Magellan Skyblazer XL
Imagine the pressure on our Olympic competitors this summer. Intense, worldwide scrutiny, the task of representing your homeland in what has become truly high-stakes games. The prize for success is enduring and lucrative; for failure, a brief footnote in history and maybe a sound bite on a sports blooper show.
Now you also know how it is in the world of handheld GPS receivers. Nowhere in aviation is the competition so keen, so cutthroat. Manufacturers release new products extraordinarily often, most times brimming with features only just imagined in the previous generation. Today's Neat New Thing carries the torch for awhile, soon passing it off to the leaner, meaner athlete waiting on the blocks. Competition's up, but prices are down, making the situation positively blissful for the consumer and an ongoing headache for the producers.
Magellan found itself with the three-Excedrin problem recently. The Skyblazer had been outclassed by the Garmin GPS 90 and the II Morrow Precedus. And while the formerly mapless Skyblazer LT has been launched to shore up the bottom end of the market, the consumers have clearly made the call for moving maps. Now comes the XL, with a new screen and some revisions to the Skyblazer programming intended to put it back in the thick of things.
With some 20,000 pixels in attendance, the XL is claimed to have better resolution than the competition. The additional pixels come from both greater resolution and a larger screen than that of the GPS 90 or Precedus; in the cockpit, the Magellan has good contrast and noticeably better resolution than the others. While many handhelds run into screen-clutter problems and annoying over- typing of icons and identifiers, the XL is remarkably glitch free. Still, the resolution advantage, while certainly desirable, is not really a night-and-day difference. More like a move from Folgers to a gourmet fresh grind; it's still coffee, but arguably a better brew. Glare is well managed, though none of the handhelds with LCDs will fool you into thinking you've got a CRT aboard. Two levels of backlighting prove successful during night flight, although the keys are not illuminated.
Generally, the Skyblazer XL's screen provides the features and resolution we finicky consumers have come to expect. It has 11 screen ranges from a quarter of a mile to 250 miles; that's statute, nautical, or if you're feeling really metric, in kilometers instead. We'd gladly sacrifice the longest scale for two additional increments in the lower ranges; as happens frequently in congested airspace, a tighter scale fails to put desired information on the page, while a longer range results in too much clutter. Pilots flying outside of New York or Los Angeles probably won't gripe as much.
Special-use and controlled airspace is depicted well, including the internal sectors of Class B and C airspace. Other forms of SUAs are shown on the map but not identified; nor are their coordinates or details to be found in the database. So should you find yourself flying alongside a depicted SUA, it's off to the local charts to find out if it's a MOA or Restricted Area. (Other GPSs in the class at least include the SUA information in the database.)
Running along the top of the single map page is information on magnetic heading to the next selected waypoint, ground track, and distance to waypoint. (If you want to know your ground speed, you'll have to pull up the main, numeric navigation page.) Along the bottom you'll find the screen range and helper arrows that indicate which way you can scroll for more information. This prompting extends throughout the XL's submenus, a real help for the cursor challenged.
In addition to the map, the Magellan Skyblazer XL has the usual feature set. Airport and navaid information is comprehensive and reasonably well organized, and the database includes en route intersections, as well. Just about every radio frequency associated with the airport is present, including flight-service and approach- control call-ups. Runway information is also depicted.
In the new regime of handhelds, the norm is to use relatively few keys that possess multiple functions. So it is with the XL. For the four keys with double labels — like the one marked NAV/MAP — the upper tag is what you get with a single push, and after a second push the second function comes up within about a half a second of the first. Think of double-clicking on your computer mouse. And while there's nothing really wrong with this setup, the XL is often slow to respond to poking at the keypad, leading the user to wonder if he's hit the correct key the right number of times. This is particularly noticeable on the map page — where, coming to its defense, Magellan correctly placed the processing emphasis. Magellan also sticks to its own way of defining a direct-to waypoint. While just about every other manufacturer allows you to punch the direct-to key and maneuver from there, the XL requires you to call up the waypoint you want from the DBASE key. Then once the point is defined, you poke the FPLAN/Direct-To key twice to load the waypoint.
