Spring and your aircraft

Posted on March 27, 2012 by admin

Spring is in the air!

How can you tell?  The obvious signs.   There is  a buzz overhead and it’s the aircraft coming out of their winter hangars and  spreading their wings in the sun.  Our hangar is busy with many aircraft being upgraded, maintained and re-certified for the new flying year to come.   Now is the time for that overhaul and/or  annual and a perfect time to install the new avionics you always wanted.

Citabria

Citabria panel

With different types of aircraft coming in, the Citabria was an adorable plane to see in our hangar.   It had been in our hangar last year, but this year I got to get a closer look.   We installed a SL30 which is compact yet includes a 760 channel VHF comm, DME display, built-in course deviation indicator and more.  The owner/pilot also put his new acquired toy, the Garmin Aera 796 into the cockpit.


 

Cessna 172

 

We also had another repeat customer pop in with his Cessna 172.  With an already perfect panel (that we did last year) he decided to add the  S-TEC30 autopilot to his aircraft. It is designed to provide an economical solution for aircraft owners who need Altitude Hold, but don’t want the additional functions of pitch command  or vertical speed control.  It smoothly holds existing altitude and can be activated during climb or descent.

Cessna 172

 

 

Stay in touch

Watch our blog, newsletter and our website for more projects completed or on the go.

Any questions?  Email us at  sales@maxcraft.ca

 

More spring signs?

Sun ‘n Fun in Florida.  Everyone’s favorite airshow, or one of mine anyway.  It is the pilot’s version of spring break.  Many pilots enjoy lots of sun and aircraft of all kinds.  click here for more info: Sun ‘n Fun

Sun 'n Fun Logo

 

 

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

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Luxembourg and a Bell 412

Posted on March 12, 2012 by admin

Off to Luxembourg!!!

Wow, how exciting!  On request, we sent one of our staff, Ali Miri, an experienced Avionics Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, to go work on a Bell 412.

Ali had the pleasure of flying into this beautiful country, which neighbors Belgium,France and Germany, and experience Luxembourg for the first time. Some interesting facts:  its home to over 450,000 residents; has foreign residents representing more than a third of the Luxembourg Population and Luxembourg residents have the highest income per capita of any country in the world.

 Ali was able to give us a little of his story:

I left Vancouver Wednesday night and arrived on a Thursday evening into Luxembourg’s Findel Airport.  Whilst their national airline flies to 21 European destinations, there are no direct flights between North America and Luxembourg.  My flight was about 14 hrs long with a stop at London Heathrow Airport.

Packing for Liberia

I was asked to work on  the GPS system in a Bell 412 Helicopter to fix. This CHC helicopter was shipped from YVR on a Boeing 747 to Luxembourg.  It was then being assembled there  to fly to Liberia for transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms and vessels.

Bell 412 getting blades

The aircraft was placed in a larger outdoor tent due to limited space and supported by LAR (Luxembourg Air Rescue).

Working in a tent

At the end of my excursion, we test flew the Bell412 over the city with the KLN900 (GPS) for testing.

            

While there I was able to enjoy the food and their beer. I discovered that Luxembourg is a trilingual country; German, French and Luxembourgish are official languages.

The weather was bearable as the temperatures were around +5, but as the day turned into evening the temperatures dropped to -10.

      

Overall, it was a great trip and a great experience!  And after a long week away, Ali was back with us sharing his adventure!  We look forward to writing about more adventures from our staff and their personal experiences.

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

 

 

 

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GPS and Glass Cockpits, WAAS, Workshops all in a trip to Puyallup

Posted on March 1, 2012 by admin

Maxcrafts staff head to Puyallup

Steve and Wade head on a road trip to Puyallup Washington for the the 29th Northwest Aviation Conference and Trade Show.  Over 12,000 aviation enthusiasts gather in Western Washington for this event.

The speakers included Craig Fuller, AOPA President; Rod Machado, pilot and author of aviation flight training material; Bruce Belgum, AOPA Air Safety Institute.

Workshops went from GPS and Glass cockpits, WAAS, Garmin, weather and more!    It was full of information from your aviation medical to aviation maintenance.

Wade next to a P51 Mustang

Wade told us his Puyallup Story:

We ventured down toSeattle Friday afternoon and headed straight for The Museum of Flight on Boeing Field.  Where we had a whirl wind tour of the great aircraft on display, my favourite being the P51 Mustang! Then we had a great dinner with the Washington Float Plane Association, who have a lot in common with our BC Floatplane Association. They had a great speaker, (Mike Kincaid) who was a Alaskan State Trooper for many years and who’s role was mainly as the bush plane pilot/trooper and go to all the remote communities that are spread pretty thin up there. His stories were colorful to say the least!

Steve next to a Corsair F4U

Saturday morning we started with a great breakfast and then set up our exposition booth, right beside the Garmin booth. I believe Garmin likes to associate themselves with Maxcraft! Steve had some good pointers to trade shows and talking with customers, which I understood but I’m not quite sure I have the same gift! We informed the public of our abilities and of our ties with most of the manufactures of avionics out there.

