It's Official -- I'm ADS-B Compliant!

My friendlies know the struggle to find an ADS-B solution that won't break the bank. When Dick G suggested the uAvionix SkyFX/Echo UAT option it filled the bill perfectly. Dick has a command of electricity that surpasses mine (a low threshold, for sure) and came up with a very neat installation for the GlaStar. We did have to drill one hole in the belly for the "out" antenna, but that's unobtrusive and was accompanied by a soft, thick foil ground plane that was molded to fit the interior fiberglass belly skin and bonded in place.

The trick is to tweak the setup for a particular installation. FAA wants to take a look at every installation from the standpoint of the ground stations that monitor and process all that ADS-B data, so performance tests have to be conducted, either on the ground or in flight. In my case, the first two test flights showed a "baro alt" fault, fortunately the only red-highlighted box on the FAA's ADS-B performance report.

uAvionix has a double secret page on the setup program that has to be accessed when the system is powered up and the operator's tablet computer or phone is logged in via the system wi-fi. In my case, I had to adjust the "Transponder Monitor Threshold" a bit ... kinda like tuning a radio dial in your '57 Chevy. Once tuned, my performance report was clean - no red boxes.

So now I can fly to exotic places with Class B or C airspace with impunity. Just because I can.

Meanwhile ... half the runway is submerged after 5+" of rain in the last couple of days. Into every life, etc etc etc

Santa Brought Me a New Airplane Tug!

Boy oh Boy oh Boy ... I can move my Glastar with ease now!

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Mark, Dick R, Darwin and Leo

When it comes right down to it, there's nothing that can beat having good friends who like to tinker with stuff and don't give up until it works!

There were several iterations of the nosewheel tug for the Glastar. Because the wheel contacts the ground some 7-ish inches behind the nosewheel pivot point, moving the airplane backward is a real chore. Couple that with soft ground in front of the hangar and the result is the nosewheel whips from side to side with corresponding tail swings that can quickly lead to damage once in the hangar's tight space. It was clear something had to be done to minimize that problem. 

One proposed fix:

Found a mobility scooter on Craigslist and stripped it down

This really held some promise in my mind, but I'm a theatre major and had very little to go on .. the one thing I wanted to see was whether or not the scooter could be modified to accept the nosewheel on some kind of platform and, at the same time, bring the pivot point close to alignment with that of the airplane. It didn't work, at least the way we tried it. I'm reconditioning the scooter and will either sell or donate it as a scooter.

Now, at last, the problem is solved, the need fulfilled, just in time to move the airplane in and out of the hangar for the ADS-B performance flights. Three of those are in the books, some more tweaking on the setup and I think we'll be good to go with that.

It's enough to make a fellow want to go flying!