TailBeacon

Ronnie Godfrey

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
Messages
100
Location
Longview, TX
Display Name

Display name:
Ronnie Godfrey
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.
 
Are they still saying certification at the end of Q1? I know they originally said sometime in 2018 and they had lots of delays for the SkyBeacon as well. Hopefully they get it figured soon.

If they were smart, they’d get the matching wingtip options all ready to go as well. That might put me over the edge to just replace strobe and nav lights.
 
Standard answer....


Two weeks.

Correct! The challenge is getting them to tell you when the two weeks start.

When I worked for one of the software companies we announced the realease of our next major software release to be in February. We did indeed release in February, but not in the year that was originally implied. We were a small, albeit agile and innovative company, but things happen. A small company just doesn’t have the mass and bandwidth to do everything as forecast.

My advice is not to make big bets on Uavionix. Small tech companies might not be around to support their products. In reality, it would be more common for them to be swallowed up by a competitor with massively more resources. When that happens, the intense motivation to develop, deliver and support that product is seriously diluted.
 
Wait till 2021 and see where they are. Right now, they are a one trick pony on the way tot the glue factory.
 
My advice is not to make big bets on Uavionix.

Agreed, because you are not only betting on uAvionix but also whatever old transponder is in the panel. My guess is that a good number of their customers are just trying to buy some time.
 
I agree asicer. I fully understand how budget constraints can be, but I think doing a Uavionix product is just pinching the penny too darn hard. There are some on such tight budgets that they may have to roll the dice. I spent much of my life with tough economic challenges, so I understand the lure of this gadget.
 
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.
 
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.

Yes, I have a functional King KT and a functional Narco AT transponder on the shelf that I will keep in the event that one of my friends on the field need it, I will give it to them.
 
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.

You really should open up and say what you really feel.
 
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?
 
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?
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.
 
We were waiting for the Tailbeacon, but with the new Garmin GNX 375, we are probably going to go that route.
 
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?
 
Isnt't that kind of like waiting for a Corolla, but deciding to go with a new Porsche Cayman, price- and capability-wise?

Can’t buy that which is not able to be sold.
 
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.
 
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.

Yeah, that kinda rubs me wrong as well. They want me to pre-order, but I'm not going to do any ordering until there's a product. And, they indicate my pre-order will secure my position in line, but how can this be when I see some folks are able to obtain the wingtip version from some suppliers a lot quicker than from uAvionics? Due to the cost, I'm sure there're a lot of people counting on this device to solve their ADS-B out problem but, though good to hear something, the email is still a disappointment at best.
 
At OSH last summer, a vendor told me they had over 1k Skybeacons available (pre-approval), so I doubt a pre-order for the Tailbeacon will be necessary.
 
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?

This whole situation seems very similar to what is going on with TruTrak. They both are blaming the FAA. They may very well be the problem in both cases, but how can you know?
 
Back
Top