Back in 2009 or so when I was putting my oxygen system together using components designed for medical applications I considered the feasibility of using an oxygen concentrator instead of the conventional O2 tank as an oxygen source. Military fighters use oxygen concentrators so why not KR's? I soon dismissed that idea since the concentrators on the market in 2009 were big, heavy and drew a lot of power.
A friend just sent me an inquiry regarding something that he had come across and boy, how things have changed. This "Inogen G3 Aviator" is the same thing (it appears, I've not researched it) they're selling for medical use as just a plain old Inogen G3. A pilot here in California has decided to market them for aviation use and has tacked on the name Aviator to it, then added an extra $300 to the price since it's for an airplane (a cynical guess). It could be that his are FAA approved and the regular G3's are not. I'm not about to buy one since it's well over two grand for either one but how nice it would be to never have to fill up tanks again. With my huge E tank (24 cubic feet) and as little flying as I'm doing I seldom have to fill up . . . it was full when I went to McMinnville and I used it from the time I left here to when I got back to Gillespie and it's still over half full so clearly I don't need an oxygen concentrator for $2500 but it's something netters and other aviators should know about. It's 8.5 inches high and 8.5 inches wide and not very thick and weighs less than 5 lbs. You can plug it in to the cigarette plug or run it off its internal battery (4 hours) and produces 93% pure oxygen. There's a couple other small concentrators on the market I've discovered in poking around, but this is the smallest one and produces the most oxygen. It does it by using a molecular sieve to filter out the nitrogen. It meets the FAA requirement for supplementary oxygen above the various altitudes that apply, up to 15K. The G2, same price but slightly larger, is approved up to 18K. Someone on one of the forums says he has no trouble maintaining a saturation level of 96% at 18K using the smaller model. Dan Heath take note. You need one of these for your Panther. And Jeff should have one just for pattern work considering his field level. Everybody should have one that can afford it. This thing is neat! Three year warranty. http://www.inogenaviator.com/products.html Mike KSEE ____________________________________________________________ New Solar Policy Stuns CA http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/56496f7180d166f71227bst02vuc
