With Christmas just around the corner, many of our vendors are beginning to release their holiday rebates and specials. Now is the perfect time to pick up holiday gifts for your aviator friends and family. With price increases expected from most manufacturers in early 2024, December is a great opportunity to lock in 2023 prices on avionics, whether that’s a new VHF comm, or an entire glass panel upgrade.

IMC Club Returns – Wednesday November 29th 2023

After a long hiatus caused by the pandemic, Maxcraft will once again begin hosting regular meetings of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) Instrument Meteorological Conditions Club. The purpose of EAA Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) Clubs is to promote instrument flying, proficiency, and safety. The intent is to create a community of pilots willing to share information, provide recognition, foster communications, promote safety, and build proficiency in instrument flying.

Featured Products:

The Nicest Piper Warrior Ever

This Piper Warrior came to us after getting a brand-new interior, and the customer wanted to take it to the next level. As the customer had found this Piper Warrior to be his forever plane, he wanted to make it as capable as possible. This would include replacing every last analog instrument with digital “glass” displays, a highly capable Garmin navigator, and Garmin’s impressive GFC500 digital autopilot. All of this becomes even more capable with the large 10.6″ touchscreen G500TXi touchscreen primary flight display.

Read more here.

“The finished product is a pilot’s dream come true! It has totally transformed my flying and cockpit experience. The new panel has raised my level of situational awareness exponentially…”

Turbine Bonanza Frustrating Autopilot Troubleshooting

The owner of this Beech B36TC Bonanza met Maxcraft at one of the many tradeshows we attend throughout the year and discussed an ongoing snag he had been experiencing with his newly installed Genesys autopilot. This autopilot had been installed by another shop more local to him during a “dream panel” avionics upgrade. After some discussion about the troubles, the customer made the short flight across the border where Maxcraft resolved the problem in short time. Satisfied with our quality of work, this customer returned to Maxcraft for more upgrades a couple months later.

Read more here.

“They got all the bugs worked of my autopilot fixed very quickly, that I had been having since anther shop installed it 4 years prior.”

Portable Augmentation in the Cockpit and Beyond

On August 5^th, 2009, a small company by the name of ForeFlight announced a new application for the iPhone which would allow pilots to view FAA sectionals, draw a route between airports, display the current location using the phone’s GPS, and other rudimentary features. Little did anyone know what this would look like more than a decade and a half later, and the reliance many have on these technologies today. About a year later, the Apple iPad would hit store shelves, and today it seems most every pilot flies with an iPad.

A Screenshot of an Early Version of ForeFlight for iPad

While ForeFlight was the first, they are far from the only option on the market. Garmin released their equivalent, Garmin Pilot, in 2012. Today there are seemingly countless options for electronic flight bags. Whether that be an off the shelf tablet running a mobile application, or a dedicated device such as Garmin’s Aera lineup.

Garmin’s Aera lineup today includes the Aera 660 and 760. The primary advantage of the Aera over an iPad or other tablet is the fact it’s been engineered from the ground up for use in the cockpit. This means using a display that is not easily washed out by sunlight, the device is less prone to overheating in sunlight, and it’s built using components which are able to withstand the aviation environment.

Just a few years ago it would be unimaginable to check your aircraft’s fuel level right on your watch

Pilot Watches:

The very first pilot watches came about during World War I where pilots needed an accurate way to keep track of time while navigating. These were little more than simple wristwatches which could tell time, and little more. Later innovation would introduce watches with slide rules on the bezel mimicking an E6B.

Today the king of pilot watches is Garmin with their D2 lineup. Garmin has managed to fit a GPS, pulse oximeter, barometric altimeter, among other features into these tiny wrist worn devices. The modern D2 lineup has all the capabilities of today’s smartwatches with many pilot-minded specialties. With up to 25 days of battery on a single charge, the D2 Mach 1 Pro triumphs over many other smartwatches on the market.

Garmin’s D2 watches also integrate extensively with their avionics and mobile apps such as Garmin Pilot. Flight plans can be transferred from Garmin Pilot to the D2 to view the waypoints on a moving map.

PlaneSync Connected Aircraft Management:

This year Garmin announced PlaneSync, their solution to simplifying aircraft management. Many cars are now equipped with system that allow drivers to view the status of their vehicle, lock or unlock doors, and track its location all over Wi-Fi or LTE networks. PlaneSync brings similar capabilities to the aviation market. Flight planning begins long before you arrive at the airport, PlaneSync allows pilots to manage database updates, along with automatic updates when new data is released. PlaneSync also automatically uploads real-time hobbs, tach, and flight times, fuel quantity, battery voltage, OAT, oil temperature, and GPS location. This feature can be especially useful when leaving the plane at an FBO allowing you to ensure they fuel it up before you arrive. When combined with a Garmin engine information system, postflight logs will be automatically transmitted to flygarmin.com where you can then review your engine data, or share it with your maintenance team.

One of the coolest features of PlaneSync is the ability to view the status of your aircraft directly on your D2 Mach 1 Pro smart watch. A quick glance at your wrist will reveal your aircraft’s current fuel level, electrical voltage, and location information.

Garmin

Garmin offers one of the most comprehensive lineup of

avionics upgrades in the industry, they

offer solutions for most any budget and

mission, all while providing state-of-the-art

capabilities and improving decision making

like never before. From the industry’s first IFR approach certified GPS to today’s newest touchscreen interfaces and advanced SBAS/WAAS systems that let pilots fly GPS LPV glidepath

approaches into airports with no on-field electronic navaids of any kind, Garmin avionics are setting the pace and building toward a future that will take them from today’s ground-controlled and radar-supported ATC system to a more space-based, satellite-derived NextGen air traffic management environment.

