Avionics News February 2012 - 32

DEMONSTRATED ABILITY
Continued from page 31

“I have more redundancy than needed,” Hayden admitted with bashful understatement. The 185 has four GPS antennas, and “I’ve got terrain coming out my ears.” Traffic isn’t far behind. He quickly learned to shut down the redundant systems to keep all the terrain and traffic systems yelling at him concurrently. Hayden opts for the Honeywell IHAS (integrated hazard avoidance system), “because I can inhibit it with a single button.” Like the Cessna 180 that preceded it, Hayden has tried to keep the latest gear in the 185. He can answer customer questions with first-hand experience, “and then I can take them up and show ’em,” he said. Hayden fires through the model numbers of the boxes that have spent time in his panel since he bought the Skywagon in 1987. What makes the cut depends on “what I think is the neatest, what I think customers want to see the most and what I think I would enjoy having the most.” Being neighbors with major avionics original equipment manufacturers has led to several joint projects. When Bendix/King introduced its EFIS 40, for example, it didn’t know what the Federal Aviation Administration installation approval would entail. So, Hayden put the 185 on an experimental ticket to demonstrate the unit and find out. He did the same, including all the test flights, on the Terra radar altimeter. All-Electric Upgrade Until 2008, Hayden upgraded his 185 in steps, box-in, box-out. Stepping up to glass, however, required a complete makeover that turned the Cessna into an all-electric airplane. “You could say (installing both Garmin and Aspen glass) was overkill, but I wanted to be able to demonstrate both of the top selling systems…which are like twins on headings and attitude info,” Hayden said.
32
avionics news

The synthetic vision on both PFDs show little when taxiing, but the G600 shows the Cessna 185’s location on the New AirCenter ramp. A flight plan is displayed on the GMX 200 MFD.

Never a fan of vacuum pumps, Hayden wanted to replace it with a standby alternator. The turbocharger’s scavenger pump has the other accessory pad. With the airplane pulling 40 amps before glass and 30 amps after, Hayden knew “everything vanished within minutes if you lost your alternator,” as it did one night during an instrument flight rules approach to Provo, Utah. It took several months to fit the 20-amp B&C Specialty unit into the small void between the firewall and engine – and to get FAA approval for it. A new dual-battery system backstops the standby alternator. For Hayden, it was a better option than the backup electric attitude indicator called for in the G600 supplemental type certificate, which requires a 10-to-12-pound emergency battery pack “that doesn’t last long.” The Aspen’s battery backup is not certified, he added. The idea was born after a conversation with a long-time customer and friend whose company hauls freight at night in a fleet of three dozen Commander 500 piston twins. Seeking more robust batteries that recovered more quickly and lasted longer, he STC’d the Genesis 12U26AHEPseries and B&C Specialty’s 12-volt, 25 amp-hour recombinant-gas BC100-1 for his fleet and was getting more than five years service from them. Equally important, these sealed lead-acid batteries weighed 20 pounds, eight less than the Gill G-35, and they didn’t require a battery box. Running two in parallel doubled the 185’s battery life and am-

perage rating for an overall 12-pound weight gain. It took months to design the bus and develop the necessary paperwork, from parts lists and revision logs to the flight manual supplement, to earn FAA approval. With dual solenoids and separate battery cables, either battery can start the engine and power the entire system. The FAA aircraft certification office accepted revision G and a demonstration: on one battery with a 70 percent charge, run the 20-amp emergency bus (which powers the G600 and 530) for 30 minutes without dropping below 11 volts. With the system approved, Hayden’s next challenge was making the G600 fit. The early 185s don’t have enough room above the yoke for a six-pack, which is roughly twice as deep as the glass. “After studying the situation for some time,” he said, the shop was able to design – and earn FAA approval for – a yoke support bracket with a “dogleg” that makes room for the 3-inch deep G600. Hayden expected the 185 to lose a lot of weight. “With the new data traveling on 232, 429 and Ethernet buses,” he removed “appreciable masses of old wire,” a remote compass system and its 125 VA inverter, several 14-to-28-volt converters, and the EFIS 40 and its 20-pound processor. Given the scope of the all-electric upgrade, Hayden couldn’t calculate the
Continued on page 51

•

february

2012

Avionics News February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News February 2012