Garmin make strides into the iPad Pilot Market

With the considerable uptake of the iPad as an in-flight Moving-Map GPS system, it was only a matter of time before GPS Manufacturers took notice. With their years of experience as market leaders in the GPS arena, it's no surprise that Garmin are about to make a big splash into the iPad and Android pilot market with the launch of three new products.

Garmin GLO is a Bluetooth GPS which is available in August. Approved by Apple for use with it's products, Glo Combines a regular GPS receiver with a Russian Glonass receiver making the time it takes for the receiver to "lock on" approximately 20 percent faster than using GPS alone. It also has access to 24 more satellites and 10 times faster than the internal GPS receivers of most mobile devices.


The Garmin Pilot Aviation App, available from iTunes. This is the app that pilots have been waiting for. Available for the iPad, iPhone and Android mobile devices. The app brings Garmin's aviation features to tablets and smart phones, offering complete trip planning, DUAT(S) filing, weather, navigation and electronic flight bag capabilities. However, we must wipe the drewl from our mouths, as this is currently only available for US Pilots.



Finally but not least the Garmin GDL 39 ADS-B Receiver, unfortunately again not currently supported for use in Europe. Garmin GDL 39 ADS-B Receiver brings in-flight weather to your iPad and other Garmin portable GPS devices. The Garmin GDL 39 ADS-B Receiver is subscription-free ADS-B weather, including NEXRAD radar, METAR's, TAF's, NOTAM's, TFR's and more. Let's hope it's here soon!

Aircraft Anti-Icing

Freezing condition can cause problems for aircraft with passengers stranded in snow-hit airports, it might sound like yet another source of delays and frustrations. However removing and preventing the build-up of snow and ice, especially on the wings and fuselage of aircraft is an absolutely crucial preventative measure. On an aircraft ice changes the shape and texture of the wings and their flaps, creating a drag effect and making the aircraft impossible to control. Too much ice on the aircraft can leave it without enough lift to get airborne. Because salt is corrosive to an aircrafts aluminium frames, specialist de-icing and anti-icing products such as Kilfrost are recommend for use before and during flight. Kilfrost aircraft anti-icing products work like antifreeze in a car, reducing the freezing point of water to as low as minus 50C. Products such as Kilfrost DF Plus De-icing Fluid are applied by some airlines through high-pressure jets and can be applied at temperatures as warm as 65°C. Sometimes when used on commercial jets, it will contain a coloured dye so that it can been easily seen if any part of the plane out. Kilfrost Type I fluids are more commonly used as part of a two-step de/anti-icing procedure when the final application of a Type II or Type IV fluid provides the required anti-icing protection which helps prevent the build-up of ice after the de-icer.

However, aircraft may still require anti/de-icing in flight. Products such as Kilfrost TKS80 fluid protect the aircraft's leading edge, propellers and tail surfaces of your aircraft from ice formation. TKS 80 fluid provides de/anti-icing protection in-flight through the porous metal structure forming a wings leading edge. TKS80 is manufactured to the same exacting standards as Kilfrosts wing de/anti-icers, used by leading airlines and airports around the world.

Kilfrost have been involved in the the development of the concept of in-flight de-icing since the 1940's. The letter 'K' in the TKS system comes from Kilfrost. Present day, much of the fundamentals of the TKS system have not changed. The TKS system itself provides a protective layer of fluid via porous metal structures that form the leading edge of the wing and tail surfaces. TKS80 fluid will cover and melt and then help to prevent the further adhesion of ice.

Transair Are Ambersil Authorised Distributors

Transair are pleased to announce that we are now Ambersil Authorised Distributors for their Aerospace range of products. Ambersil produce a range of product especially formulated for use in aerospace and aviation maintenance facilities. Ambersil offer a complete range of chemical products including Cleaners, Lubricants, Anti-Corrosion products, Paints, Care products and their specialty products developed to be better than the competition.
Ambersil offers product which has a focus on product quality, reliability, and availability, the Ambersil brand is leading the way in offering exceptional value for money and added value. Now part of the global CRC Industries group, global leaders in maintenance chemicals, Ambersil products are your complete chemical solution!

