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Gear for the mission

General Aviation Pilot

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Victoria Neuville's app usage and the capabilities of Garmin Pilot. She has never used ForeFlight, and Garmin Pilot does not talk to the Garmin aera 796. We regret the error.
Victoria Neuville writes The Pixie Pilot blog and wrote and published a children’s book about her dog, Turbo the Flying Dog. She works in an aviation insurance company to finance her flying.
Gear
Victoria uses a Robotow Heavy Duty Cordless Towbar (www.robotow.com), $1,375; Turbo wears Mutt Muffs (www.safeandsoundpets.com), $57.49

Her choice of headsets—the Quiet Technologies Halo in-ear product—doesn’t give her headset hair. She doesn’t need active noise reduction because the headset provides the earplugs. For her instrument work, she considered a Garmin Pilot app subscription but decided no iPad was necessary in the Garmin aera 796-equipped Cessna 172 she flies.

Future gadgets she has her eye on include a motorized towing device, because of her small size.

Turbo has his own airplane kit. Most important are the his Mutt Muffs for canine hearing protection, plus a water bottle that flips open to become a bowl.

Gear for the general aviation pilot

  • Gear for the general aviation pilot
    ADS-B Stratus 2S for iPad (www.appareo.com), $899. Also consider: Garmin GDL 39 ADS-B Receiver (https://buy.garmin.com), $639; iLevil 3SW (https://.aviation.levil.com), $1,195
  • Gear for the general aviation pilot
    Garmin Virb Ultra 30 (http://virb.garmin.com/en-US/), $399.99. Also consider: GoPro Hero5 Black Edition (www.gopro.com) with touch screen, $400
  • Gear for the general aviation pilot
    360FLY 4K HD Camera (https://360fly.com), $500. Also consider: Ricoh 360 degree camera (https://theta360.com), $350; Nikon KeyMission 360 (www.nikonusa.com), $499.95
  • Gear for the general aviation pilot
    360FLY 4K HD Camera (https://360fly.com), $500. Also consider: Ricoh 360 degree camera (https://theta360.com), $350; Nikon KeyMission 360 (www.nikonusa.com), $499.95; Icom IC-A24 Nav/Com handheld radio (www.icomamerica.com), $350. Also consider: Yaesu FTA-550 Pro-X Nav/Com (www.yaesu.com), $350
  • Gear for the general aviation pilot
    Garmin aera 660 GPS navigator (buy.garmin.com), $850. Also consider: iFly GPS 740 GPS (www.iflygps.com), $950 w/street data
Alton Marsh

Alton K. Marsh

Freelance journalist
Alton K. Marsh is a former senior editor of AOPA Pilot and is now a freelance journalist specializing in aviation topics.

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