Avionics News March 2013 - 49

aircraft incapable of much more than flying low and
slow. Rather than chase the bells and whistles available in
top-of-the-line avionics, they just want a working comm
radio, perhaps with a transponder or VFR-only GPS. The
platforms for these simpler avionics can range from vintage taildraggers and older piston singles to spanking-new
light-sport aircraft and to experimental, amateur-built airplanes. While much of the industry’s new-product sizzle
focuses on high-end devices, some owners just want the
basics: a minimal panel.

Installing Portability
When considering how to advise a customer on avionics equipment for a visual flight rules-only aircraft, it
might be tempting to focus only on products available
from manufacturers that an avionics shop has dealership
agreements with and requiring installation work. After
all, setting your business apart from competitors unable
to offer the same products while tailoring an installation
to the owner’s wishes are ways an avionics shop makes
its money and name. And some products – transponders,
for example, or emergency locator transmitters – require
some level of installation. But for many reasons, both the
avionics shop and the customer might be happiest with
portable, non-certified equipment.
Today, the words portable device conjure up images
of Apple’s iPad running aviation-specific applications.
And tablet computers are popular enough that one special
light-sport aircraft – the Savage iCub manufactured by
Zlin Aviation and TL-Ultralight, and distributed in North
America by SportairUSA – is marketed with an iPad cradle mounted front and center in the instrument panel. Its
function can change with the applications used.
But there’s a wide variety of portable products from
companies like Garmin and Icom designed primarily for
aviation use and meeting minimal communication and
navigation needs. Avionics shops can find themselves

While much of the industry’s newproduct sizzle focuses on high-end
devices, some owners just want the
basics: a minimal panel.
being asked to install power-supply and/or external antenna connections to support them, along with cradles and
mounts. Even the best handheld comm on the market can
be hampered by an inadequate antenna, interference from
the aircraft structure or both. Installing an external antenna often resolves these issues.
Meanwhile, most handheld comm radios on the market
incorporate some provision to operate on ship’s power,
if available. This begs the question of how and whether
or not to install avionics aboard aircraft like antique airplanes and gliders lacking electrical systems.

Modern But Minimal
In the current market, the smartest way a customer
could add avionics to an aircraft lacking an electrical
system is to buy an aircraft with an electrical system. But
no one ever said aircraft owners always act rationally,
and a glider is still a glider. So, configuring a minimal
panel also can include making some provision for battery mounting and associated power cabling, in addition
to other tasks. In some circumstances, an STC’d power
source can be installed, like the BPE-14 Turbo Alternator
available from Basic Aircraft Products for early Aeroncas,
Continued on following page

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Avionics News March 2013

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