General Aviation News

Garmin G3X Touch certified for single-engine piston aircraft

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The FAA has granted Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for the installation of Garmin’s G3X Touch flight display in nearly 500 certified single-engine piston aircraft, company officials reported on opening day of the Aircraft Electronics Association 2019 convention.

The G3X Touch offers a variety of scalable panel configurations and a feature set that includes wireless connectivity and synthetic vision as standard, as well as options such as display redundancy, advanced autopilot compatibility, engine monitoring and more, company officials noted. [Read more…]

Tank contamination shuts down 100LL sales at KMAO

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Marion County Regional Airport (KMAO) in South Carolina, a popular fueling stop for SUN ‘n FUN-bound pilots, reports a 100LL tank contamination problem that will not be solved in time for this year’s event in Lakeland, Florida, April 2-7, 2019.

An airport NOTAM warns pilots 100LL fuel will not be available until March 28. However, the county administrator and airport manager indicated in early March that a longer delay is expected. The problem is rust in the 10,000-gallon 100LL underground tank.

“We have about 1,400 gallons remaining in the tank and when it was monitored in February it was not blue like it should have been,” said airport manager Margaret Pittman. “It wasn’t water, it was rusty fuel.” [Read more…]

Garmin introduces ADS-B transponders that feature two antennas

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On opening day of the Aircraft Electronic Association convention, Garmin introduced the GTX 335D and GTX 345D, two diversity transponders that provide Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out coverage.

The GTX 335D offers ADS-B Out, while the GTX 345D provides ADS-B Out, as well as ADS-B In traffic and weather for display on compatible avionics and mobile devices. Remote-mount versions are also available.

The GTX 335D/GTX 345D are intended for qualifying aircraft that may prefer or require a “diversity solution,” while also meeting or exceeding global ADS-B airspace requirements, according to Garmin officials.

The GTX 335D/GTX 345D utilize two antennas mounted on the top and bottom of the aircraft, providing “superior operational coverage,” Garmin officials said in a prepared release. [Read more…]

Looking for a new place for the $100 hamburger?

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SocialFlight, a free web and mobile app for finding events and interesting places to fly, has launched its new “Burger Flights” feature, adding thousands of airport restaurants to the SocialFlight interactive map.

Using the SocialFlight mobile app or SocialFlight.com on the web, users can display a graphical map of airport-accessible restaurants from a single tap of the Burger Flights feature button. [Read more…]

AEA convention opens in Palm Springs

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Nearly 2,000 avionics manufacturers, repair stations, installers, and other general aviation professionals have converged at the 62nd annual Aircraft Electronics Association International Convention & Trade Show, which opened March 25, 2019, at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California.

The four-day event, which runs through March 28,  is the largest gathering of avionics manufacturers, distributors and government-certified repair stations in the world, according to AEA officials. [Read more…]

Inadequate maintenance fatal for Piper pilot

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The airplane owner and a mechanic completed the Piper PA-28-140’s annual inspection the morning of the accident. The mechanic did no work, but returned the airplane to service with an endorsement that the annual inspection/airworthiness requirements had been met based on his determination that the engine runup was satisfactory.

The airplane departed but returned to the airport in Stonewall, Texas, shortly after the departure. During the return, a witness said the plane was “way too high,” and its approach was “pretty steep.”

The airplane touched down about halfway down the short grass runway and was “going way too fast.” The airplane overran the end of the runway and into a pond where it became submerged. The pilot died in the crash. [Read more…]

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