Potentially interesting ADS-B for Diamonds

Open for questions of visitors of DAN. Posts of our guests are on moderation queue.

Moderators: Rick, Lance Murray

User avatar
Sandy
4 Diamonds Member
4 Diamonds Member
Posts: 247
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:30 pm
First Name: Sanford
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N159PS
Airports: KPDK
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 48 times

Potentially interesting ADS-B for Diamonds

Post by Sandy »

uAvionix is now making a unit called the tailBeaconX (not to be confused with their tailBeacon). The tailBeaconX includes a mode S transponder. While it is intended to replace the (non-existent in Diamonds) tail beacon, in the latest edition of Aviation Consumer there is an article in which the author who tested the tailBeaconX did so on his GlaStar, an experimental aircraft with a fiberglass tailcone. As the GlaStar does not use a tail beacon, and as it has an elevator that overhangs the rear of the tailcone, the author simply mounted the tailBeaconX inside of the tailcone, and it apparently worked well.

As the configuration of the tailcones in the Diamonds is similar to that of the GlaStar, it seems that a tailBeaconX could be used to replace the existing mode S transponder in the Diamond.

Currently, the tailBeaconX is undergoing certification, but I wonder whether uAvionix would be interested in removing the light, altogether, and providing a "tailXponder" version that could be used in Diamonds.

Sandy
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Re: Potentially interesting ADS-B for Diamonds

Post by Rich »

I've been watching this for awhile as a potential future solution for my occasional forays into Canada. I could also envision a solution wherein a different type of antenna (or maybe even a relocated "standard" one) mounted in my tail cone would suffice.

I wonder, though, how would one get past certification for an internally-mounted transponder antenna? I haven't read this article yet, but I haven't heard of any efforts along these lines.

This just occurred to me: In the US, there is the ADS-B performance report, which shows how your system works with the ground station-based receiver network. Is there an equivalent for the Aerion infrastructure?
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Re: Potentially interesting ADS-B for Diamonds

Post by Rich »

Looking at the article, this unit isn't all that inexpensive to buy and install. The user interface is also pretty klunky.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
User avatar
Rich
5 Diamonds Member
5 Diamonds Member
Posts: 4592
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:40 pm
First Name: Rich
Aircraft Type: DA40
Aircraft Registration: N40XE
Airports: S39 Prineville OR
Has thanked: 145 times
Been thanked: 1180 times

Re: Potentially interesting ADS-B for Diamonds

Post by Rich »

There's an interesting aspect to ADS-B as implemented in the US. Contrary to what some believe, there is no periodic "re-certification" of your ADS-B out solution performed at specific intervals like the 24-month Transponder/encoder tests. Instead, your system is continuously monitored by the ADS-B infrastructure itself. If a problem pops up, you'll be notified. The sidebar in the article describes such an occurrence.

But you can check on what the system is seeing by simply requesting a PAPR at any time. Every day, if you want. I tend to do one of these a couple of times a year. Response to the request is typically very fast. It's within a few minutes in my experience, and is free.

For me the singular potential benefit of the tailBeaconX would be for fulfilling ADS-B out requirements that might come to be in the future. Right now, this will likely be Aerion. I wondered whether an analog of PAPR reports might be available from Aerion. Speculation abounded, so I decided to ask, sending this inquiry to Aerion:
Does (or will) the Aerion provide a service similar to the "Public ADS-B Performance Report" (PAPR) provided by the FAA?

The response? Short and sweet:
Thank you for reaching out. We do not provide PAPR reports.

To me this implies that the first notice of non-compliance in places like Canada would be a nasty-gram, unless some feature like PAPR gets offered in the future, either by Aerion or the particular entity using the system.

From what I can find out, tailBeaconX beta test units do generate data within Aerion, but the data is only shared with uAvionics. So they may consider the information proprietary.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
Post Reply