Bendix/King KLX 135A
When AlliedSignal introduced the Bendix/King KLX 135 more than two years ago, a new form of panel-mount avionics was in the making — the combined GPS receiver and communications transceiver. Now the field is becoming more crowded, with Northstar selling the SmartComm remote comm module for its M3 GPS, Garmin about to unleash its GNC 250, and Bendix/King preparing its own KLX 100 handheld GPS/comm. And rumors abound that other avionics manufacturers will join the party soon.
AlliedSignal recently brought out an evolution of the 135, called the KLX 135A. (AlliedSignal is the current company name, incidentally; Bendix/King remains the moniker for the general- aviation avionics department.) Among the major differences between the 135 and the -A is the addition of a moving map and a substantial broadening of the database. The superseded 135 sported a simple but decidedly unsnazzy alphanumeric liquid-crystal display; now there's an LCD with much finer resolution and a map similar to those on the KLN 89 and KLN 90B satellite navigators.
With the 135A, you get a moving map that will display airports, navaids, and the lateral limits of special-use airspace; there are no markings for inner rings of Class B or C airspace. Map presentation can be altered easily from the operating navigation page, although it's not possible to assign certain display modes to range settings. Generally, the KLX 135A makes the most of its LCD screen. Unless you try to use exceptionally long screen ranges, the display is easy to read and interpret. You can also choose from three screen orientations — north up, track up, or desired-track up. The map screen will be blank unless set for the north-up mode or if you're moving. Twenty-one zoom levels range from 1 nm to 500 nm, with the emphasis on the lower ranges useful in congested airspace. For its part, the LCD offers the contrast necessary to be seen in most cockpit lighting conditions.
Beyond the map, the KLX 135A is nearly as full-featured as some high-end panel-mount GPSs. The database includes information on airports (including communications callouts) and navaids, as well as the locations and altitudes of certain types of special-use airspace. The KLX 135A contains in its brain information on Class B and Class C airspace and a slew of "areas" — Alert, Danger, Prohibited, Restricted, and Terminal Radar Service. The airspace warning system built into the 135A also takes altitude into account, which greatly helps to reduce the number of false alarms.
As has become almost compulsory, the 135A has nearest- everything search. Punch the MSG and ENT keys in order and you'll be greeted with a menu offering several options. Choose from APT (airport), VOR, NDB, SUP (supplemental, or user-defined waypoints), SUA (special-use airspace), FSS (flight service station), or CTR (center). Scroll to the one you want and — presto — you get as many as the nine nearest points in the selected category. In the previous 135, only airports were on the nearest-search list.
We give AlliedSignal high marks for making the 135A easy to use and program on the fly. Inserting flight plans, for example, is remarkably simple and can be mastered with hardly a glance at the operating manual. Moreover, there's a feature that forces the first letter of every waypoint to any of your choice. For those of us in the continental United States, that letter might as well be "K," since a great number of airport identifiers (in the ICAO jargon, anyway) start with the eleventh letter of the alphabet. As many as 10 flight plans (one active and nine on standby) of up to 20 legs each will fit into the 135A's memory. While viewing the flight-plan route, you can have the 135A show you the distance between the waypoints, as well as the desired track, time en route, and time of arrival in UTC or local persuasions.
New for the 135A is an expanded calculations page that will give you the airplane's true airspeed, as well as take the measure of the density altitude and winds aloft. It will also allow you to conjure "what if" scenarios based on any two points in memory or on the contents of any stored flight plan.
Such a set of features has become commonplace in today's GPS-mad world, but the 135A still lacks a good number of tricks found on the leading handhelds. AlliedSignal officials make no bones about it: The VFR-only 135A — like the GPS-only 35A that is identical save for lacking the 135A's VHF comm — is intended to be a simple, relatively no-frills navigator. Something for the recreational aircraft, not a pathfinder for the serious cloud junkies. As such, it is easier to understand why the 135A doesn't contain any intersections at all. (You can use any of the 250 user-defined waypoints — inserted according to latitude/longitude or distance/bearing from an airport or navaid — for your frequently used intersections.) We'd still like to see room made for the internal segments of special use airspace, however.
On the communications side, the 135A covers 760 channels, sports a 5-watt transmitter, and has stuck-microphone annunciation. But what makes this installation sing is the database corroboration between the GPS and the comm. Pull up any airport information page, for example, and you'll find a listing of all communications channels. With the push of a button and a twist of a knob you can have the listed frequency slotted into the standby on the comm side. No duplication of efforts here, no sir. What's more, the database includes a map of air-route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) and flight service stations (FSSs) and can spit out the appropriate frequencies based on the box's current position. No more hunting all over the map for the nearest facility. We love this feature.
AlliedSignal intends for the KLX 135A, as part of its low-cost Crown Series, to be installed by amateur builders in experimental airplanes. As such, it contains items that make a single-radio installation much easier. There's a built-in headphone and speaker amplifier, as well as a rudimentary intercom system. The installation, in fact, proved fairly simple. String two antenna wires, a pair of power leads, and connections to the headset, microphone, and speaker — and you're ready to go.