Some of the other presenters had interesting items on display, from Spencer Aviation  to Cirrus (having their new G1000 Perspective SR22 setup to look at) there were many ways of marketing.  I especially enjoyed talking with all the flying public and hearing the different stories of how their cockpit is managed!

Maxcraft and Garmin Booth

Over all, the Puyallup Trip was successful!  Steve and Wade met some wonderful people, ate some fabulous food, and helped spread the word of what kind of technology is now available for the aircraft’s owners instrument panel! See you next week!

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

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Cessna , helicopters, and our crew

Posted on February 23, 2012 by admin

In the Hangar and its full!

You should see the hangar, it is chock a block full!

What’s in it?

A Cessna 172 getting a new autopilot, with our crew chief Andy working hard.   There is another Cessna 177 RG in a fabulous red and white paint job in getting a new “MaxPanel” and GTN 650, audio panel and so much more!  3 beautiful helicopters one an EC120, a Robinson R44 Raven and one a Bell 206 Jet Ranger III for a variety of upgrades.

All these aircraft being worked on by our crew and though a few crew members out of town working hard, we are managing to keep our door revolving.  Time slots are booked and customers are getting their aircraft ready for flying season, as we all know, winter is pretty much over.  From re-certs, to custom panels, the pilots and owners of aircraft are getting ready for the upcoming flying season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I personally can’t wait for the sun to come out.  Enough of the rain already, lets see the sun and the aircraft in the air!  Stop by and check out our hangar we would love to give you a tour of facility.

 

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

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Citation Bravo gets a facelift and Wade gets a flight

Posted on February 9, 2012 by admin

The Bravo in flight!

Exterior

 

Maxcraft had the pleasure of having Blackcomb Aviation drop off one of their aircraft for avionic upgrades and,

The Crew (Wade featured in green)

just as the upgrades and new interior were completed, Wade, our crew chief, had the pleasure of going on the repositioning flight with the Blackcomb crew back to YVR.

 

 This is Wade’s story:

Interior by Port Interiors

On Sunday 29 January, 2012 Blackcomb Aviation sent two pilots in an EC120 Helicopter toPitt Meadows Airport. We departed to YVR with the recently upgraded Cessna 550 Citation Bravo with Brian as our Captain. The aircraft had had its traffic avoidance system upgraded to TCAS II, and flight management system upgraded to the latest WAAS FMS from Universal Avionics. It wasn’t a great day for flying but with an aircraft that well equipped we didn’t think twice. It was a 20 minute flight in the rain and we were in Richmond. The one comment from the crew as we exited was that the avionics were flawless!

Check out the flight from Pitt Meadows to YVR.  Click on the link below:

C550 to YVR

On-line shopping

With great pictures, and easy navigation, our store is the way to go.  Shop and have delivered right to your door with no hassle.  Purchase flight instruments, portables, headsets and more.

Maxcraft On-Line Store 

 Have you got yours?

With spring arriving quickly, its time to get your plane in gear.  Dust off the wings, give it a good bath and some fresh air.  Bring in a new handheld portable for your new flights!  Some of the great features on the Garmin Aera 796 are:

  • Big 7 inch hi-res touch screen
  • 3D view of database-generated terrain
  • Portrait or landscape mode
  • Qualifies for use as either a Class I or Class II Electronic Flight Bag (EFB)
  • Geo-referenced IFR enroute charts & VFR sectional charts pre-loaded
  • Jeppesen’s chart upgrade ability (Garmin ChartView)
  • Built -in digital document viewer
  • Scratch pad – path to a paperless cockpit!
  • Added support for helicopter missions
  • Garmin’s patented Panel Page
  • Traffic compatible (GTX 330) or Zaon
  • Safetaxi, Airport Directory for US and more

Interested, but not sure?  Come in, try it and take our demo flying.  If you like it as much as we do, click on the on-line store and purchase yours today or call us for more details.

 Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

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Flight Tracking? Collision Traffic Avoidance Systems? Where to look…

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin

 Looking for the “Maxnews”? 

January issue of Maxnews is now available on our website with more on our instrument shop, AEM AMS42U audio panel, Cardinal, and our feature employee, Oliver.  Sign up now for the monthly newsletter.

http://maxcraft.ca/index.php/newsletter

Skies Article

Check out Daryls new article on Flight Tracking and Satcom – aircraft tracking systems, once found mostly in aerial firefighting operations, are increasingly being installed on commercial and business aircraft.  Check out the link below…page 74

www.skiesmag.com

PAMEA

Join us at The Pacific Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association 2012 Aircraft Maintenance Symposium and Trade Fair

BCIT Aerospace Campus 3800 Cessna Drive, Richmond, BC Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 and Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 8:00-5:00pm Meet and Greet, Friday Jan 27, 2012 5:00-8:00pm Maxcraft will be there!

Check out booth #29 for the trade show, and see Daryl do his seminar presentation on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8:50am-9:35am in Classroom 152.  Daryl presentation seminar explains collision traffic avoidance systems from portables to transport category.  We will help you (and your customer) understand the technology, features, benefits, and relative cost of the various systems.

