Form meets function
The conversion clock celebrates an icon
By Ian J. Twombly
Skyway Hourglass, a new company dedicated to honoring historic aircraft, has introduced a series of functional and fun clocks and coasters. Initial offerings include clocks and coasters featuring five different iconic helicopters—the Bell UH–1 Huey and OH–58 Kiowa, Boeing AH–64 Apache; MD Helicopters MD 500E, and Sikorsky UH–60 Black Hawk. These “conversion clocks” merge traditional timekeeping with real fuel-burn calculations. The idea came to the owners of the company when they were teaching fuel calculations to students.
Don’t fly one of these five helicopters? It doesn’t matter. They would look great on the wall of any office, hangar, or aviation business. The fuel calculations are a built-in draw, even if you don’t need to know that the Black Hawk burns 160 gallons per hour. The concept is easy. Search for the red tick marks for reference to fuel burn in tenths of an hour, or every 15 minutes for a quick check of the figures in red.
The business is veteran-owned, and each sale will include a donation to a veterans-support organization, as if you needed another reason to hang a well-made and functional airplane clock on the wall.
Price: $37.73 to $56.59, depending on size
Contact: skywayhourglass.com
Email [email protected]
Forget something?
Maybe you need a pilot wallet
By Julie Summers Walker
CFI Max Surowka noticed something universal about his students—invariably they forgot something. ID? Check. Certificate? Check. Medical? Whoops.
“Professionalism is part of being a pilot no matter if you’re flying a cropduster on a grass strip, or across the Atlantic Ocean on an airliner. We all need to play by the rules and stay safe as we interact with each other in the airspace system. It is our legal responsibility to be able to prove who we are and that we are fit and able to fly an airplane,” said Sarowka, now a regional airline pilot. “We are required by the FAA to have at minimum our pilot license, medical, and government-issued photo ID on our person any time we fly an airplane. I’ve created a simple product that helps us do just that.”
Pilot Wallet by Zephyr Aviation is a document holder ensuring all required documents are in your shirt pocket or bag before you walk onto the airfield. Handcrafted of Italian leather and available in several colors, the Zephyr Aviator Pro is a trifold pocket-size billfold that holds everything from ID to cash to your passport—in perfect-size slots.
Price: $50
Contact: zephyrpilot.com
Email [email protected]
Hard-working flashlight
A valuable tool for your flight bag
By Julie Summers Walker
Flight Outfitters owner Mark Glassmeyer couldn’t find a flight bag to his liking when he was in training, so he designed one himself. That innovative design has led his company to be one of the foremost general aviation pilot product and equipment manufacturers today. The company’s latest release is the Bush Pilot Flashlight, a high-power LED light with 1,000-lumen brightness, green night vision mode, and an emergency power bank for charging a cellphone. Five light modes, including a strobe setting, and an adjustable beam are other helpful features. Charged via a USB port—no batteries required—it will recharge from a cigarette lighter (we knew there was a reason our old Cessna 172 has a cigarette lighter), portable battery pack, or wall outlet. It has a magnetic base for mounting.
Price: $89.95
Contact: flightoutfitters.com
Email [email protected]
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