Last Friday I took the day off from work and headed down to San Jose for AOPA Expo. I had originally planned to be there both Friday and Saturday, but I decided not to attend any of the Seminars, and stick just to the vendor exhibits. From what I have heard, the seminars are good but I just wasn’t willing to devote the time to them. Yes, I know, my loss.
So, did I see anything new and exciting? Yes and no. Since my visit to AirVenture in July, there have only been a few new products released. The first one that comes to mind is the Garmin GPSMAP 696/695, which was just released a week or two ago. I did get to play with it, and I think it is a great unit with loads of features. I was however a touch disappointed in the image quality of the IAPs (approach plates). I had to play with the zoom a bit to get it to a point where I thought the image was acceptable, but perhaps I was doing something wrong. Overall the unit was very nice, and while I didn’t buy one I probably would if I had a spare $3,300 laying around.
Really the only other new product or service that got my attention was AOPA’s new web based flight planner which is currently in Beta. I spent about 15 minutes at the AOPA flight planning booth talking with their developers about the new interface, and the features they say they are working on for future releases. I was really impressed with the new web-based user interface, as it requires no software to be downloaded and is therefore always up-to-date. I mentioned that one thing I didn’t like with the current flight-planning software was the fact that you cannot modify the altitude of a specific leg. Not only did they tell me they are working on that, but they said future releases should include the ability to recommend altitudes based on winds aloft. Cool, very cool!
Overall, I was very impressed with it and after just a brief preview you can tell that a lot of thought went into its design. I’ve posted a screen shot above, which you can click for a larger version, but you can also play around with it yourself by using the link above. A huge benefit of making it web-based is that you can now access your profile, aircraft, and routes from any computer with an internet connection. One of the developers also showed me a paper mock-up of perhaps one of the most exciting proposed new features… an iPhone interface that will allow you to file and close flight plans right from the phone (among other things). Ooooh, I can’t wait!
Not in the new product department, but I did spend a bit of time in the Scheme Designers booth talking to founder Craig Barnett. I’ve heard Craig on the UCAP podcast, and it was a pleasure to meet him in person. He is a really nice guy, and offers a great service at an attractive price. He walked me through the process of how they design paint schemes for airplane, and I was very impressed with not only the attention they give to detail, but their customer focus. I’ve got some ideas (colors) in mind for my RV-7, and when I get a little bit closer, I’ll be giving Craig and his team a call to help me make my ideas into reality.
Even thought AOPA Expo doesn’t offer too much for the experimental market, I had a good time, and I am glad I went. I got to meet up with Paul, a local student pilot who I’ve been been communicating with for several month, and spending time with him talking about avaiaiton was in many ways the best part of my day.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an FAA Aerospace Physiology class at Beale AFB outside Marysville, CA. While the words Aerospace Physiology might sound a bit intimidating, the FAA simply says that Aerospace Physiology deals with the physical and mental effects on flight aircrew personnel and passengers. That being said, the primary focus of this class is to teach you about the affects altitude, and decreased oxygen, have on the human body. Anyone who holds a current FAA Medical Certificate may take the class at about a dozen or so locations around the country, at a cost of only $50. If you are interested, you can learn more about the training and other on the FAA’s Airman Education web site.
I know, I know, I am way behind here. As I write this I currently have a backlog of five or six lessons to document. Shame on me! Until about a week ago, I had been putting long hours in on a BIG project at work, and it seems like my entire life has been on hold. My mind has been so occupied with this project that I have no idea what happened to the last half of May and first half of June. With the project now somewhat behind me, I am now playing catch-up in all aspects of my life, including this blog. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost interest, my plate has just been full (more like overflowing). One thing is certain, I’ve come to realize that my day job is getting in the way of what I really want to be doing! ;-)
No, not that type of traffic, but web traffic. As in, a lot of visitors to my blog over the past few days.
I’ve decided it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. From now on, in my posts I am going to use my instructor’s real name instead of saying “my instructor” and the actual name of the flight school where I am flying istead of “flight school”. I don’t have a good reason as to why I’ve kept this private until now, but perhaps I wanted to give it a few hours to see how it all worked out before I disclosed this information. It’s not like this stuff is sensitive information, or something that I would want to keep private, but I guess I am just sort of conservative when it comes to sharing personal information, which is somewhat ironic because you are reading this on my blog. 
