Redbird Newsroom
Pilots and non-pilots invited to try three flying-skills scenarios that hone their abilities—and could win them a free trip to Airventure at Oshkosh.
A good challenge is irresistible, which is why Redbird Flight Simulations, Bonnier Publications (owner of Flying magazine), and ten other sponsors launched the Flying Challenge Cup at Sun ’n Fun. “It appeals to our competitive nature,” says Charlie Gregoire, VP of Sales and Marketing for Redbird, “but this is much more than a flour-bombing contest amped up to a global scale.”
President Jim Irwin excited about the opportunity.
Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co, one of the world's largest distributors of aircraft parts, avionics, and pilot supplies, has been appointed as a distributor for Redbird Flight Simulations. Aircraft Spruce president Jim Irwin said, "From the Redbird Jay and TD simulators which are ideal for small flight schools and home use through the full motion FMX flagship model, Redbird flight simulators are clearly the finest line of general aviation simulators available. We are excited about the opportunity to offer the Redbird line of simulators to the general aviation market."
Overwhelming response met goals three weeks ahead of schedule, but supply can’t meet demand
“In preparing for this experiment, we planned for traffic averaging eight times normal,” said Jeff Van West, spokesman for the Skyport experiment to sell avgas for one dollar during October. “Actual response has been four times higher that that—over 30 times our normal volume. By the end of the first week, we’d reached our data collection goal for the entire month.”
How does fuel price really influence aviation activity? This October, a group of companies will use the Skyport aviation laboratory, in San Marcos, Texas, to find out.
“This experiment isn’t about the cost of avgas,” says Jeff Van West, Director of Redbird Media, and spokesman for the experiment. “It’s true that we’re selling avgas for $1 per gallon for the entire month of October. But we’re really using fuel price as a catalyst to stimulate activity and generate data. Of course $1 gas will increase flying activity, if by novelty alone. That’s not the point. The core question is: increase it by how much and for how long? A ten-fold increase says fuel price plays a huge role. A 40-percent increase? Maybe not so much. And if fuel price isn’t the barrier, what is?” Integral in the experiment will be data collected on all pilots fueling their aircraft at the Skyport, located at San Marcos Municipal Airport (KHYI).
Redbird Cygnus lets pilots in SimCom flight simulators see position, speed and altitude on any iPad app exactly as if they were flying in a real cockpit
The iPad has become a core tool for pilots, but its integrated GPS means an iPad in a simulator knows it’s on the ground rather than in flight. Redbird Cygnus changes this by connecting wirelessly to the iPad to send GPS information matching the position and velocity of the simulator. The result is an iPad that believes it’s in flight—and lets pilots practice using all the iPad’s tricks, including aircraft speed and altitude, position on charts, airspace awareness, terrain warnings, flight planning and more.
