Handheld radio

"Jim Meade" wrote in message
...
Looking for opinions on a portable, handheld aviation radio for ground
support operations. No special features needed beyond the basic
transciever functions, as far as I know.

Vertex & Icom are the "Honda & Toyota" of that market. You will find folks
that are passionately in love with either brand, but the fact is you are not
likely to go wrong with either. (That said, I love my little Vertex)

For glider training you want the smallest, lightest unit you can find. For
soaring, I wear mine around my neck on a breakaway lanyard. (I know you
specified ground operations, but in the cockpit you really don't want something
the size of an HT rolling around loose where it could jam your controls.) For
power flying, mine lives in my flight bag for backup use. In my experience, you
need no special accessories for soaring use. I don't even have an extra battery
pack, because the thing lasts me an entire day on a fresh charge.

For power flying, a headset adapter is a necessary item.

Vaughn

For glider training you want the smallest, lightest unit you can find. For

I agree to a point - I wouldn't want anything smaller than the A6. I
have the original Icom A20 that I bought over 20 years ago. Durn thing
is built like the proverbial tank and just won't quit - and it gets used
too. The problem for me was that it's the size of a brick and that's a
problem when you're climbing in and out of the back seat of a glider all
day. So, even though the A20 worked perfectly, I bought the A6 simply
because of its size. It's a great radio but I come to the field with 2
battery packs. The A20 batteries would last all day.

Tony V.