Garmin's answer to the iPad - Introducing the aera 795

Garmin's new aera 795 doesn't allow users to surf the internet, take pictures, or enable video chat but the new Garmin aera 795 does brings iPad like features to a dedicated aviation GPS unit. The 795 include geo-referenced charts, a bright pinch-zoom screen that shows in both portrait or landscape modes, and innovative "3D Vision" that provides an in-trail view of your airplane in color-coded, database-derived surroundings. Much like the iPhone and iPad, with the flick of a finger you change the view of the aera 795 and zoom in on specific aera of a chart.

"The Garmin aera 795 has some features in common with the iPad, but it's meant for aviation and aviation only, and it will thrive in harsh cockpit environments where the iPad and other tablet computers can't and don't." Jim Alpiser, Garmin director of aftermarket sales.

The aera 795 also takes the pilot one step closer to a paperless cockpit with a digital document viewer and scratch pad. The Garmin aera 795 has a high-resolution and sunlight readable 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode. The physical design has been optimised to fit on the yoke and is sized perfectly as a knee-mounted device. There are four touch keys on the bezel of the unit representing "Back", "Menu", "Direct-To" and "Nearest" for quick navigation to frequently used functions, and because the aera 795 is customisable, the user can also pick favorite features or pages to anchor as icons along the bottom of the screen for even faster access. The display has large, finger-touchable icons with intuitive pictures and labels to indicate their function such as: map, terrain, 3D Vision, WPT info, FPL list, active FPL, numbers, doc viewer, charts and tools. Pilots can choose any of these functions by simply touching the appropriate icon. The touchscreen interface also allows the pilot to quickly pan across the map and pinch/pull zoom.

The 795 is unlikely to win over the Garmin 695 market as the versatile MFD can be hired wired into cockpit panels but we beleive that the aera 795 is actually aimed purely at the iPad market by incorporating some of this popular tablet's best features and packaging them in a sturdy, robust GPS solely for aviation use. All-in-all the Garmin aera 795 is likely to be a very popular Aviation GPS Unit.

A Quiet Revolution - Introducing the New Sennheiser S1 Digital Headset

A quiet revolution: the new S1 Digital pilot’s headset from Sennheiser combines intelligent noise cancellation technology with maximum wearing comfort
Oshkosh, 25 July 2011 – At EAA Air Venture Oshkosh, audio specialist Sennheiser is presenting the S1 Digital, an innovative aviation headset with fully adaptive digital noise cancellation. NoiseGard / digital noise cancelling technology accurately analyses the surrounding situation at the push of a button to achieve uniquely superior results in noise cancellation. The premium headset features high wearing comfort – with adjustable contact pressure for the ear cups and a special comfort zone for glasses –, as well as a Bluetooth interface and clear voice transmission with a user-customisable treble boost function. The headset is rounded off by a stylish design by BMW DesignWorks USA.

NoiseGard™ / digital adaptive noise cancelling technology“The new Sennheiser S1 Digital is in the truest sense a quiet revolution in the General Aviation Headsets product segment. It is a pilot’s headset with fully adaptive digital noise cancellation and many user-customisable features,” explained David Dunlap, Director Sennheiser Aviation. For the pilots, this means that the headset no longer uses fixed filters and assumed values like conventional ANR systems but can continuously be optimised for changing noise conditions, for example during take-off and when cruising altitude has been reached. In this way, the S1 Digital offers optimum protection for the pilot’s hearing.

By pressing the Smart Update button integrated into the ear cup, the adaptive NoiseGard™ / digital circuitry measures the spectrum and intensity of surrounding noises and applies individual filters that are perfectly adapted to the situation. “At the core of the new noise cancelling technology is a particularly powerful digital signal processor,” explained Jörg Buchberger, Business Segment Manager Aviation. “This processor generates a filter algorithm that specifically reduces the dominant
noise proportions.” Fully adaptive noise cancellation is additionally supported by excellent passive noise attenuation.

Safe and reliable communication
The new S1 Digital was specially developed for use in single-engine and twin-engine propeller planes. Its high speech intelligibility optimises communication in the cockpit and with air traffic control (ATC). As a person’s perception of higher frequencies begins to diminish in their mid-thirties, the S1 Digital has a three-stage treble boost that is separately adjustable for each side and which focuses on speech. In addition, pilots can adapt the sound pressure level individually to their own hearing ability. As in all Sennheiser headsets, the Peak Level Protection feature reliably protects the pilot’s hearing against volume peaks above 110 dB. The boom microphone also helps to ensure clear intelligibility. It compensates for surrounding noise and guarantees clear speech transmission with a frequency response of 100 to 10,000 Hz.

