Summary of news and happenings at the 2019 Oshkosh AirVenture …

BendixKing buys TruTrak

Honeywell, parent company of BendixKing, has purchased TruTrak, which gives BendixKing a bevy of new products in the autopilot arena.

The AeroCruze 100 is certified and helps owners of Cessna 172, 175, 177, and Piper PA-28 aircraft upgrade to a newer autopilot system. Prices haven’t been announced yet. The deal closed early last week.

Learn more here. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honeywell-to-acquire-trutrak-flight-systems-300890090.html

TQ Avionics now certified

German company TQ Aircraft Electronics, which offers experimental products for legacy aircraft, is starting to pile up STCs and TSOs and is ready to impact the U.S. certified market. The company announced two new products for the aviation market during AirVenture — the KRT2 family of radios, and a KTX2 ADS-B transponder. We’ll cover this company extensively in future issues of the magazine.

BendixKing announces newly STC’d products

BendixKing announced that its KI300 AeroFlight attitude indicator, KFC230 AeroCruze autopilot, and AeroVue Touch PFD are now approved through STC for use in certified aircraft. The AeroVue Touch is approved for more than 300 aircraft types and includes Honeywell’s SmartView synthetic vision, terrain awareness, a moving map, vertical situation display, charts, and weather and traffic.

Learn more here.

Lycoming introduces new EIS

Lycoming Engines announced on July 22 its new Lycoming Electronic Ignition System, a drop-in capable replacement for magnetos. The EIS uses a solid-state design with no moving parts, is designed to go to TBO, and has no scheduled maintenance requirements. The EIS is currently available for all Lycoming experimental engines and the company is working on approval for OEM through STC.

Learn more here.

Piper Aircraft using 3D printing for parts production

Piper Aircraft announced that it created its first production part using 3D printing technology. The part, a piece of the environmental ducting for the Piper M600 is a step toward the company’s goal of reducing costs and saving time by using 3D printing for a variety of non-flight critical parts across product lines.

Learn more here.

Great Weather, Good Crowds

The general feeling among those who have attended many AirVentures was that this one ranked among the most populous. Several Piper Owner Society staffers said it was the best show in terms of attendance and enthusiasm in memory, and the Society set a record for member signup.

Members Said It

Ed Kloppenburg, Piper Archer: “Things change — rules, design, technology, etc. — but the people who truly love aviation are the same.”

Scott McLain, summarizing what he learned: “We are all just keepers of the keys in a snapshot of time on these magnificent flying machines.”

Jim Curns, Cherokee 180. What was the most important thing you learned? “It is hard to find a new style gyro for an older Century 1 wing leveler. One new version might be possible, I will be researching this. Stay tuned. If you know of one, please share it.” What was the most interesting thing you saw? “The Cherokees to Oshkosh arrival, from my pilot’s seat. It was my first participation in a mass arrival as part of 39 planes in formation.”

Dennis Strong, PA28-180, 45th year at AirVenture. What was the most-important thing you learned? “Most of us won’t need ADS-B Out, radar will continue, and you can still fill IFR in 2020 as long as you ensure you stay out of ‘rule’ airspace without the Out. ADS-B In is the most bang for the buck.” Most interesting thing you saw? “PilotSafety seminar: IFR Made Easy!”

Eric Wegner, PA-160, 45th year at AirVenture. What was the most-important thing you learned? “Plan your week ahead of time with all the things you want to take in and rank them in priority.” Most interesting thing you saw? “Friday evening’s presentation at Theater in the Woods. First, there were some of the NASA engineers talking about the Apollo lunar module; and then the interview with astronauts Joe Engle and Michael Collins.”

Paul Alleman, PA-28-140, 14th year at AirVenture. What was the most-important thing you learned? “It’s really fun and rewarding to volunteer.”