For more information check out their website www.PAMEA.com

 

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

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Expansion to Maxcraft Avionics Instrument Shop

Posted on January 12, 2012 by admin

The instrument shop has expanded

Until now we have had limited instrument repair capabilities and with our customer base continuing to grow, we made the decision at Maxcraft Avionics to expand the instrument shop, radio shop and capabilities.  To meet our customers needs, listed below are just some of the repair capabilities that we will be offering:

Instrument bench

- Remote and panel mount gyro’s

– All navigation ie: HSI, pitot statics

- Various flight instruments

- Engine instruments ie: engine indicators, temperature, RPM

- Accessories ie: tac generation, clock,  fuel flow and quantity

 

Two new members

In addition to this expansion, we would like to introduce two new members to our team. Oliver Bienz who will be our Instrument Repair Services, Manager/ Senior Technician and Francisco Ruiz who will be Instrument Repair Services, Senior Instrument Technician.

Oliver and Francisco

Oliver was previously based at different avionic shops in the lower mainland fora number of years.  Oliver was trained originally as a watchmaker where he learned his love of  working with instruments.  With on the job training he pursued in career in aircraft instruments.

 

Francisco was with Oliver for 3 years and prior to that was at another lower mainland avionics shop for 1 year.   Francisco had got most of his training from the Columbia Air Force Military Academy.

Oliver and Francisco met as co-workers where they worked together for 3 years and were known as the dynamic duo.  And with over 60 years of experience between them, focusing on commercial, heavy aircraft, rotary and fixed wing, they are able to conquer any instrument given to them!

We are thrilled to have them join us at Maxcraft.  They are an asset to our team with their knowledge and experience.

 

 

Keep an eye out for the January issue of the newsletter, it will be featuring Oliver and even more information about the instrument shop!

 

 

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.



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Happy New Year from Maxcraft Avionics!

Posted on January 5, 2012 by admin

Maxcraft had its best year ever

2011 proved to be one of the best years ever for Maxcraft.  According to our records, our guys were busy, our hangar was full and our customers were happy!

With the general and commercial aviation coming in all year, our team was busy.  With many different types of aircraft from Sikorsky helicopters to Cardinal Classics it was on-going work for all the staff.  Each of our team members   playing a different and yet important role with each and every aircraft that comes through Maxcraft, we were kept on our toes at all times. 

2012 will be fabulous

For the pilots, there is always new and improved “toys” for 2012 that one can carry onto their plane.  With new flight instruments and portables  This could be the year for aircraft owners to do a bit of sprucing up to their aircraft from new panels to the new interior.  Even the simplest change can boost that “I wanna fly” feeling. 

Changes at Maxcraft

We are all looking forward to 2012.  We have many changes coming to Maxcraft for 2012.  Stay in touch with our blog, newsletter and website for new and exciting announcements in the new year at Maxcraft. 

 

 

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Christmas and the New Year

Posted on December 23, 2011 by admin

Today is the day all the staff go home and prepare for the holidays.

We have hung the tinsel, decorated the tree, put up the garland and placed the cards on the counter.  Its now time to close up shop for the holidays.

The planes are snug in the hangar, the Christmas tree lights are unplugged, and the blowup snow man and his airplane are deflated.  We look forward to our family time, relaxing, playing with our children, or just sleeping the days away.

We will be ready well rested and prepared for the new year to come. We look forward to 2012 and hats off to 2011.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us at Maxcraft! See you in 2012!

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Shopping for the Garmin 796? Check out the on-line store

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Maxcraft all the hot products on-line

Check it out!  Maxcrafts on-line store is now a more convenient way to purchase that portable flight instrument,  flight safety equipment including ELTs and Spots, headsets, and more. If you are looking for a quote on an avionics upgrade you can call or email us on the store website also.

Christmas is just around the corner and it’s a perfect time to order that Garmin 796 or other gadgets for your perfect pilot. And with the  shipping waived for the month of December, you can shop a whole lot more.

Maxcraft online store

 

 

 The Garmin handheld

Don’t forget to come in a purchase your new Garmin Aera 796 portable for 2012!  It’s a great christmas gift for yourself or one you love.  Come in to play with our demo.  Still hanging on to that old portable? From pilots who have purchased this 796, we have heard nothing but positive feedback. 

 

December Maxnews!

Our December newsletter is now out.  Check out the great rebates and some ideas offered in the newsletter for the perfect gift for christmas!  Read about the the S76A helicopters getting an upgrade and what was installed.  Also some great information about aircraft satellite tracking systems.  Of course we offer a little christmas humour all in or December newsletter!

 

 

Maxcraft Avionics is a leader in airplane and helicopter avionic system upgrades like the Garmin GTN series, including installation of everything from a basic VHF Radio and simple Garmin portable GPS all the way to TCAS, EFIS, and autopilot systems. We have the largest avionics facility in Canada and we have over 20,000 unique part numbers in our in inventory to repair your aircraft or upgrade your cockpit.

 

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