Pilot Products
Elite Simulation Solutions' instrument approach scenarios
The package includes 25 approaches into five Midwestern airports: Champaign/Urbana's University of Illinois-Willard Airport, Dupage Airport, Greater Rockford Airport, and Springfield's Capital Airport, all in Illinois; and Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport in Wisconsin. The interactive scenarios offer authentic controllers on audio to assign you holds, missed approaches, and full approaches with procedure turns and a variety of surprises.
While the scenarios require you to fly using Elite's version 7.0.5 flight simulator software, if you have version 5.0 or later, you can purchase an upgrade; version 7.0 users are entitled to a free upgrade. Version 7.0.5 offers realistic weather and traffic as well.
Price: $79.95 for the scenarios; upgrade to 7.0.5 depends on prior version of software. For more information: 800/557-7590; www.flyelite.com
Instructional Methods for Flight Instructors
A precious few of our best flight instructors have put their years of experience and insight on paper. Those who have can allow students and pilots outside their geographical reach to learn from their experiences. Just as flying with a different instructor during your training leads to greater exposure to the nuances of flight, so does reading the works of Bill Kershner, Rod Machado, and the like-and now Gordon Henrie adds his voice and distinct style to flight instructors' shelves.
In Instructional Methods for Flight Instructors, Henrie not only speaks to new and experienced CFIs, but also offers gems for all pilots to find. He plays an unusual hand of techniques, with emphasis where it should be: building a foundation of aircraft control "brick by brick." He explains common student concerns, like stalls, in distinct, smart, easy-to-understand ways. For example, he speaks of "unloading" the wing when recovering from a stall, as opposed to manipulating the airplane in reference to the horizon.
Henrie accumulated some of his thousands of hours flying in the Sixty-Ninth Fighter Bomber Squadron at Osan Air Base in Korea. More recently, he has worked as a designated pilot examiner and flight instructor in the Phoenix area. For those instructors who wish to delve into Henrie's style of instruction, he offers seminars that focus on different aspects of the book.
If you're an instructor, this book helps you teach to a higher level than the "dual given" totals in your logbook might intimate; if you're a student, this book makes a great reference as you progress through your ratings-especially if you're having difficulty with some of the basics.
Price: $39.95 plus $3.64 tax (includes regular shipping). For more information: 800/820-1444 or 928/333-2990; www.imfi.net
VOR sim, CG calculator, weather DVD from Sporty's
The new VOR SIM and NDB SIM are Windows-based software programs offered by Sporty's Pilot Shop. VOR SIM allows you to drag an aircraft anywhere on the screen and locate it using the VOR, twist the OBS knob, and toggle between different models of traditional VOR indicators. The software also demonstrates distance measuring equipment (DME). A tutorial takes you through OBS selection and VOR transmitter demonstrations, as well as the history of VORs. A companion NDB SIM CD covers nondirectional beacons (NDBs), tracked using an automatic direction finder (ADF), in a similar way. Developed by veteran ground instructor Rob Manion, both are suitable for use in FAA Part 141 ground school courses. Price is $19.95 each.
Another interesting tool is the WizWheel center-of-gravity calculator. This device looks like an E6B but allows the pilot to quickly determine the aircraft's center of gravity based on an index created for a specific model, calculated from its empty weight and arm. The demonstration wheel we received was simple to understand, and we could see how it would be useful to a pilot who often flies the same aircraft, such as a given trainer at a flight school. Our demo unit was for the Cessna 172Q through S and SP models, and a "utility zone" was marked for flight in R and S models in the Utility category. Other aircraft are available, including the Beech A36, A36TC, B36TC, 58 and 58A; the Cessna 172A through S, 182A through S, 310Q Turbo; Mooney M20C through F, and J through L; and Piper Archer, Warrior, Aztec, and Apache. The WizWheel retails for $49.95.
Also check out the latest DVD course from Sporty's, Advanced Weather Flying. The two-DVD set includes 42 lessons from aviation writer Richard Collins. It sells for $49.95.
For more information: 800/776-7897; www.sportys.com/shoppilot
It's great fun to pilot a Learjet 45 or Boeing 737 through the virtual landscape of a PC-based flight simulation program. But what if you crave to polish your skills on something that you actually fly in real life-say, a trusty Cessna 152? Flight1.com sells a Cessna 152 add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator in its General Aviation Collection. It features both a 3-D virtual cockpit and a 2-D instrument panel with interior views; you can use either or switch between them. You also get to hear authentic 152 engine noises, switch clicks, and gyro sounds. Flight1.com also sells add-ons of other aircraft such as the Piper Archer II and the Cessna 310.
Price: $19.95 for the download. For more information: www.flight1.com
Gleim Publications, Inc. has released its 2004 edition of the Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual. The company also offers a more compact version of the venerable aviation reference, sized 7 inches wide by 9 inches tall-perfect for students, flight instructors, and any other pilot who likes to carry a copy in his or her flight bag.
Price: $15.95. For more information: 800/874-5346 or 352/375-0772; www.gleim.com
Aviation Supplies and Academics now offers its 2004 versions of Test Prep books and Fast-Track Test Guides, as well as its Prepware computer-based training software. Also available is the updated Virtual Test Prep DVD Ground School, which comes with the Test Prep book.
For more information: 800/426-8338; www.asa2fly.com
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