You gadget guru's, geeks, and avionics nerds...

[BonanzaDriver]

Seeing as I am a big nerd when it comes to new avionics, I thought I'd get some opinions on this system. It is very similar to the Chelton Flight System's PFD/ EFIS (a $50K system, ouch!) but for ~4,000$.

It is for experimental aircraft only, but word is that several certified a/c are operating with them, having their FSDO list it as an "entertainment device" with the 6 pack steam gauges in place.

The highway in the sky, terrain mapping (in 3D mode), and other features make this look very interesting. Obviously flying IFR would not be solely dependent upon it, but it would be helpful as another resource in my opinion.

Anyway, check it out- I am thinking of flying up to TN to see it first hand. Who wants to split fuel?


Link:http://www.bluemountainavionics.com/

 

[Ken Ibold]

Blue Mountain makes a nice product. But methinks you will have a hard time getting it past the FSDO. Some people have FSDO shopped until they found an accomplice to give them a signoff, but the FAA is paying close attention these days.

 

[CJones]

Just FYI -- BlueMountain has had some issues in the past with the dependability of their equipment. They may have some solutions worked out nowadays, but I know that in the RV realm a year or two ago, folks were having display problems and random 'shut-downs' of the EFIS units that Blue Mountain was putting out.

To give them some praise, though, they were one of the first major advances in the market of this type of equipment in the experimental market. I actually got to visit their shop back in 2001 while tagging along with a formation of RV's touring the SE one Saturday morning. We got to chat with the main programmer/designer for BMA (Greg Richter, I believe). He was a very down-to-earth guy that was simply trying to bring high dollar technology to the experimental cockpit at an affordable price.

Pros of 'experimental' avionics: Usually on the leading edge of the technology wave - they don't have to wade through FAA testing standards to be able to sell their product, which allows them to push products out earlier than certified product lines; Usually MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than certified avionics with similar or superior 'bells and whistles'.

Cons of 'experimental' avionics: Because they can push products out the door without such strenuous testing standards, they can sometimes have a few 'bugs' that require the end user to have some hands-on troubleshooting (luckily, usually the manufacturers are very accessible if such problems arise).

While I love Love LOVE the advantages that experimental avionics provide us homebuilders (cost, technology advances, etc.) , I'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get them into a certified aircraft. The main reason being that it would require a knowledgeable and WILLING A&P to help troubleshoot problems with the system. If I have a problem with the Dynon in the RV, I can pull it out myself, plug it into the laptop and troubleshoot the problem with Dynon Tech Support on the phone, reinstall it, then go fly. If I needed to troubleshoot the same system in a certified aircraft, I would have to find and pay a willing A&P to do the same process.

Just my .02.

 

[tonycondon]

yea the experimental EFIS's are really cool. Ive never heard of anyone getting them successfully installed in certified aircraft. One more reason to love experimentals

 

[SCCutler]

They get installed, not as instruments, but as auxiliary displays for (f'rinstance) terrain.

 

[gprellwitz]

Just wondering, is it possible to take a certified plane, reclassify it as an experimental, and then do this sort of thing with it?

 

[etsisk]

if you're talking about keeping it in there and maintaining the exp status, the answer is no, unless you are going to rebuild the plane, making substantial changes - and it's quite the dance you'll do with FSDO to do that, bucko. Unless you want to do one of the exp certs that will severly limit your use of the plane.

You can do exp status to try something out and then take the thing off the plane and return to standard certificated status, seems like.

 

[gprellwitz]

Nope. The FAA recently issued some clarification on this. See here: http://eaa.org/communications/eaanews/070514_faarelease.html

Yeah, I figured that would be too easy!