2020's Top Planes, Pilots, Gear And Achievements

Plane & Pilot 2020 Editors’ Choice

When all is said and done, the year 2020 will go down in history as the worst, for reasons you all know too well, some of which might not have happened yet as of this writing. At the same time, 2020 has been a remarkable year for aviation, both in good ways and bad. We'll look at the good things that got done in our aviation world, of which there is no shortage. Enjoy.

Epic E1000

Itâs big news these days when a new plane wins FAA certification, and the Epic E1000 turboprop isnât just any plane. It is, in fact, one of our two planes of the year for 2020. The 333-knot pressurized turboprop single is fast, sexy, sophisticated and more than a million dollars less than its closest competitor. The plane, which seats six, including the pilot, has already begun customer deliveries, and for the value it offers, we expect to see a lot of E1000s in our shared aviation future.

A Hundred-Dollar Flashlight?

Flight Outfittersâ Bush Pilot Flashlight can actually be had for around $90 on the virtual street, but itâs still a lot for a flashlight, right? In this case, itâs not. The Bush Pilot Flashlight is the single coolest flashlight Iâve used, and Iâve tried out a lot of them. The thing is big but not clunky. Itâs shaped so as not to roll away from you. Itâs got a beefy clip thatâs strong enough to go on your badass pilot belt, and it has the lighting adjustment and mode select on the base. And itâs got a bunch of other features that make it pretty much a must-have for pilots flying off the beaten path or even smack dab in the middle of it. For starters, itâs rechargeable, and it can stay bright even at its highest setting, which, at 1,000 lumens, will make an impression. Do not look into the beam! Its strobe function is incredibly important. If you, heaven forbid, ever go down somewhere wild and you need to be found, a strobe, especially at night, is the very best non-satellite way to get the attention of search and rescue craft. And this one rocks. And if the lithium ion battery in it goes bad, which it might in a few years, you can replace it.

Garmin Autoland

What do you say about a program that developed a utility for your plane that can take over control, find the closest suitable airport, descend configure the flaps and gear as needed, land the plane and then stop it on the runway (even shutting down), all while keeping the passengers in the emergency fully briefed as to what is going on? Autoland. And it is a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations, too, to the three companies, Piper, Cirrus and Daher, that have already made it part of their flagship aircraftâthe M600, Vision Jet and TBM 940, respectively.

Garmin GI 275

Garminâs new round-gauge primary flight instrument, the GI 275, is one of the most important products to come around in a long, long time. How important? We put it and only it on the cover of our May 2020 issue. Designed to take the place of a standard 3.125-inch diameter flight instrument, such as an HSI or an attitude indicator, the GI 275 can act as a primary flight display with built-in A, an HSI, an MFD and an engine monitor display. It interfaces with Garminâs popular, and value-priced, GFC 600 and GFC 500 flight control systems, aka autopilots, by displaying modes and allowing for pre-select and heading select. At a price of between $3,195 and $3,995, the GI 275 isnât cheap, just a lot cheaper than the five or six separate instruments it can replace.

GoProâs HERO9 And GoPro MAX

GoPro has upped its game with not one but two groundbreaking cameras. The HERO9 is an evolution of the HERO lineup into what is pretty much an advanced amateur/active photographer pro level, with 5K recording, so itâs super sharp and bright, as well as rugged, it goes without saying. There are numerous new features to love, including improved time lapse (with programmable recording) and slow motion, a really effective stabilization mode, automatic horizon leveling (donât get us started), improved battery life (more than two hours in go mode) and removable lenses, along with both front and back color screens, so you can see what youâre going to shoot. The HERO9 starts at $350, but you can easily double or triple that or better with accessories you might just need to get. For aviation types like us, you might want to go 360 degrees, with the equally cool GoPro 360MAX, which also features dual displays, super high-res lenses and a longer battery life than its previous 360 camera, and at 5.6K in dual lens mode, itâs got all kinds of resolution. And both of these cameras, unlike a lot of earlier GoPros, can be edited in camera, instead of having to switch to desktop to do it. The MAX goes for $500.Â

Barrier-Breaking Pilots

Another huge movement in our country in 2020 was the push to open doors and expand freedoms all around, and what better place than in aviation? As one of the many young (and sometimes not-so-young) women of color to take their talents to the skies, Lt. Madeline Swegle became the first Black woman Navy Top Gun pilot this year. In an aviation world in which there are far too few Black women, Lt. Swegle showed that she has the right stuff, and in so doing, showed the world that Black women not only fly but fly remarkably well, too. Congrats, Lieutenant!

