John Zimmerman

The original Zulu headset sparked a wave of innovation in aviation headsets when it was introduced a decade ago, and established Lightspeed as a major player in the premium headset market. Active noise reduction (ANR) headsets were not new at the time, but never before had they been available with so many features at such an attractive price. A lot has changed since then, but Lightspeed is not one to rest on their laurels. They recently released the latest generation, Zulu 3, and as always we went flying to see how it performed.

Garmin recently unveiled the aera 660, their first new aviation GPS in five years. It features a host of upgrades over the aera 500 series (which it replaces) including an all-new touchscreen, synthetic vision and complete digital charts. Here's a look at some of the best new features, including some less talked-about features that we found pleasantly surprising.

A portable aviation radio is essential equipment for any pilot. It's an easy way to get a clearance before starting the engine, and a valuable way to learn communications without burning any avgas. While these ground-based uses are nice, though, the real value of a radio is found in the cockpit. If the worst should happen and your panel goes dark, a good NAV/COM in your hand can save the day. It can help you navigate to an airport, call ATC for help and maybe even help you shoot an instrument approach.

But how good is a portable radio in an emergency? Do they really work beyond a few miles? We went flying to answer this question, and the results were pleasantly surprising.