For a recreational aircraft, one used predominantly in VFR conditions, the KLX 135A seems like a perfect fit. One single box does the work of two, and the price, at $3,295 suggested retail and around $2,900 on the street, is reasonably close to what a separate comm and GPS would set you back. (Of course, you'll still need a VOR on board if you anticipate any instrument flying.) AlliedSignal is offering a $495 upgrade for current owners of the 135 to bring it up to 135A status.
For more information, contact AlliedSignal General Aviation Avionics, 400 North Rogers Road, Olathe, Kansas 66062; telephone 913/768-3000, facsimile 913/791-1302. — Marc E. Cook
Destination Direct
Three years ago, Delta Technology of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, took an unusual approach to marketing its flight planning software, Destination Direct. The company demonstrated it at the EAA Fly-In and Convention at Oshkosh but wouldn't sell it. The purpose was to test market reaction to the product. During those years, the firm started over twice and made many improvements before the product was made final and released in April 1994. The result is a flight- planning product that offers a strong challenge to all competitors.
The Windows-based software's two strongest points are the number of choices offered the pilot for setting up the software, and the options when printing out the flight information.
The software opens with a planning window that includes such choices as avoiding overflight of water and steering around restricted, prohibited, and controlled airspace. For example, after planning a flight from Maryland to Oshkosh, we asked the software to avoid Class B airspace and to keep the airplane within 10 miles of shore when crossing water, knowing that Lake Michigan was in the direct flight path. The software routed the flight neatly south of the Chicago Class B area.
When the flight log and flight plan were printed out, we asked for kneeboard-sized pages, and the software put both documents on the same page. DUAT-derived weather can also be printed in kneeboard format, with terminal forecasts, notams, and wind information divided neatly into separate portions of the report. Next, we chose VOR information and full-sized sheets and found each airport on the flight log now had bearing and distance information to the nearest VOR.
Delta Technology has eliminated a problem seen with previous flight planners: the random changing of map information when zooming in or out. In a competitor's program, zooming in is faster than with Destination Direct, but all the preferences have to be reselected. Unwanted intersections, airways, and their identifiers are likely to pop up when zooming in during planning of a VFR flight. Not so, however, with Destination Direct. The user selects the features from a long list of possibilities (even grass runway airports with control towers), and the preferences remain the same during zooming.
At first it seemed that flight planning for routes longer than 100 nm took a long time. It turns out that this occurs because the routes are also planned vertically and it takes a while to check for obstacles. However, turning off the maximum elevation figures portion of the planner speeds up the selection of a route.
Airport information is more detailed than most flight planning software and includes rental cars, lodging, and extensive runway information.
The software arrived with a minor bug that prevented computers with certain types of screens from printing weather reports, but the company quickly solved the problem and shipped new software. Planned upgrades include converting the software to a moving map for in-flight navigation.
Destination Direct is available, in an IFR version that includes North and Central America for $275 plus shipping, a VFR version covering the same geographic area for $195, and a regional version covering several states for $99. Updates to keep the software current cost $65 each, or $125 for three updates a year.
For information, write to Delta Technology International, 1621 Westgate Road, Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54703; telephone 800/515- 6900 or 715/832-7799. — Alton K. Marsh
Dri Wash 'N Guard
Few owners really enjoy a long and detailed airplane wash job. It's time consuming, too, especially considering just how much surface area there is on even a compact four-seater. In addition, you must sometimes scour the airport to find a working supply of water.
So, naturally, any product claiming to make the task easier and simpler — especially one claiming to do so without water — ought to win widespread acclaim. That's where Enviro-Tech's Dri Wash 'N Guard comes in. It's a waterless wash and "protective glaze" that is, according to the literature, full of a veritable witch's brew of chemicals.
Start with a completely dry airplane parked in the shade. Apply Dri Wash lightly to a relatively small section of the airplane. Using the first of two clean terrycloth towels you've brought along, work the Dri Wash around. Once it has dried slightly — giving it a milky haze on the surface — use the other towel to buff it off.
We tried Dri Wash on an airplane with an acrylic urethane paint and noticed no scratching or dulling when used in this fashion. (Try it with any water on the surface, though, and the Dri Wash becomes much harder to buff off.) Dri Wash was not as effective on really nasty stains and engine-compartment effluvia. Nor can we substantiate the maker's claims that it will keep dirt and bugs from adhering as fast as on an untreated surface. We cleaned one wing with Dri Wash, left the other untreated, and couldn't tell if insects had any more or less affinity for the Dri Wash side. The product will also work well on plexiglass windows.
Though it's probably no replacement for a thorough, bucket- and-hose cleaning ritual, Dri Wash makes for a fine interim cleaner and something decidedly handy for keeping the airplane spiffy on the road. A quart of Dri Wash costs $36.95 — at least you don't use much of the product during each application — and is sold through independent distributors. We received samples through Power Up Midwest (810/629-8190) and Wijnen Enterprises (408/996-8630). For more information, contact Enviro-Tech International, Post Office Box 98867, Las Vegas, Nevada 89193; telephone 702/870-7878. — MEC
Unless otherwise stated, products listed herein have not been evaluated by AOPA Pilot editors. AOPA assumes no responsibility for products or services listed or for claims or actions by manufacturers or vendors. However, members unable to get satisfaction regarding products listed should advise AOPA. To submit products for evaluation, contact: New Products Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701; telephone 301/695-2350.
Related Articles
