The Smart Aviator

ADS-B For Airport Vehicles

Even before the Air Canada CRJ 900 and a fire truck collided at New York's LaGuardia Airport [https://avbrief.com/plane-fire-truck-collide-on-taxiway-at-la-guardia/]killing two pilots this past March, the FAA has been committed to equipping airport vehicles with ADS-B transmitters. For starters, the agency is investing $16.5 million to equip its tech ops and other vehicles with ADS-B hardware, primarily uAvionix VTU-20 [https://uavionix.com/airports-and-atm/vtu-20/] (20 watts) UAT units. Designed for an easy installation on nearly anything that drives on the airport surface, the VTU-20 shares tech that's also built into the company's budget-friendly skyBeacon and tailBeacon ADS-B Out systems for small GA airplanes. AvBrief's Larry Anglisano talked with Cyriel Kronenburg at uAvionix to learn about the interface.

Boeing 777 to Piper Arrow: Les Abend on Plane Ownership

Longtime aviation author and retired airline captain Les Abend [https://avbrief.com/an-owner-resisted-annual/] joins AvBrief’s A-list editorial team with a focus on take-it-to-the-bank advice for safe, affordable, and smart airplane ownership.

Instrument Aviator: A New Home For IFR Pilots on AvBrief

Answering the overwhelming reader demand for new content focused on IFR training, technique and proficiency, AvBrief is delivering The Instrument Aviator. The premium fresh content (not reheated material found elsewhere) written by familiar authors/educators is dedicated entirely to instrument flying and caters to a wide variety of instrument pilots—from seasoned pros to students. As Instrument Aviator regular contributor and CFI-I Elaine Kauh and AvBrief's Larry Anglisano discuss in this episode of the Smart Aviator podcast, the timing is right to get serious with deep-diving, hard-hitting scenario-based IFR articles and AvBrief is bringing it strong.

8Flight Aviator App: Fast-Growing Feature Set

As more users look for alternatives [https://avbrief.com/mass-layoffs-reported-at-foreflight/] for flight planning and cockpit tablet navigation apps, a program called 8Flight Aviator EFB [https://www.eightflight.com/] has been getting a lot of attention for its competitive and fast-growing feature list, plus its reasonable subscription price that’s lower than some of the leading programs. But as 8Flight EFB founder Matt Guthmiller [https://avbrief.com/youtuber-hits-disney-with-comedy-travelogue/] explains in this episode of the Smart Aviator podcast on AvBrief, creating a full-featured EFB app from the ground up —with the features that demanding pilots expect—is no easy task.

Cockpit EFB Apps: How You Might Choose

The full-featured, well-respected ForeFlight [https://avbrief.com/mass-layoffs-reported-at-foreflight/] Mobile iPad app has been in the spotlight lately with some loyal users pondering other options—of which there are plenty. But switching apps (and taking the plunge to an EFB if you've never used a tablet app [https://avbrief.com/tag/apps/] in flight) can be a major, difficult decision. As Smart Aviator on AvBrief ventures on an in-depth aviation tablet app review, we sat down with John Zimmerman at Sporty's for some guidance on how you might go about the decision.