What’s New

ShareZen Eases Shared Plane Ownership

ShareZen, an online application, makes it easy for people to manage shared assets such as planes by offering them a simple system for scheduling use, tracking shared expenses, keeping up on maintenance and facilitating owner communication.

Spurred by economic and environmental concerns, asset sharing has increased as people realize the potential for cost savings, environmental conservation and access to more and higher-quality assets.
Shared ownership is nothing new in aviation, says ShareZen cofounder and pilot Drew Bernard. The number of people with access to planes to pursue their passion for flying is on the rise, as shared ownership continues to drive down the costs and increase the value and joy each aircraft can provide. But managing a shared asset presents challenges including coordinating schedules and use, making sure the aircraft is maintained on schedule and expenses are shared equally, ensuring flight hours and logs are current, and communicating problems, changes or other information among all owners.

ShareZen solves these problems by providing a comprehensive but simple framework. Once owners sign up for a membership, ranging from free for single owners to $39.95 per month for large groups, they use simple tools to coordinate all aspects of shared aircraft or other asset ownership.

Until now, shared-plane owners have had to cobble together ways to track and manage all the details. We designed a powerful but easy-to-use online solution that handles all the details so everyone can focus on enjoying the things they love, planes and flying, with people they trust.

For more information, call 503/683-3354 or visit http://sharezen.com.

Marking Wires Made Simple

Identifying wires and color-coding them has just become safer, faster and easier with the patent pending Bogert Wire Marking Tool. The nylon tool and a Sharpie permanent marker are all you need to add identifying stripes to 24-8 gauge wire. Its a snap to color-code the entire length of wire or just the ends.

Simply slip the wire into the notched guide, drop a regular Sharpie-type marker into the barrel until the ink tip contacts the wire, and then pull the wire through the guide. Aircraft wire, Romex, Cat 5, coax and data-transmission cable are cleanly and easily identified by using different colored standard Sharpie markers. The wire may be striped from end to end or marked where splices are to be made so that no mistakes can occur during reconnection.

Like most inventions, it was the necessity of needing a fast and accurate means to connect wiring that gave Richard Bogert the idea for this tool. One day I was installing a radio package in the cramped space behind a planes instrument panel and was frustrated at how time-consuming and difficult it was tracking all those wires that looked exactly the same. I didn’t need something high tech or fancy, I just wanted to easily identify the wires while in the middle of the job. Id tried labeling the wire with bits of tape or with a marker alone but found it awkward and messy.

The Bogert Wire Marking Tool is made in the U.S. and machined from non-conductive nylon. The price is $29.95. Sets of four and 24 Sharpie permanent markers are sold separately.

For more information, call 800/627-8088 or visit www.bogertgroup.com. A video can be viewed on YouTube.