I am told will be packaged free with the device). They have also upgraded their D2 Bravo watch recently after hearing complaints about its lack of connectivity to Garmin Pilot – it now connects. It looks like a fun watch… with almost no practical use when flying :D
I wandered around the stands of other serious avionics manufacturers who complete with Garmin…they were very quiet or even unmanned. The appear to be losing to Garmin at the moment.
The rest of the show was fun – some great aerobatic displays and some lovely new planes to look at and dream about. I really fancy a PC12 or a TBM, subject always to a pre-existing lottery win.
On the used plane front, I was amazed by the price of this Piper Aztec…with half-lifed engines and nearly new props. OK, so it burns 100 (?) litres per hour in the cruise, and has old avionics, but the price really does seem extraordinarily low even given the current low prices of twins. 
Doubtless people here can explain…or buy it for me for small change for my birthday, after the price has dropped some more :D
The world of GA is moving quickly….
I went with the family and had a good wander round and a really nice day, although it did seem ever smaller and quieter again. A few thoughts:
- Print media (books and magazines) is obviously terminally ill and seems to have months rather than years left. Pilot supplies seems to have polarised into Pooleys and Transair.
- As above, there is some really impressive technology – airframe and engine seem to have peaked while avionics just gets better.
- There was a really good showing of younger people at the event – as an industry we really need to capitalise on this interest – the latest LAA magazine had frankly shocking stats on the growing age demographic of LAA membership.
- Sitting on a stand playing on your phone ignoring people or talking only to other staff still isn’t a great sales technique.
- The flying displays were great, kept everyone’s interest with some really impressive flying. I think it just shows you don’t need aggressive macho stuff to make a good air display.
- One of the best bits is just meeting up with friends and acquaintances for a good chat, reminds me we should do more of this in GA really!
Sywell was very quiet yesterday.
I think Howards view is biased. Garmin is not leading.
My old Skymap had visual reporting points and you can buy them for the GNS for more than 10 years.
The connected cockpit is reality for years.
I’m not sure what their ADS-B in can do lacking the US-style feed of air traffic information.
The slow uptake on ADS-B out in Europe will not show many targets.
Garmin is good in marketing, but not an inovator.
If you look at upgrade prices for older G1000 installations to WAAS. Expensive rewiring for the NAV/COM for upgrading to a GTR 225…
There is no clear upgrade path, it all cost you a lot.
I prefer pulg and play installations like the Trig TT31 and the Avidyne 540.
@mdoerr I’m just saying what I saw today. There was no one on the Avidyne stand. No one person. The Trig stand was interesting. Some talented Scots there….but their ADSB-out transponder is some time away they told me. Their other stuff looked well made and good value.
I’m very keen to learn how to add VRPs to my GNS device. As far as I can tell Jeppesen do not include them in their data subscriptions for those devices. To what are you referring?
I didn’t go this time (didn’t fancy parking the plane on muddy grass, and it’s too far to drive) but I did notice previously, and also elsewhere, that a lot of exhibitors treat Saturdays and Sundays as a joke, because “serious customers will come on weekdays”… etc.
Print media (books and magazines) is obviously terminally ill and seems to have months rather than years left.
That’s true pretty well everywhere. I think there are a couple of reasons why print media still exists:
This is a huge challenge and I don’t think anybody knows the answer – short of advertising on every applicable online platform.
Howard wrote:
.but their ADSB-out transponder is some time away they told me.
Uh? The TT31 does ADSB-Out since it came out?
What exactly is that Garmin ADSB- Device? Transponder? Already have one (TT31), Traffic detector? I would like very much to be able to show ADSB Targets on my GNS or even better on the Aspen.
mdoerr wrote:
you can buy them for the GNS for more than 10 years.
Really? Where and how? I’d love to have them for the GNS430W.
ADSB targets are quite valuable still, not least as all commercial traffic has it more or less. I currently have power flarm, but not connected to the GNS430 or the Aspen, which makes it cumbersome.
The new Garmin transponders do not need an external GPS feed in order to transmit ADSB-out : they have their own internal certified GPS receiver which is used to drive the transponder’s ADSB-out signal. Therefore there is less re-wiring (no connection required to your panel-mount GPS) and less (no?) plane-specific certification required when installing it – the devices will come with a universal STC.
http://www.flyingmag.com/garmin-unveils-gtx-345-335-all-in-one-ads-b-transponders
I think these new devices will be very popular.