Audio quality and operating comfort

The name Sennheiser has been synonymous with top-quality audio for more than 65 years. And the S1 Digital is no exception. It not only offers the best sound quality for cockpit communication, it also offers superior sound when used for listening to music. What is more, the headphones have a frequency response of 20 to 16,000 Hz. Using a Bluetooth interface on the control unit, the headset can be connected for example to an MP3 player, a computer or a mobile phone. “To bring out the best from the different audio sources, the headset has two separate audio mixers for communication and music,” said Jörg Buchberger. “The ATC signal and mobile phones are reproduced with a narrower band for high speech intelligibility, whereas music is played with a broader bandwidth to provide an excellent sound experience during the flight.”
External devices are conveniently controlled via an intuitive interface. If the mobile phone rings, the music is interrupted, an LED on the control unit flashes and the pilot is given an additional audio signal in the headphones. Calls are taken simply by
pushing a button. The ATC signal is always given priority. If Bluetooth and NoiseGard™ / digital are used simultaneously, the headset has an operating period of more than 25 hours.

Comfort
The design of the headset was developed by Sennheiser in cooperation with BMW DesignWorks USA. Special emphasis was placed on functional details that positively influence the flying experience. A completely new feature is the headset’s individually adjustable contact pressure. “Pilots can now adjust the contact pressure of the ear cups in three stages between five and seven newtons. This enables them to find the perfect balance between a comfortable fit and optimum passive noise attenuation,” explained Jörg Buchberger. Also new are the ear cushions with a soft, flexible zone for the temple arms of glasses to provide extra comfort when wearing (sun) glasses. The design in puristic black with metallic elements is rounded off by the attractive shape of the headband and ear cups that is reminiscent of the sweep of a wing.
The S1 Digital headset comes complete with a carrying case, a belt clip, a windshield, a cable clip and a user’s manual, and will be delivered to Sennheiser’s worldwide sales partners beginning in July.

Garmin aera FREE subscription to Pilot Magazine Offer

Receive a 12 months subscription to Pilot when you purchase any promotional Garmin aera 500 or 550. This offer is valid from June 1st 2011 – August 31st 2011.

Pilot is Britain's best-selling general aviation magazine. Whether you are an aeroplane enthusiast, already a pilot or thinking of becoming one, it's a great read. Each issue is packed with flight tests, travel articles, news, technique features and much more to inspire, inform and entertain, including stunning photographs. Nick Wall, Pilot Editor says "I've been writing for Pilot for fifteen years, after learning to fly and winning aerobatics contests, writing was next on my list. Why? Because nothing beats communicating the joys and technicalities of aviation. I hope that you enjoy reading Pilot magazine".

To claim your free 12 month subscription (worth £47.88) please enter your unique 5 digit code on-line at www.subscriptionsave.co.uk/garmin

Offer is valid from June 1st 2011 - August 31st 2011. Offer is only valid on promotional units that include the redemption code card. All customers must redeem by August 31st to qualify for this offer. All redemption attempts made after August 31st will be declined.

Mid-Continent Instruments moving onwards and upwards

Mid-Continent Instruments is expanding its engineering division and will hire an additional 24 people to support the development of new products for the aviation industry.

The company plans to invest $2.7 million in a project that includes construction of a 5,100-square-foot addition to its existing building at 9400 E. 34th St. North and the purchase of new machinery and equipment, according to the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, which worked with the company.

"We're adding new product lines; we're developing new products," said Mid-Continent Instruments president Todd Winter. "This is going to let us do it faster and better." Mid-Continent designs and builds aircraft instruments, avionics and power supplies. It employs 142 in Wichita and 22 in Van Nuys, Calif. The company plans to begin construction of the facility in August with completion in February.

Mid-Continent will add jobs in mechanical and electrical design and certification engineers and bench technicians over the next five years. The company will stay focused on products for general and corporate aviation. But some products might take the company into commercial and military programs, Winter said. During the downturn, the company remained active and increased its sales, research and development, and engineering efforts, he said.It recently formed a new division called True Blue Power to focus on aircraft power management products, batteries and inverters.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/27/1824185/aviation-supplier-to-expand-hire.html#ixzz1Ki6oHDXY