Since 1965, when Aircraft Spruce founder Flo Irwin began cutting up Sitka Spruce in her garage, Aircraft Spruce has been responding to the needs of homebuilders and pilots around the globe. Today, Aircraft Spruce has three distribution centers: Corona, Calif., Peachtree City, Ga., and Brantford, Ontario, Canada. There are also over 75 Aircraft Spruce International Representatives who can help expedite orders and customs clearance in overseas countries. Aircraft Spruce buys in such volume that they're able to pass on tremendous savings to their customers. This savings is guaranteed with Aircraft Spruce's Lowest Price Guarantee offered to customers on the more than 100,000 different items that they carry. Orders placed by 4 p.m. are shipped out the same day. Customers can take advantage of free UPS ground shipping on orders over $500.00 (doesn't apply to oversized or hazardous material) or free UPS truck freight on orders over $5,000. For more information, contact (877) 477-7823 or (951) 372-9555 or www.aircraftspruce.com.

Sporty's hosted a Young Eagles day and provided flights to 14 children and siblings of employees. The Young Eagles flights took place in the company's Cessna 172s and Piper Aztec, and were piloted by Sporty's employees. "We are strong supporters of Young Eagles through our Next Step initiative, but we also want to provide aviation opportunities at our home base at Clermont County Airport," says Sporty's President Michael Wolf. The children of Sporty's employees from ages eight to 17 were eligible for the local flight. Prior to each flight, these about-to-be Young Eagles were introduced to aviation with a mini ground school. The Young Eagles were encouraged to take a camera with them on their flight to help build memories of the experience that could be shared with family and friends later on. A Sporty's photographer also provided a photo of each child with the aircraft and his or her pilot at the conclusion of the flight. Young Eagles were given a logbook to document their flight, a complimentary EAA Student membership and access to Sporty's Learn to Fly course. Older Young Eagles were counseled how to proceed with their first flying lesson. "Sporty's takes its obligation to grow the next generation of pilots seriously, and there's no better place to do that than our own airport," says Wolf. For more information, visit sportys.com.

Earlier this year, the FAA awarded the DUATS contract to CSC. However, there has been some confusion over the status of CSC DUATS. While DTC wasn't awarded a contract and discontinued operations, CSC DUATS has remained fully operational and is scheduled to continue to do so until May 2019. With the new contract, there are several changes that everyone needs to be aware of:

• The FAA no longer requires a current pilot certificate and medical to become a DUATS user. Although it's preferred to register with a certificate number, it isn't required. Simply go the "Create New Account" button on the home page of www.duats.com and complete a registration.
• The FAA now requires all weather graphics distributed by the DUATS vendor to be provided by NWS. We modified our offering accordingly, supplementing with additional graphics from our met-shop partner. The NWS graphics may cause some issues in the beginning, but CSC is willing to work with the pilot community to offer additional graphics as the program moves forward.

Features new to the service are:
• Scheduled (pushed) weather briefings. A scheduled weather briefing can be requested for future delivery by SMS or e-mail.
• Delta brief update. Obtain a briefing and request updates of weather included in the briefing to be forwarded by SMS or email for a selectable time period up until departure time. Included in the updates are NOTAMS.
• Close VFR flight plan. You can make a request for an email/text reminder to close a VFR flight plan and close the VFR flight plan via your mobile device. If you were a DTC DUAT user and want to continue using the DUAT service, you'll need to either register or update your registration with CSC DUATS.

Flight of Passage, the best-selling book about two teenage boys who became the youngest American aviators to fly coast to coast in 1966, is attracting new attention this year en route to becoming a movie of the same name. The independent film company Just Chorizo Productions Inc. holds the film rights to the book and began production this fall on a short film before later work begins on a full-length feature film about America's youngest cross-country fliers. Rinker Buck, 15, and his brother Kern, 17, rebuilt their father's Piper PA-11 in the family barn in rural New Jersey and embarked on a six-day journey in the two-seater plane to San Diego. By Indianapolis, their story began attracting media coverage. After successfully completing their trip, they were even featured on the popular 1960s TV show To Tell the Truth. Director Henry Saine said, "We're beginning to see the same excitement now that was captured by newspaper and TV coverage back in 1996." Saine and producing partner Colin Ebeling added, "People have written to us about how that trip inspired their lives. Pilots have told us they retraced the route taken by the Buck boys to personally experience the adventure." Ebeling first heard about the Buck brothers while taking flying lessons last year. Earlier this year, Saine and Ebeling met and flew with Rinker Buck, who now lives in Connecticut. Buck's newest book, released this year, is the best-selling The Oregon Trail. "Flight of Passage is an inspiring story that shows people they have the freedom to become their own heroes," Saine said.For more information about the film project, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/flight-of-passage-short-film#/story.

Flight instructors now have a sturdy flight bag to make their jobs easier. This compact bag will hold a headset along with other aviation accessories, but remains lightweight and perfect for short flights. The CFI Flight Gear Bag has a padded external transceiver pocket with Sporty's patented split flap. Another padded external pocket is designed to hold a water bottle. The bag also has an internal padded ADS-B receiver pocket and a quick-access iPad pocket. A front organizer section has room for those small items such as fuel testers, flashlights, pens and more. The Flight Gear CFI Bag is available for $39.95 with an optional embroidery personalization for $9.95. For more information, visit www.sportys.com or call (800) SPORTYS.

Meet the Garmin D2 Bravo, a next-generation aviator watch that combines practical functionality and sophisticated design to bring pilots and aviation enthusiasts a premium GPS watch. The D2 Bravo incorporates Garmin's signature direct-to and nearest airport navigation features, complete with a worldwide aviation navigation database. New and exclusive benefits such as altitude alerts including preset alerts for altitudes requiring supplemental oxygen, as well as easy access to current aviation weather information, set the D2 Bravo apart from other pilot watches on the market. With a suggested retail price of $699, it also includes a six-month free trial of Garmin Pilot. Visit www.garmin.com/aviation for details.

Eliminate the need for external flasher boxes and get the brightest form of LED Anti-collision and Position lights with the new Orion 500, 600, 650, and 650E Series LED Lights! This series of FAA/TSO-approved LED aviation lighting offers the latest state-of-the-art LED technology available in an all-inclusive package. They're also flush mountable for a wide variety of applications with minimal integration and are easily retrofittable to the Whelen legacy strobe products. For detailed information, please visit www.aeroinstock.com.

Sporty's Crystal Christmas Ornament is an annual tradition for pilots, flight schools, FBOs and aviation enthusiasts. This year's ornament, the 31st in the series, features the iconic V-Tail Bonanza. More than 17,000 Bonanzas have been produced through the years, many of which are still flying. Sporty's custom-etched Ornament includes a bright red ribbon for hanging and is boxed for gift giving. Sporty's 2015 Crystal Christmas Ornament is available for $24.95. For more information, visit www.sportys.com or call (800) SPORTYS.