Wooden Aircraft Models

AviationLogs.com is proud to announce our new line of Wooden Aircraft Models. These models are beautiful. The goal with these models was not technical accuracy but aesthetic quality. Each model captures the essence of its namesake in a way that only seeing can explain.

Please take a few minutes to peruse the new Wooden Aircraft Model section on AviationLogs.com. Once there, you will find 64 aircraft models from the wright flyer to the F-22 raptor.


Even if you are not in the market for an aviation model, this would make an excellent gift to any pilot or aviation enthusiast .

This B-17 is my personal favorite. I haven't decided yet, but I think this one will be the one that ends up in my office:

How Do Aircraft Headsets Talk to Each Other?

For those of us who have been in aviation for a long time, we can forget what it is like to be a new guy. For this reason, I will occassionally post answers to questions that I get at AviationLogs.com.

QUESTION:
I am new to airplanes an I need a headset. I am looking at the asa airclassics hs-1 headset and would consider ordering two. Do they hook in to each other or do you need some other external device to communicate back and forth with?

ANSWER:
To communicate with each other, the headsets must connect to the aircraft intercom system. If the aircraft does not have an intercom system as part of the radio stack, a portable one can be purchased for as low as $115.95:

$199.95 Portable Intercom
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=AC2EX

$115.95 Portable Intercom
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=PA%2D200T

For the money, the ASA HS-1 is the best headset you can buy:
http://www.aviationlogs.com/pilotshop/proddetail.asp?prod=ASAHS1

The folks at ASA are great about servicing them under warranty. I recently had a customer send one back with a problem and ASA sent back a brand new set almost immediately.

Money for Flight Training

Someone who was trying to figure out how to pay for flight training recently asked how I paid for my flight training and if I had any suggestions. I wish I had a good answer, but I don't. I have some suggestions that may help, but the bottom line is this; FLIGHT TRAINGING IS EXPENSIVE! I was fortunate enough to get some support for my primary flight training from my family. For the rest, I worked at Jiffy Lube on weekends, and got into a lot of credit card debt.

Here are 4 pieces of advice on funding flight training:

1. Join CAP and become a mission observer (no pilot certificate needed), then fly for free whenever possible. If I could do it over again, I would join Civil Air Patrol much earlier. That way, I could have taken rides on training missions and try to absorb whatever I could.

2. DO NOT start training if you don't have the time or money to finish in one shot. You'll end up spending a lot more that way. Save your money so you can do all of your training at once (about 6 - 8K these days).

3. When you start flight training, get the ground school and written out of the way first. You'll get more for your money with each hour in the aircraft if you already know the basics.

4. Save money by getting your training materials from AviationLogs.com. AviationLogs.com specializing in low cost flight training materials.

ASA's Standard Pilot Master Logbook Now Complies with All FAA and International Standards

ASA’s popular Pilot Master Log (ASA-SP-6) is now formatted to comply with the standards for all international flyers. In addition to FAA recordkeeping regulations, this “universal” logbook complies with ICAO, JAA, CAA, and CASA recordkeeping requirements pertaining to pilots — including JAR-CFL 1.080.



Columns provide standardization, but are flexible enough to allow pilots to customize to fit their needs. Summary pages allow pilots to track experience, aircraft types, currency, medical dates, flight review, and more for quick reference. Hard cover, black, 11" x 6-1/2", 278 pages.
Note: The International Pilot Log (ASA-SP-6I) has been discontinued and is no longer available. Returns are not being accepted and you should continue selling your current stock.

Available at AviationLogs.com

Aviation Software Laboratory

AviationLogs.com has just begun "Log Labs". Log Labs is a proving ground where we try out new stuff that might be useful or interesting for aviation enthusiasts. We hope that you'll try out some of these components and give us some feedback. We are always looking for new ideas.

Why Buy Aviation Supplies Online?

The best reasons to buy aviation supplies online are price and convenience. In general, products that are offered on the Internet are less expensive than the same products offered in a brick and mortar setting. This is because online retailers have fewer costs than their brick and mortar counterparts. In our industry, frontage at the airport isn’t cheap and the local pilot shop must pass this cost on to his customers in the form of higher prices.

The advantages of buying online don’t stop at the bottom line. You can shop whenever and wherever you want. With tools like Yahoo Shopping and Google Base freely available, the convenience of comparison shopping on the Internet cannot be beat.
Online retailers value your repeat business more highly than you might think. It is difficult to stand out from other retailers on the Internet and the amount of advertising necessary to acquire a new customer is very expensive. As a result, many online retailers will provide an exceptional level of service to keep you as a repeat customer.

Here comes the shameless plug...
You can find great deals on pilot supplies at AviationLogs.com

Andy's Airplanes - Kids Who (Don't) Love Flying!

AviationLogs.com has been carrying aviation toys and gifts for a long time, but every once and a while a product comes along that is worth mentioning. While I enjoy playing with all things aviation, many children do not.

I can tell you that a love of aviation is not hereditary. None of my four children are aviation enthusiasts (yet). In fact, my daughter is the only one that doesn't roll her eyes when I offer a ride in an airplane. For an aviator dad, this can be a big dissappointment. My advice; don't force it. I believe that a love for aviation can be an aquired taste for some kids. A little exposure mixed with fun can go a long way towards creating a positive attitude about aviation. With each younger kid I do better. Starting with my second son, all plane rides end with ice cream or some other treat.

Even though my children are not aviation enthusiasts, Andy's airplanes proved to be a winner with them. I watched the 30 minute "Episode 1" of Andy's airplanes and was a bit dissappointed. Don't get me wrong, the quality is A+ and the animation is excellent. However, the story was a bit weak for my taste and I thought it should have had complicated lessons about navigation. However, my six year old daughter loved it and compared it with Jimmy Nuetron, which is a major complement. My older sons agreed that it was of surprisingly good quality, considering the subject matter...

If you're interested in Andy's Airplanes, you can get it here at AviationLogs.com.