Ronnie Godfrey
Pre-takeoff checklist
Well, we bit the bullet and placed our order for the TailBeacon. It says on the website they'd be shipping Q1, but Q1 is over. Any word on when they'll be sending these out?
Standard answer....
Two weeks.
My advice is not to make big bets on Uavionix.
Plenty of functional old transponders to stock up on cheaply.
I believe there is a big leap in labor costs to install WAAS antenna in older Cirrus due to composite work. Saw a recent Skybeacon install in an older SR22 at the avionics shop last week for that very reason.
Not all of us going the skybeacon route are doing it for budget constraints. Some of us just don't find any value-added proposition in this regulatory mandate boondoggle in the first place, and this allows us to skirt that nuisance for min cost. I couldn't care less about panel-mounted ADSB-IN potato or how robust the transmitter is. If it wasn't for the fact they extended the mandate to some airports I frequent that happen to fall inside mode C veils (aka that fleeting Echo airspace below the ever encroaching arm of the airline lobby aka class Bravo), I wouldn't have a pressing need to comply with this garbage at all. Not having to deal with additional labor or logistical hassles over "mother may I?" to certified mx providers, especially in this low-volume captive audience cottage market, is just a twofer.
As to non-ES transponders. Again, who cares. My GTX 327 has been rock solid for the 12 or however many years it's been installed on my spam can. I suspect it will continue to do so for the length of my ownership tenure. And if it doesn't, replacing the unit post-mandate deadline will be so cheap it's literally a non-thought.
Yeah, I just got that email. May be time to think a little more seriously about the GDL-82 because at this rate, we might miss the rebate. I want to make sure we get ours! The question, then is this: will the rebate defray the cost of install? The GDL and TB are the exact same price, but with installation the GDL becomes much more expensive.Well now I feel deceived. Got an email this morning from Uavionix saying they submitted the TSO application. All this time their website said they were expecting certification by the end of Q1. What do you want to bet they don’t make the 6-8 week timeline they are now promising?
We were waiting for the Tailbeacon, but with the new Garmin GNX 375, we are probably going to go that route.
Isnt't that kind of like waiting for a Corolla, but deciding to go with a new Porsche Cayman, price- and capability-wise?
More like waiting on a tow kit for a Corolla vs buying a new Chevy Tahoe.Isnt't that kind of like waiting for a Corolla, but deciding to go with a new Porsche Cayman, price- and capability-wise?
Well now I feel deceived. Got an email this morning from Uavionix saying they submitted the TSO application. All this time their website said they were expecting certification by the end of Q1.
Well now I feel deceived. Got an email this morning from Uavionix saying they submitted the TSO application. All this time their website said they were expecting certification by the end of Q1. What do you want to bet they don’t make the 6-8 week timeline they are now promising?