Avionics News December 2016 - 34

SOUTHEAST AEROSPACE'S ADS-B SOLUTION
Continued from page 33

TCAS II, this is not for you
You're probably asking yourself, "Why not include
TCAS II-equipped aircraft in the AML?" Good question.
"Actually, TCAS II makes it harder and more expensive
to comply with the ADS-B mandate," Hernandez explained.
"The TCAS II systems require diversity transponders,
which makes them considerably more expensive. Two
TCAS II compliant transponders will set you back about
$40,000 - and that's before you buy the WAAS/GPS
receiver or a controller, or the STC, or do any of the labor.
That's an $85,000 installation in a heartbeat."
So because of the cost factor, Southeast Aerospace and
its industry partners made the decision to omit TCAS IIequipped aircraft from their AML STC.
"After talking to the guys who operate these aircraft,
we realized they're not going to Europe so there's no
requirement for TCAS II," he said. "They're certainly not
going to want to spend the extra money. Our solution is
more attractive and cost-effective for the typical business
and charter operator."
While there was a solid technical/cost reason used to
determine the TCAS II disqualifier, Hernandez said it
came down to a popularity contest when it was time to
decide which aircraft they'd put on the AML STC.
"These U.S. charter and privately owned aircraft are
our sweet spot for this STC - they operate a lot of older
Citations, Hawkers, Falcons and Learjets that are in need
of an affordable ADS-B solution," he said. "This is it. We
have a model qualification procedure in place that will
enable us to add other aircraft quickly to the AML without
needing to amend the STC."
The right equipment that's easy to install
As Hernandez mentioned, the key to bringing their
affordable ADS-B Out solution to market was the Garmin
GTX 3X5R transponder.
"The Garmin transponder met everything we needed
for Part 25, including the interface protocols, the
required one/two switch to enable the installation of two
transponders in the aircraft, and a built-in WAAS/GPS,
which greatly simplified installation," he said. "In fact, if
you look at it from the installer's standpoint, all you are
doing is a transponder installation to a Gables Engineering
control head and then hooking up the external GPS
antenna to the transponder.
"The Gables control head is installed to provide full
transponder control to both the Garmin GTX-series
transponders. In most instances I'd expect the installation
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to have a GTX 345R for ADS-B and a 335 as backup.
The STC also requires an ADS-B fail annunciation on the
panel, but that's all covered in our instructions."
Speaking of instructions, Hernandez stressed the fact
that Southeast Aerospace and its partners have gone to
great lengths to ensure that their AML STC package is as
complete as possible.
"As an installer at heart, I wanted to make sure this
package helps the technician," he said. "I've dealt with some
STCs that were just the paper it took to make the FAA happy.
It didn't do anything to help the installer do their job.
"To help save time - and in this case saving installation
time means saving money - we have made our STC as
flexible as it can possibly be. When you're doing an AML,
it can't be a real iron-clad document because no two aircraft
are ever the same. We give the technician the guidance and
latitude to fit the installation to the particular aircraft."
He also explained that the STC's simplified installation
means a shop should be able to complete the typical
installation, including interior removal and reinstallation,
wiring and antenna mounting in 150 man-hours or less.
And he emphasized less as being more the norm.
"Most of these installations will be done while the
aircraft is in the shop for some kind of inspection or phase
maintenance, so the shop will already have most of the
interior taken out, which saves time," Hernandez said.
"And because of the relatively low cost, it gives shops the
ability to contact the owner and say that since the aircraft
is already down for an inspection, why not go ahead and
do the ADS-B compliance at the same time?
"The ease of installation also will make our STC
attractive to the smaller, independent shops. They can offer
the package to aircraft based at their airport so the owner/
operator won't have to fly it halfway across the country to
have the system installed."
ADS-B is just the beginning
While ADS-B compliance at an affordable price is the
reason behind the STC, Hernandez said the package delivers
other benefits to owners and operators of these older jets.
"Because the Garmin GTX has built-in WAAS/GPS
and AHRS, you have full attitude information, GPS-based
altitude, GPS-based vertical speed, GPS-based track and
wireless connectivity, and you basically have a six-pack of
instruments on your iPad," he explained. "Plus you have
a full moving map, traffic, weather, aircraft position and
other features. It's like having a glass panel in an aircraft
that doesn't have glass panel displays.
"This is an affordable and capable upgrade for any of
these Part 25 jets. We're confident it will fulfill a great
need in the industry." q

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2016