SureCheck TPAS
With all the excitement going on inside the cockpit these days, it's hard to keep your eyes focused outside, where they belong 90 percent of the time. While digital wizardry — in the form of traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) in commercial aircraft — also keeps metal from meeting metal, this month we ask if a less expensive traffic advisory system can help you locate potential conflicts in a seemingly empty sky.
SureCheck's TPAS (Traffic Proximity Alert System) RX-100 is the latest traffic advisory system to hit the market. The portable unit provides two levels of traffic information — a digital readout showing the distance to the traffic in nautical miles and aural advisories — "traffic" or "traffic alert" — when a potential conflict comes within range.
First, a note about passive traffic advisory systems. The more expensive TCAS interrogates other transponder-equipped aircraft in the vicinity, measures the distance between the host and the target aircraft (using the host aircraft's transponder as part of the detection process), and provides a resolution action for the pilot of the host aircraft to follow. Passive systems such as the RX-100 only receive transponder replies to air traffic control radar interrogations, and thus are limited in the amount of data they cull on a particular target. While these devices show range to a target, their processors aren't as sophisticated as those in TCAS so the distances aren't as accurate, and they don't suggest an escape route ("Climb!"). And they are only effective in areas covered by air traffic control's radar or where aircraft are actively interrogated by TCAS-equipped aircraft.
We tested the RX-100 in a 1999 Piper Archer equipped with a new Garmin GTX 340 transponder. This is important because of how the RX-100 interprets the transponder replies it receives. The unit is set up to process returns from a mid-level host transponder with an output of 120 to 300 watts emanating from a single-engine aircraft with the transponder antenna located on the belly beneath the cabin. If your airplane is larger, or the antenna is located further away from the RX-100, the company makes adjustments to the unit in order to read your airplane's transponder correctly. The RX-100 uses this signal, among a variety of protocols, to help determine the range to a target.
We discovered this as we noticed that most of the distance information given by the RX-100 was up to half a mile off when compared to targets ATC could verify as well as our own visual estimates. When we contacted SureCheck about the discrepancy, the company noted that the late-model Garmin transponder is capable of output exceeding 300 watts, and this could potentially throw off the RX-100's range information. But SureCheck is happy to make the necessary adjustments to fine-tune the unit to a customer's aircraft. This might pose a problem for renter pilots using the system, rendering it less effective in some aircraft.
Otherwise, the unit called out the nearest traffic arguably well when compared to what ATC determined as potential conflicts. While flying under the Baltimore Class B airspace, we found that the RX-100 cycled between a couple of nearby targets, which was potentially distracting. However, when the range was scaled down below a mile and a half, our search for traffic took on an urgent tone.
We switched from terminal area (TCA) to en route mode when out of the congested airspace. While TCA mode calls traffic within a five-mile ring, the en route mode scales out to 10 miles. We found that the unit was even more useful in between busy terminal areas. When flying cross-country, pilots tend to pop in and out of visual-scanning mode, and the blue "traffic" light on the front of the RX-100 serves as a heads-up whenever another airplane comes within 10 miles.
Back in the traffic pattern at a nontowered field, we let the RX-100 help us look for other airplanes in the area. For the first time, we heard the aural warning as we came within a mile of another airplane entering the downwind. With the Y-plug included with the unit, you can hear these warnings through your headset. Or you can have your local avionics shop wire the unit into your intercom so that anyone using the intercom can hear the warnings.
Zane Hovey of SureCheck notes, "I think one of the best situations is when you are at a nontowered airport ready for departure — you can see if anyone else is in the pattern. Too many times I have been ready to take the active only to see someone not talking on final!" While we agree with this assessment, remember that the unit only tells you about aircraft with actively interrogated, operating transponders. And we all know how many times we've neglected to turn that little switch from Standby to Alt until several minutes into the flight or we received a questioning call from ATC.
The RX-100 retails for $595. The unit weighs 1.4 pounds with the antenna and power cords, and measures 8.4 inches long by 1.8 inches high by 4.3 inches wide. For more information, contact SureCheck Aviation Inc., Post Office Box 131482, Carlsbad, California 92013-1482; telephone 888/340-8055 or 760/598-9872; fax 760/598-9873; or visit the Web site ( www.surecheckaviation.com).
Maptech Pocket Navigator
Maptech is an Amesbury, Massachusetts, firm that gets its kicks from stuffing huge government charts — marine, land, and aeronautical — into your personal digital assistant (PDA). Add a GPS receiver, and a flashing red dot tells you exactly where you are. By placing markers, you can create routes complete with distance and compass-bearing information. It's handy for pilots who want a multipurpose unit that can be used for hiking (with topographic charts from the U.S. Geological Survey) and boating (with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine charts). The aeronautical charts require a lot of memory — 12 to 20 MB each — meaning you'll want a PDA with as much memory as possible. Or you can put the maps on expansion cards and insert them into your PDA as necessary.
