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Colin wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 4:04 pm I have a DA42 with the removeable stick, and my wife loves being able to use her laptop move comfortably. Getting it out and back in is a breeze.

Colin,

Do you have an STC number for the removable stick option? How big of a deal was it to have this option installed.

Thanks

MarkA wrote: ↑Mon May 25, 2020 2:29 am Do you have an STC number for the removable stick option? ...

It is a Diamond option that you can purchase with the aircraft, or add later.

For the DA62, see: http://support.diamond-air.at/fileadmin ... O08-r0.pdf

Octavian wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 9:24 pm ...what do you mean by ADL? I cannot find it on the diamond options. Maybe is it the "Garmin GDL 69A satellite data link receiver" ? ...

ADL (https://www.ing-golze.de/index.jsp) provides the same weather information as the Diamond option "Garmin GSR 56 Iridium satellite datalink", from the same source (Iridium satellite). It does not display information on the G1000 screens (as does the GSR 56), but requires another output device. It also costs more for the data monthly if you download more than 60 weather updates per month (10 hours of flying with automatic updates every 10 minutes.). The breakeven download number is much lower if you do not commit to a 24 month ADL subscription.

ADL radar covers Europe and North America, whereas Garmin Connext (GSR 56) provides radar coverage of Europe, North America, and Australia. Both provide worldwide coverage of:

-Meteorological Aviation Reports (METARs - that provide current temperature, dew point, precipitation, wind speed and more)
-Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs - that show predicted weather for up to 30 hours in advance)
-Pilot Reports (PIREPS - that include weather information observed by pilots in flight)
-SIGMETs (that include advisories of significant meteorological information for aircraft)
-AIRMETs (that are advisories similar to SIGMETs but are for less severe conditions)
-Winds Aloft (that estimate speed and direction of winds based on computer model forecasts for various levels of the atmosphere)

see https://fly.garmin.com/fly-garmin/conne ... e-weather/.

Depending on the ADL unit you purchase, you might have to deal with a tangle of cables connecting power and a glareshield mounted satellite antennae, whereas the GSR56 is seamlessly integrated into the aircraft.

ADL offers no sat phone communication option, whereas the most cost effective Connext subscription using the GDL 56 includes 30 minutes of talk time - right thru your headset.

Something else to take into consideration: Iridium is an ancient satellite system that was originally designed 30 years ago for narrowband circuit-switched voice communications. So to make it support Garmin's weather data service, voice-grade modems (analogous to what many of us used years ago over copper phone lines) are required, with very low (slow) data rates. That's the technology of Garmin's GSR 56 unit, where you pay for circuit-switched voice services by the minute.

However in the last year, the new "Iridium Next" constellation of satellites has become operational with orders of magnitude more bandwidth. I would expect to see Garmin come out with a GSR 56 replacement relatively soon that's designed specifically for Iridium Next-based Certus data transmission services, expected to become available in late 2020.
https://www.iridium.com/file/220495/
Of course we don't know how long it will take Diamond/Garmin to certify a next-gen satellite receiver.

Unlike in the US, where we have the choice of datalink weather from ADSB-In (free), Sirius XM (starting at $30/mo, unlimited downloads) or Iridium satellite (starting at $43/mo plus $1.08 per download for ADL, or $80/mo for Garmin Connext [GSR 56] which includes 75 downloads plus 30 minutes of talk time per month), in Europe, the only legal way for you to currently get datalinked aviation weather is from one of the two Iridium services.

Please note, however, that there is absolutely no legal requirement for this data - it is simply a convenience. You can obtain your preflight weather information on the ground via internet or telephone briefing, and update arrival weather via VHF radio when in range of your destination.

A huge number of pilots (if not most) illegally use cellular data while airborne to get this information, but need to be fairly close to the ground and fairly close to civilization to pick it up. To my knowledge, no enforcement action has ever taken place against any pilot doing so.

My DA62 was originally built for an owner in Asia, so included the GSR 56. I signed up for the minimum 1 year Connext subscription just to make sure the system worked, planning to cancel it at the end of the year, since I get all of the weather I need for free over ADSB-In, albeit on a seperate device - my iPad. I have found the sat phone feature to be surprisingly useful, and having the weather information overlaid on the G1000 route is a big plus. I'm actually considering keeping the subscription.

ADL uses Iridium for data transfer (highly compressed) while the data sources are different commercial weather providers (radar-rain, infrared-cloud tops, strikes, wind, etc.). If calculating break-even point then you should calculate the price of GSR56 (I believe some $12k) while ADL is $400 to $800, depending on HW product you choose.

Purchase price is a big plus for ADL. Additional advantages are that an external ADL box is cheap enough to be a throw away when an improved box that takes advantage of the additional bandwidth of Certus comes out - probably years before Garmin makes a upgraded GSR unit, and Diamond integrates it into the DA62. Also, being a portable unit, you can take it with you to use in different aircraft, or even your car.

If you don't mind dealing with cables in the cockpit, using a seperate display for weather, and doing without sat phone for a while, a good strategy might be to snag an ADL200 for use until they come up with an ADL unit for Iridium Certus in the relatively near future, then toss the ADL200. When Garmin finally comes out with a GSR for Certus, and Diamond allows for its integration (could be a decade from now), toss the Certus ADL for the more robust, integrated Garmin GSR solution.

I just ordered the new "more" portable ADL 170 version, the only cable is the charging cable. It has 6 hours of juice with internal batteries. So no hassle with cables, iridium antenna etc. Just stick it under your front window when you use it.

Before the box I have used ADL with mobile networks (reachable to FL100+ over the big cities, EDGE connectivity is enough, it doesn't require much bandwidth for dl) and it is a good service to get weather. It has helped me a lot to choose enroute weather avoidance. With stormscope it is very usable imo.

In Europe we are very limited to what we can get, so...

No calls through ADL but text messages (and emails) work. There is some extra connectivity when you are flying.

I have checked ADL coverage. Just like garmin, it covers western and half of central europe.

Too bad about poor and expensive satellite connectivity. Having a tech company, it would be very tempting to install a directional 4G cell phone antenna outside the plane....but probably I would void the certification of the airplane and also still would not be very reliable over 10.000 feet and over large mountain areas.