SkyBeacon ADS-B out STC approval

leadsledfan

leadsledfan

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The UAvionix SkyBeacon STC was just approved with a 272 model AML. Of course the Triple Tails and Vikings aren't included, but the Citarbia line it.
Luckily, install approval is automatic as long as it doesn't require airframe modification, and they even provide a template 337 to submit.

This seems like a pretty good ADS-B out option at $1850, especially with the $500 FAA rebate. Most of the savings will be in install costs, which are <1 hour of shop time.

https://uavionix.com/news/skybeacon-stc-update/
 
Lot's of talk so far here. I have yet to see one installed. I have put in 6 Garmin GDL 82 units with two going perfect. Garmin is a suck company to deal with. If your not a dealer they won't talk to you. We have a friend who installed $42K of Garmin in a C 172 and loads of trouble. He is really turned off by the lousy support. In fact a Garmin manager called him over his troubles and pissed him off even more! Back to the 82 unit it is usually the encoder that is causing flight test failure. In my case on the crate I changed out the XPR and encoder to fix the performance report. I sure hope that U Avionics comes to the rescue yet Garmin is suing them for patent infringement. Dallas Avionics is the firm behind them and they were also behind NavWorks. A friend in our tribe has a SkyBeacon on order since OSH and they sent a e-mail saying he would receive his very soon. The Avionics shops are dancing in the street over this mandate and charging more money because they can. They don't like SkyBeacon as no money for them. Lynn the crate
 
Update. My Tribe member received the U Avionics as described. The install was painless and fairly quick. We found that the aircraft battery needs to be fully charged or the nav light will blink. U Avionics answers the phone and answers the questions. This is a winner much easier and less expensive than the GDL 82. The App was pretty impressive and the product includes everything. He has yet to fly it for Performance report so we will see if there are any surprises with the XPR. I'm so far impressed. Lynn :D Flew today and it passed the Performance Test 12/4.
 
I was pumped about the UAvionix options but my 260 has the combo wingtip nav/strobes with aft nav light. IE no nav light on the tail and sadly their website says they are not developing the wingtip nav light w/aft light option so I'm trying to figure out what to do for the ADS-B out option. My 260 has limited real estate to mount a GPS antenna without doing surgery on the fabric or ripping the interior apart to access the fuselage.

Any 260 owners care to share their ADS-B solutions?

Thanks!!

Trot
 
Trot said:
Any 260 owners care to share their ADS-B solutions?
Click to expand...

I installed a GDL-88 when I installed a panel mount GPS in my 260. Wish there were more options 3 years ago when I made that choice. The GTX335/345 line came out about a month after the install was finished. Such is my timing.

Anyway, on the antenna front, I installed one of the Comant combined VHF/GPS antennas. I couldn't bear to let the avionics shop cut fabric and was out of better ideas. It works well as both a GPS and a VHF antenna, but it looks wrong on a fabric airplane.
 
My solution is to install the GPS antennas (one for WAAS & one for older GPS unit) behind the hat rack, just under the fabric. I decided on this based on reports of successful GPS reception by Ralph and a couple other fabric friends. No holes in the fabric, just a flat aluminum panel attached to the tubular frame with Adel clamps. However here is my disclaimer: I have only recently purchased the GTX-335 unit and the antenna performance is yet to be fully tested. Further reports to follow! The SkyBeacon has received some great reviews, however I needed a new transponder so the panel mount approach was a better choice for me. It will be exciting to track all all the triple-tails as they bore holes in the sky!
 
Rob, how did you / your mechanic justify the GPS placement? That seems much nicer looking in general. Bellancas shouldn’t have warts all over their fuselage :).
 
Brian,
My 14-19-2 has a Garmin 430W and the GPS antenna is simply installed on the glareshield towards the front underneath the windshield. I've never had any signal issues.
-Adam
 
Brian, I did as much research as possible and found that the fabric, although painted with various coatings, does not attenuate the RF reception that much. My A&P basically took the position that there are no rules specifically prohibiting the installation under the fabric. As I said, I have yet to fully validate this but as you mention, who wants a bunch of warts and the headache of the fabric patch work?
 
Thanks for all the ideas! I shudder at the thought of fabric surgery, I honestly was wondering if it would be legit to mount an antenna on top of my glare-shield. Full sky view, minimally invasive, and short wires. Haven't actually talked with any shops yet on if that would work legally (downside of stupid certified aircraft!) but I'd love if UAvionix developed a combo nav/strobe/rear clear nav light unit. Would be the easiest plug and play solution! We'll see and I'll post any good info I find out if it can help fellow Bellanca maintainers/drivers!

Trot
 
I have three GPS antennas on the glare-shield, two small and one large. Garmin GDL 82 and 196, Dynon D2 EFIS. These are all flat black so no glare and no view obstruction. No problem with any reception at anytime. Lynn the crate.
 
Thanks for the responses! Only have a year to get my triple tail updated with this ridiculous mandate.
 
They have a sample 337 on their website.
https://uavionix.com/support/skybeacon/skybeacon-stc-aml-information/#337
 
Did my test flight yesterday. Good news/bad news story. The good news is the SkyBeacon worked flawlessly. The bad news is that the FAA guidelines are conflicting. One set describes a flight profile that requires a 1hr flight and to climb to 4-5k feet which,for me, means means getting away from the class B airspace. I spent an hour doing just that. Unfortunately, there is another FAA doc that says you have to spend 30min in the Test Zone which means in the 30mile mode C veil. I only logged 27min under the mode C veil. Grrrrrr still waiting to see if they will count for the rebate. Bottom line, based on an AOPA article I read, ignore the flight profile and focus on the zone.
 
I did a qualifying flight for ADS-b rebate. Just climbed to over 10K and flew inbound and outbound to a VOR. I got flt following just to ensure that I would have an extra set of eyes since I was "hanging out" around a VOR. We landed and got the FAA verification within 30 minutes!
 
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