Pocket Navigator has few of the bells and whistles pilots have come to expect on handheld GPS navigation units dedicated solely to aviation. "We kept it simple so that it would be easy to use," said Maptech official Tim Sullivan.
If you already have a PDA and any of the simpler GPS receivers available on the market (the Maptech Web site lists independent manufacturers), you can add the Pocket Navigator system for $200. All you need is the software ($99.95) and a CD containing several charts (also $99.95). The software works on any PDA using the PocketPC operating system.
Maptech sent an aeronautical CD for the Northeast, but the company's definition of Northeast is more generous than that of the government. On your Maptech Aeropack you will find maps from New England to Virginia, and west through the Great Lakes and Wisconsin. It contains 80 aeronautical charts, including WAC charts, VFR sectional charts, terminal area charts, high- and low-altitude IFR en route charts, and even helicopter route charts. Terminal procedure charts are also included on the CD but will not be supported by the software until late 2002.
For those who lack a GPS receiver, Maptech has recently introduced a bundled package for $349.95 that includes Pocket Navigator software and a GPS receiver built into a sleeve that fits Compaq iPAQ PDAs. A New Zealand company called Navman makes the sleeve with a GPS antenna built into it. The unit features an expansion slot and comes with a charger that plugs into the aircraft's power and a suction cup for mounting the unit on a window. You'll still need to purchase the chart CDs. Charts for the entire United States are available for $299.95, with bimonthly subscriptions available for $199.95 a year.
Maptech officials point out that they are not trying to compete with the giants in the handheld GPS industry — they are just trying to cram some useful government charts into PDAs and allow you to pinpoint your position. The product is already in use by pilots in Alaska who use land-based topographic charts to reach a specific terrain feature not shown on aeronautical charts. Maptech officials also point out that the Pocket Navigator/ Navman bundle is a first-generation product — one which is slated for upgrades next year.
Pilot tested the bundled package using a Compaq iPAQ with 32 MB of memory storage. Because of unrelated programs already installed in that iPAQ, I found there was not enough room for even one VFR sectional chart (charts are loaded through a desktop computer into the PDA). So I loaded a low-altitude en route chart that had less data, and therefore required less memory. A PDA with 64 MB of memory should be able to hold about three charts.
The unit worked as advertised. A circle with a flashing red dot indicated the aircraft's position, and projected a future-course line based on my present heading. Color indicators kept me advised on whether I was receiving GPS signals. Since the unit does not have a detachable antenna, I mounted it near a window to assure continuous GPS coverage. The unit also kept track of where I had been; to return to the airport at the end of the flight, I had only to aim for the point where my track began.
While VORs, NDBs, intersections, and airports are depicted on the government charts, there is no database of such points, and thus no way for the user to enter and go directly to them. That is done through the use of the manually placed markers. I did not experiment with the unit's ability to plot courses by placing markers on the screen, because it would have distracted me from flight duties. However, a pull-down menu could have been used prior to takeoff to place markers between my departure airport and the destination. That will get you approximately in the right area, but not as precisely as do standard handheld aeronautical GPS receivers that allow the user to enter an aeronautical waypoint or facility.
For more information, contact Maptech, 10 Industrial Way, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913-3223; telephone 888/839-5551 or 978/792-1000; fax 978/ 792-1095; or visit the Web site ( www.maptech.com). — Alton K. Marsh
Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual
As you prepare for the transition to jet aircraft you need to know the differences between these advanced aircraft and the piston-engine airplanes you've been flying. The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual, Second Edition, by AOPA Flight Training contributing editor and NAFI Master CFI Gregory N. Brown and major-airline pilot Mark J. Holt covers all the basics of turbine aircraft.
The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual addresses high-speed aerodynamics, crew resource management, wake turbulence, and high-altitude meteorology, along with detailed descriptions of turbine aircraft engines and systems. State-of-the-art cockpit instrumentation is also discussed in depth. With the second edition, the authors have created an accompanying CD-ROM (for Macintosh and PC), with narrated, animated illustrations to help make understanding these systems easier.
The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual retails for $39.95. For more information, contact the Iowa State University Press, 2121 State Street, Ames, Iowa 50014-8300; telephone 800/862-6657 or 515/ 292-0140; fax 515/292-3348; or visit the Web site ( www.isupress.com).
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. Links to all Web sites referenced in this issue can be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/pilot/links.shtml).
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