Marc checks out the Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show at the Puyallup Fair grounds. This video was taken on February 27, 2011.
In order of appearance:
Cirrus:
I started off the day at the Cirrus booth but didn’t talk about it. The intention of PreFlight TV is to explore things that every pilot (or prospective pilot) can use, buy, or get some benefit from knowing. Discussing aircraft is great, and I’ll do it all day long, but it doesn’t help any of us actually fly. So, at PreFlight TV we’ll certainly mention cool, “no way can we afford this” type-things when we see them, but the goal is to keep things in reality.
Boeing Employees Flying Association:
I didn’t talk about BEFA, but their booth is in the background of the New Generation Video segment, and thought I’d mention them. BEFA is the organization that I fly with. Though it has “Boeing Employees” in the name, anyone can join.
New Generation Video:
Shot Mapper is pretty cool little product. Though I didn’t show it, the product is really just two parts – a cable, and software. For $100 you can add GPS coordinates to your videos. The only catch is that your camera must have an audio input.
Rescue Tape:
Out in the middle of nowhere and a hose breaks, something non-structural just came off, or a wire become exposed? I’m not saying you’d want to do a major repair, but let’s say you land away from your home base and figure out that your scratchy mic is because the connector is loose. Rescue Tape would work in a pinch.
I can think of 1000 things that are completely fixable if you/I had the right tool. Rescue Tape won’t fix everything, but it’s a small thing to throw in your survival kit.
CSC DUATS:
Honestly, they are a little behind the times. However, they are good and reliable. I used to use CSC DUATS before moving almost almost exclusively to Foreflight and the AOPA Flight Planning tools.
Bose:
I actually didn’t really check out the A20. I was afraid I’d like it, and I can’t afford to buy a new $1000 headset every year.
… they really are nice headsets.
Desert Air
I didn’t film their booth, but they are in the background of the Bose segment.
Desert Air is community in Eastern Washington with a private airport.
Avian Avionics inc.
They build engines. I’d look at engines, but I’ve no use for them, as I don’t have an aircraft. I can’t find their website easily. Sorry.
FAA
The FAA was here to talk with people.
Silverwing at Sandpoint
I love the idea of living right off a a private runway, and drive my aircraft out to go to leave the house. I envy anyone who lives this life, as I probably will never be able to afford any of it.
FAAST
I’ve heard about the portable airport that the FAAST team has put together, but didn’t see it until today. They used to build it by putting tape on the floor, but that took hours of work. They now have heavy-duty plastic pieces that they tape down, and the process of constructing the airport is much faster.
I think they asked me to join in the traffic pattern 3 times. Nobody needs to see me cause an accident, so I didn’t do it.
http://www.barbarossabooks.com/
Barbarossa Books is a used bookstore with lots of titles. Of course, to a aviation trade show – they’re going to bring the aviation books.
