This Year's Gadget Crop Was Amazing

Final Compilations by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Gadget Hound, Jim Campbell

When it comes to the people, planes and products of the aviation business, ANN firmly believes there is no such thing as an embarrassment of riches. 2009, as usual, saw a spate of new products, programs and 'gadgets' designed to separate a pilot from his flying dollar... fortunately, the vast majority of them are quite worthy of foregoing the occasional $500 hamburger or two.

In fact, for 2009 (even more so than last year) we really had to struggle with the list in order to pare it down to a manageable assembly and if we hadn't, we'd have easily had to increase the size of our annual 'Best Of' list to several dozen, or so, to accommodate them all.

From established products that continue to impress, to new and exciting developments across the range of general aviation... here, to our eyes, are some of the most worthy 'gadgets', products and programs of 2009.

Sporty's Deluxe Instrument Rating Kit (Online Course & Leather Bag)

As I waded back into the world of hard GA IFR over the course of last year (face it, our old Glasair III was fun, but a hard IFR mount it was NOT), I found myself scrambling to check out a number of resources to help me get back up to speed... both for my own purposes as well as my curiosity about the state of guidance available to today's up and coming IFR Aeronauts. The folks at Sportys were kind enough to send me one of their recently updated IFR training kits and I really liked what I found. Packed to the rafters with teaching materials and a few extra goodies, the program has both DVD as well as online lessons/quizzes available and lives up to the rep that Sportys spends mucho time cultivating. Even more valuable, Sportys has not skimped on ANY of the goodies... rather than referring to the seminal texts upon which the FAA bases their written tests, Sportys includes them as part of the kit... and the extras don't stop there... all the way to the inclusion of a handy flight bag.

Overall; it's a comprehensive, expert package and leaves nothing left on the basic wish list of someone struggling to get through one off the FAA's more challenging written tests. Highly Recommended.

Sporty's Complete Instrument Rating Kit Includes:

• Sporty’s Complete Instrument Rating Course Online
• Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA)
• Instrument Procedures Handbook (FAA)
• Flat Electronic E6B Flight Computer
• Pilot’s Pal Kneeboard
• Instrument Plotter
• Senior Pilot’s Flight Log
• Original Flight Gear Bag (black)
• Optional embroidery on bag (3 initials)

FMI: www.sportys.com