In 1983, Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao founded Garmin in 1989 in Lenexa, Kansas, as “ProNav”. ProNav’s first product was a GPS unit which sold for US$2,500. The company was later renamed “Garmin”, a portmanteau of its two founders, Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao. In 1991, the U.S. Army became their first customer.

Garmin started out as an aviation exclusive company,

but has since made large impacts in many markets,

such as marine, automotive, and outdoor recreation.

Garmin has grown to over 19,000 associates working

at their headquarters in Olathe, KS, the Garmin

Aviation office in Salem, OR, and offices around the

world.

On October 30, 2019, Garmin announced that the Piper M600 and Cirrus Vision Jet would become the

first general aviation aircraft certified with the company’s emergency autoland system, which is

capable of automatically landing the aircraft with the push of a button and will be a part of both aircraft’s

G3000 integrated avionics suite in 2020. Garmin calls the new technology “Autonomí”. Garmin plans to eventually expand its offer to the G1000 avionics suite. In June 2021, Garmin Autoland won the 2020 Collier Trophy.

Recent achievements in 2023:

• Garmin opened its new Aviation Business Center, which has allowed all Aviation associates to be under the same roof and has provided space to host guests and training classes. The Aviation Business Center is the newest improvement to the Garmin campus, which joins its nearly 750,000 square foot new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and warehouse.
• Garmin received awards from Embraer for outstanding aviation systems, services and support, as well as an Operational Excellence Award from Airbus.
• Garmin achieved the top spot in AIN’s 2023 Avionics Product Support Survey, resulting in Garmin winning the honor for the 20th consecutive year.
• Co-founders Dr. Min Kao and the late Gary Burrell were named to the prestigious National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF).

A leading provider of solutions

to general aviation, business aviation, rotorcraft,

advanced air mobility, government and defense,

and commercial air carrier customers, Garmin

believes every day is an opportunity to innovate.

No matter which Garmin avionics solution you select, Garmin is committed to giving you world-class performance and best-in-industry product support to back it up.

You can read more about Garmin on their website here.

Roen has been with Maxcraft for the past two and half years. As an apprentice avionics technician, his day to day work can include anything from troubleshooting the pitot static system in a more than half century old aircraft, to installing next generation avionics in a multi-million dollar modern business aircraft. Roen joined Maxcraft fresh out of his aircraft maintenance engineer “E” (electronics) course at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. After 2.5 years with Maxcraft, Roen now completes complex avionics installations in a wide variety of fixed-wing and rotor aircraft.

Roen enjoys how there is always something new and different with every aircraft that comes through our hangar. Roen has never aspired to be a pilot, and his fear of heights can make it challenging to work in the aviation industry at times. In his personal life, Roen enjoys painting anything and everything, whether it’s ‘still life’ or ‘en plein air’

Rebates

Autumn is here and EI is launching a special Autumn Rebate on their most popular instruments from November 1st to 30th, 2023.

Click here for more details!

Whether you are an existing customer or new to Gogo, they are offering a rebate on their Avance L3 and L5 systems. Valid until Oct. 31, 2024

Click here for more details!

For every Lightspeed Delta Zulu headset you purchase between November 17, 2023 to January 2, 2024, you will receive a FREE  3-piece Lightspeed Battery Charger Bundle!

Valued at $150 USD, this special offer includes a Lithium-Ion Delta Zulu battery pack as well as the brand new Lightspeed Delta Zulu Battery Charger and a 3-foot USB-A to USB-C cable. The slim design makes it easy for storage and the rotatable footer provides extra stability for benchtop use.

Click here for more details!

Bose Holiday Gift!

Purchase one set of Bose A30 Aviation Headsets and receive one Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth Speaker for free, a value of $149.00 CDN retail.

Click here for more details!

Garmin Holiday Promotions!

Just in time for Christmas! Save on the best aviation gifts for pilot enthusiast, or the perfect gift for yourself. Valid until Dec. 30, 2023

Click here for more details!

Garmin GNS upgrade program

Garmin is offering a credit towards the purchase of a GTN Xi series navigator, GNC 355 or GNX 375 unit with a qualifying trade-in of a GNS series navigator.

Click here for more details!

CBAA Chapter Mtg. 

Nov 28, 2023

Edmonton

CBAA Chapter Mtg.

Nov 29 2023

Calgary, AB

CBAA Chapter Mtg. 

Nov 30 2023

Vancouver, BC

CBAA Chapter Mtg.

Dec 5 2023

Ontario

AACA Alaska Air Carrier Convention

Feb 5-9, 2024

Alaska

NWAC Northwest Aviation Conference

Feb 24-25, 2024

Puyallup

A pilot has engine trouble and lands in a field. As he walks around the plane to check out the problem, he hears a voice behind him say, “You have a clogged fuel line.” Looking around, he sees no one, except a cow. Startled out of his wits, he runs across the field to the farmer’s house and pounds on the door. When the farmer appears at the door, the out-of-breath pilot stammers that his cow has just talked–and even tried to explain what was wrong with the airplane.

The farmer drawled, “Was it a brown cow?” “Yes.” “Did it have a white patch on its forehead?” “Yes, yes, that’s the one.” “OK, that’s Flossie. Don’t pay no attention to her. She doesn’t know nothin’ about aeroplanes.”