Setting up and executing flight plans on the XL is simple and straightforward. Define the points in the flight-plan menu and, as long as the plan you want is highlighted on the screen, off you go. There is one characteristic that some pilots might find annoying, though. When in the flight-plan mode, you cannot select a direct-to waypoint within the plan and have the XL resume along that plan later. You have to reinitialize the flight plan as you near that waypoint for the Magellan to track the rest of the flight.
Other software tidbits include a very well implemented vertical-navigation aid. It looks like a glideslope presentation on a course-deviation indicator, and it is remarkably easy to fly. And on that screen, you still have the benefit of bearing, track, distance, and time-to-go information. Also provided in the XL's brain are a fuel planner, winds-aloft calculator, and sunrise/sunset table. (Inexplicably, the E6B functions do not provide the airplane's true airspeed, despite having done all the calculations necessary to arrive at the number.)
When it comes to finding and locking on to satellites, the Magellan is a champ. We routinely used the XL on the yoke without resorting to the provided, remote puck antenna. Even during turns the Skyblazer held lock and provided timely reports of the heading change. It was also reasonably quick to lock on, even when moved from one part of the country to another while it was turned off.
The Skyblazer XL shares the externals of the previous product and so has room for just three AA cells behind the back cover. As a result, expect no more than three hours' use before a set of alkalines calls it quits. We frequently got battery life near two hours with occasional use of the backlight. (That's about what to expect from the Precedus, with its hyper processor, and significantly less than the never-say-die GPS 90.) In its next life, the Skyblazer would greatly benefit from an extra battery or three.
One of Magellan's most important targets for the XL wasn't necessarily perpetual battery life, but — more likely — price. And with a minimum advertised price of $699, Magellan put an arrow through the bull's-eye. Because when you consider the feature set, and particularly the large, useful screen, the Skyblazer XL's minor shortcomings fade like a rookie runner at the end of a marathon. Magellan's Skyblazer is, for now, holding fast under the pressure.
For more information, contact Magellan Systems Corporation, 960 Overland Court, San Dimas, California; telephone 909/394-5000. — Marc E. Cook
Softcomm Products, with an eye on the homebuilt and ultralight markets, has created the ATC-2I intercom for use with Icom A-20 and A-21 handheld communications radios. The intercom can be modified to work with the Icom A-22, as well. Either the pilot or copilot can transmit. The ATC-2I comes with an auxiliary power cord and a recorder in/out cable, and it is powered by one nine-volt battery that the manufacturer claims will last up to 40 hours. The cost is $159.95. For information, call Softcomm Products at 800/255-2666. — Alton K. Marsh
Briefly Noted
Ever tried to crawl around under your airplane on one of those cheap creepers? Notice how rough the ramp is or how long your arms must be to reach the belly from a couple of inches off the pavement? Aero Creeper, Inc., has a solution with the — you guessed it — Aero Creeper. Using a 1-inch-square steel tube frame and 8-inch pneumatic tires, the Aero Creeper is designed to roll easily through even the roughest tiedown spots. It includes a tilting back and fully swiveling wheels, in addition to marine-quality grease-resistant upholstery. The 45- inch-long, 60-pound Aero Creeper costs $299. For more information, contact Aero Creeper, Post Office Box 85, Canton, Missouri 63435; telephone 314/288-3769. — MEC
Doubletime recently introduced a flight planning clock to help pilots convert local time to GMT. The Doubletime Flight Planning Clock is a pair of military-style clocks that can be independently set and that are accurate to within 20 seconds per month. The $149.95 unit, designed to be placed in flight planning areas at airports (or your own desktop), comes framed in either gold or silver plated aluminum and measures 10.5 2 20 inches. For more information, contact Doubletime, Post Office Box 510824, New Berlin, Wisconsin 53151; telephone 414/786-3392. — Stephen Pope
Electric Fuel Corporation, maker of electric-powered vehicles, has begun production of the SurvivaLite, a battery-powered, water- activated survivor locator light for use with life vests. The SurvivaLite runs on a water-activated magnesium copper chloride battery and has been approved by the FAA for use with aircraft life vests and Coast Guard-approved life vests for boats. The company has an initial order of 60,000 units for the next two years. For more information, contact the Electric Fuel Corporation, 885 Third Avenue, Suite 2900, New York, New York 10022; telephone 212/230- 2172. — SP
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