Thumper
Pre-takeoff checklist
After seeing this press release by Freeflight: link
I decided to take advantage of the pricing and explore the option of adding this equipment to my 1969 Arrow. After a quick call to the company, I was put in touch with Russell Spradley at Palmetto Avionics at the Greenwood, SC airport. Russell was straight forward and told me he had not done an installation of this system and would like to talk with the Freeflight folks before quoting me an installation price. I received a call back the next day and he said being his first customer would allow him to learn the system and give me a good price at the same time. We agreed on $500 for the installation.
I arrived at 0900 on our appointment date and agreed I would be back the next afternoon to pick it up. (Also getting an IFR pitot/static test along with a small radio issue addressed) Upon arrival the next afternoon, I found the installation completed. Russ manufactured a small "tray" and mounted the rangr box and wifi unit on the tray which he then installed behind the baggage compartment on the opposite side from the battery box. It was a very clean installation and the wiring had been neatly run to the panel where the small control head was mounted. The control head installation was exactly where/how we had previously agreed. He also completed all the required paperwork and updated my w&b as well as my logbooks.
I had downloaded and installed the Freeflight ipad app to view the graphics/text uplinked via the Freeflight wifi. While the Freeflight app is not in the same league as the current Foreflight/WingX/Garmin maps, it is functional and gives traffic at MSL as opposed to +/- from my altitude. The downside to their app is that it requires a separate gps input to give your own ship position. I used a Dual XGPS150 on the glareshield linked with the Freeflight wifi app on the flight back to Charleston. At the same time, I also used my Stratus One with a separate ipad using Foreflight to get a side by side comparison. Short version is that the traffic "mapped" was the same on both displays. I was amazed at how much traffic was within 10-12 miles of me that I had to look hard to see.
Obviously, continuing to use the Stratus one with Foreflight will now give me the benefit of traffic and the efficiency/advantages of foreflight. Because my approved GPS installation is an older, non-waas, Apollo GX50, I chose this installation to give me the most economical installation with the ability to take advantage of the ipad app upgrades as they come along. If I had a 430/530 installed, I may have made a different decision. I am hopeful that Foreflight and Freeflight can work out the coding to use the Freeflight uplink on the Foreflight app.
It is also nice that the Freeflight system automatically picks up the transponder code broadcast from my already installed Narco transponder. Transponder codes are still dialed in the usual method and the Freeflight control head is basically there as a backup in case the regular transponder fails. Nice idea....
Could I have waited, certainly. Am I glad I now have the full benefit of ads-b traffic and weather, absolutely. Did I make the right decision? For me, yes. YMMV
Russell Spradley at Palmetto Avionics in Greenwood, SC is at 803.257.6242. I appreciate his work and found him to be a straightforward, honest, knowledgeable, and talented person to work with. He gets my business from now on.....
I decided to take advantage of the pricing and explore the option of adding this equipment to my 1969 Arrow. After a quick call to the company, I was put in touch with Russell Spradley at Palmetto Avionics at the Greenwood, SC airport. Russell was straight forward and told me he had not done an installation of this system and would like to talk with the Freeflight folks before quoting me an installation price. I received a call back the next day and he said being his first customer would allow him to learn the system and give me a good price at the same time. We agreed on $500 for the installation.
I arrived at 0900 on our appointment date and agreed I would be back the next afternoon to pick it up. (Also getting an IFR pitot/static test along with a small radio issue addressed) Upon arrival the next afternoon, I found the installation completed. Russ manufactured a small "tray" and mounted the rangr box and wifi unit on the tray which he then installed behind the baggage compartment on the opposite side from the battery box. It was a very clean installation and the wiring had been neatly run to the panel where the small control head was mounted. The control head installation was exactly where/how we had previously agreed. He also completed all the required paperwork and updated my w&b as well as my logbooks.
I had downloaded and installed the Freeflight ipad app to view the graphics/text uplinked via the Freeflight wifi. While the Freeflight app is not in the same league as the current Foreflight/WingX/Garmin maps, it is functional and gives traffic at MSL as opposed to +/- from my altitude. The downside to their app is that it requires a separate gps input to give your own ship position. I used a Dual XGPS150 on the glareshield linked with the Freeflight wifi app on the flight back to Charleston. At the same time, I also used my Stratus One with a separate ipad using Foreflight to get a side by side comparison. Short version is that the traffic "mapped" was the same on both displays. I was amazed at how much traffic was within 10-12 miles of me that I had to look hard to see.
Obviously, continuing to use the Stratus one with Foreflight will now give me the benefit of traffic and the efficiency/advantages of foreflight. Because my approved GPS installation is an older, non-waas, Apollo GX50, I chose this installation to give me the most economical installation with the ability to take advantage of the ipad app upgrades as they come along. If I had a 430/530 installed, I may have made a different decision. I am hopeful that Foreflight and Freeflight can work out the coding to use the Freeflight uplink on the Foreflight app.
It is also nice that the Freeflight system automatically picks up the transponder code broadcast from my already installed Narco transponder. Transponder codes are still dialed in the usual method and the Freeflight control head is basically there as a backup in case the regular transponder fails. Nice idea....
Could I have waited, certainly. Am I glad I now have the full benefit of ads-b traffic and weather, absolutely. Did I make the right decision? For me, yes. YMMV
Russell Spradley at Palmetto Avionics in Greenwood, SC is at 803.257.6242. I appreciate his work and found him to be a straightforward, honest, knowledgeable, and talented person to work with. He gets my business from now on.....
