In addition to VFR flying, the unit can be used for highway and marine navigation. The retail price is $1,049, and the GPSMap 196 is available from dealers. For more information, contact Garmin, 1200 East 151st Street, Olathe, Kansas 66062; telephone 913/397-8200; fax 913/397-8282; or visit the Web site ( www.garmin.com ).
New Jeppesen Products
Jeppesen has released two new chart training tools, the Jeppesen Chart Training DVD and Chart Training CD. Both spin off of Jeppesen's Web-based chart training program and offer interactive quizzes for self-guided study. The Chart Training DVD provides a thorough introduction to Jepp's instrument charts and a review of the latest area navigation (RNAV) procedures. The DVD is suitable for playback on a DVD-ROM-equipped computer or a television-based DVD system. The Chart Training CD explores each chart type in detail, and the interactive design introduces exercises featuring charts from around the world.
Skybound II, the upgraded datawriter for Jeppesen NavData subscribers, also debuted at EAA AirVenture 2002, giving pilots access to updates via the Internet for the majority of the company's avionics database customers. The new system offers automated downloading and programming of data cards from most avionics using NavData, such as panel-mount and handheld GPS units, and the datawriter is compatible with more operating systems, including Windows XP. Skybound II was scheduled to be available for UPS Aviation Technologies customers in August and Avidyne subscribers in early 2003.
Jeppesen has also completed phase two of its partnership with the FAA on a graphical notams delivery system for flight service station specialists, which includes enhancements such as improved drawing and editing, as well as increased capacity for additional information on each temporary flight restriction (TFR). For more information, contact Jeppesen, 55 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, Colorado 80211; telephone 800/621-5377; or visit the Web site ( www.jeppesen.com ).
Control Vision AnywhereMap 1.25
Now AnywhereMap users - and new subscribers to the service - can add several new functions to their personal digital assistants (PDAs). Control Vision now offers a three-axis attitude indicator that will display on PDAs and run in concert with its AnywhereMap software. The attitude indicator uses a proprietary attitude reference module (incorporating a digital attitude heading reference system, a resident GPS, and a battery pack) to provide attitude information. The system is expected to retail for $1,495 and be available this fall.
Control Vision also announced a new partnership with WeatherData to provide its weather products, including Storm-vision - a predictive product that projects a Nexrad-style weather radar image 20 minutes into the future, showing where a storm will go with 90-percent accuracy. Control Vision has also partnered with SureCheck Aviation to include aircraft-specific checklists in its AnywhereMap and AnywhereWx software. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.controlvision.com ).
Pegasus Introduces Interactive Garmin Trainer
Pegasus Interactive, Inc., a manufacturer of interactive multimedia software in West Chester, Pennsylvania, has introduced the Vflite GNS 530/430 Interactive Training Program. "It's a virtual instruction program" intended to solve a problem common to sophisticated avionics, said Dan Tauskey, the company's president. "Once you learn them, if you don't use them you'll forget them. I put a [Garmin GNS] 530 [panel-mount GPS receiver] in my plane last year, and so I recognized the need for this."
Designed to supplement Garmin's manuals, the program - which can be used on IBM PC-compatible or Macintosh computers - offers demo, training, and solo modes. Customer deliveries were scheduled to begin in late August. The standard version lists for $139.95 and the Plus version, which also tracks the user's progress and includes Garmin's simulation software on the CD, is $179.95. For more information, visit the Web site ( www.vflite.com ).
Sporty's Erasable Highlighters
Are you flying your cross-countries but find yourself buying new sectional charts before the old ones expire, because you've highlighted so many course lines on them that they're confusing to read? Erasable highlighters, now available from Sporty's Pilot Shop, may be just the ticket. Available in yellow, green, pink, orange, and blue, the highlighting can be erased with a standard pencil eraser.
We tested the highlighters on a cross-country flight from Frederick, Maryland, to Denver, Colorado. The marks were visible enough to be viewed in bright sunlight, yet did not hide the chart notations or damage the chart surface. We also used the highlighters to shade practice areas on sectional charts during a training clinic prior to EAA Airventure with good results.
Individual highlighters are $1.95 each, and a set of five is $8.95. For more information, contact Sporty's Pilot Shop, Clermont County Airport, Batavia, Ohio 45103-9747; telephone 800/543-8633 or 513/735-9000; fax 513/735-9200; or visit the Web site ( www.sportys.com/shoppilot ).
Flying Practical Handbook
For a different twist on learning to fly, Editions Vario offers a new English translation of its Flying Practical Handbook. In its eighth edition (in the original French version), the handbook covers topics for the private pilot practical exam using some uniquely French techniques. Jean Zilio, the author, has given more than 15,000 hours of instruction, and the translation was compiled by Marie-Noelle Little, a resident of Rhode Island.
The book emphasizes flying technique and not the regulations or requirements of specific countries. While it's not an exhaustive primer for students learning to fly in the United States, the fresh perspective may be useful for those who need further insight on a given maneuver or subject area, or for instructors seeking to expand their teaching skills. Particularly interesting is one way to determine a 3-degree glideslope in the cockpit.
Flying Practical Handbook is softcover, with 280 pages and more than 530 illustrations and photos. It retails for approximately $50. For more information, contact Editions Vario via its Web site ( www.aviationpublications.com ).
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