Pilot First Responders

The United States, facing two huge challengesâthe coronavirus pandemic and a spate of devastating natural disasters, fires, floods and hurricanesâneeded pilots to step up, and we did. From pilots risking their lives flying medical relief flights to firebomber pilots, well, risking their lives in an even more dramatic way, to the flight and support crews without whom none of it could happen, we say thank you with all our hearts.

Pilots

When we launched our Plane Strong/Pilot Strong campaign in June, our goal was simpleâto showcase our pilot populationâs strength and diversityâand because of that, our segment of aviation is strong enough to weather any storm. Even though the pilots who make up our ranks fly very different planes on very different missions, we share a core belief that weâll get through these pandemic times and that COVID-19 might slow us down, but it could never stop us. And as things have turned out, we were right. And we arenât the least bit surprised. We expected nothing less.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Space Shot

Private space flight? We were skeptics about it a decade ago, and we were so wrong. Earlier this year, astronauts Douglas Hurley and Bob Behnken became the first astronauts to launch into space from American soil since July 8, 2011, the date of the last Space Shuttle launch. The launch, though delayed because of weather, was picture perfect once it took place. And the return, via parachute to a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, wasÂ right on the money. Congrats to Bob and Doug and the rest of the SpaceX/NASA team.

Pipistrel Velis Electro

The worldâs first certificated electric airplane came from a company that, a few years ago, few North American flyers had heard of, but the Pipistrel Velis Electro is the real deal, and itâs already flying with flight schools in Europe as part of a nascent movement toward electric-powered planes being adopted as trainers. Priced at around $200,000, the plane isnât cheap, though it is about half the price of the four-seat planes that are now being used for most training. There are downsides to electric planes, some big ones, such as limited endurance and protracted charging times, but the upside, cutting fuel costs to next to nothing, not to mention engine maintenance, too, are so big, they will drive widespread adoption. And this plane is the first of the breed.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

To call a flight simulation game revolutionary might sound like a stretch, but what Microsoft has done with Flight Simulator 2020 clears that bar, and by a lot. The game/simulation isnât perfect. There are glitches, widespread but rare examples of poorly rendered terrain, and not enough different models of planes in there yet. That last one, too few planes, will be fixed in short order by enthusiast designers. Youâll see. What it does do is spectacular. In using actual photographic imagery of the world and rendering algorithms to make it all 3D, MS FS2020 has created a game so photorealistic that players and non-players alike are doing regular double takes to figure out whatâs real and whatâs a product of the game. Itâs stunning. And thatâs just the beginning of it. MSFS2020 has 37,000 manually created airports, 30-40 of which got extra-special attention.Â The real-time weather engine is fantastic, so good that hundreds of gamers used it to fly into the eye of a very realistic-looking Hurricane Laura earlier this year. Thereâs also a good flight training mode, which does just what it sounds like it does. Some reviewers have called the program a âwork in progress,â which isnât wrong. But with most works in progress, the starting point isnât the best game ever, and the endpoint isnât pushing the bounds of reality.

A Virtual AirVenture Oshkosh 2020

It might seem odd to be recognizing the organization for the show that it did not hold, but thatâs part of the point. Not only did EAA make a politically fraught but 100% correct decision in calling off an event that for many of us is the highlight of our year, but it then went into overdrive by coming up with a virtual event that took place at the same time as OSH normally does, with hundreds of webinars, live events, interviews and so much more with its Spirit of Aviation Week. âVirtualVentureâ attracted hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts to the OSH in the cloud, and while none of us could help but think of all that we were missing, it still connected us all to a space that we hold dear. Kudos, EAA.

Plane & PilotStaff