Golze ADL & electricity @ DA40NG

[Pehu]

My new DA40NG (with G1000 NXi, GTX 345R, Avidyne TAS, Stormscope WX500) will arrive to Helsinki in March next year some time and I made my decision to install Golze ADL 200 into it ( https://www.ing-golze.de/products_adl200.jsp ) . However, I dislike keeping stuff (=antenna, the box) at the cockpit window, so I was thinking of making the installation more permanent.

Now, three questions I hope someone can help me with:

1) The plan is to make the box installed somewhere to the back of the plane or underneath the front seats, with its own power taken from the aircraft. The specs say it takes 5W. I also plan to install two USB ports (2.4A max each) for charging my ipad(s) to replace the power outlet socket underneath the circuit breakers.

The question is, how much "available power" there is on DA40NG? Golze will be put to a separate circuit breaker (replace ADF CB for example as I don't have ADF). Do I run into juice problems when flying with these systems taking power?

2) Since the box is permanent, I was also thinking of installing a fixed iridium antenna outside the plane. Any idea how much that would cost and what would be a suitable antenna? Not really sure yet if this would be good option when not knowing the costs.

3) I heard there were GPS antennas with iridium included (two in one), would that be a good option? I know the top of the plane is prolly a bit crowded, as I have also Avidyne TAS installed, so this could be a good option if that works or is possible. If not, then its a separate outside antenna.

The Golze LTE antenna I can put into the back window and that's going to fit nicely there.

Any additional insight with my plans would be appreciated also, if you find I am totally on wrong tracks with this

Thanks!

[Pehu]

Replying a bit myself. Golze provided prompt customer support and the benefits of external iridium antenna vs the small box sitting on the windshield are very small. Costs are 1500eur+ - so I think I just go with the fixed installation: main box perhaps underneath the front seats, power from airplane and hide the iridium & LTE antenna wires in some sensible way. And put the iridium antenna on the windshield.

So the question is more about should I be worried about the power consumption of Ipad charging and Golde Box.

[dgger]

So the question is more about should I be worried about the power consumption of Ipad charging and Golde Box.

IIRC the iPad would charge at no more than ~12W. Accounting for conversion losses you may see up to ~0.5A of power drawn from your system (assuming the DA40NG has a similar 28V system like its twin brother DA42NG). In my aircraft that would not be much of a concern. Not sure about the DA40NG, but I would be surprised.

I would make sure the USB-socket is fed through the avionics bus as to not unnecessarily add load to the battery when starting your engine.

[pietromarx]

Also ... a small word of caution. You're getting an airplane with the GTX-345R, TAS, and a Stormscope. In addition you'll have weather at least from the online services through your iPad / mobile / tablet using either Garmin Pilot or Foreflight or both.

That's already a lot of information on weather and traffic. The Goize product will give you some additional in-flight data (weather) in the same way at GDL-69/69A does here in the US. I don't know if Europe will ever start broadcasting FIS weather like they do in the US with ADS-B, but it is free here and quite good (and expanding to new services). However, onboard weather from any remote source doesn't replace an onboard radar and won't let you penetrate developing systems. The examples on the Goize website are a little disingenuous because they had both radar and their box and they don't call out decision-making rules in a very good way.

The DA40 is a great airplane, but not one for aggressive weather flying. Maybe worth waiting a few weeks and doing a bunch of flying around Europe in the winter before committing to a new box? I'm not sure it will necessarily expand your flight options in a good way (meaning you may feel you can fly into weather with it that you should not with or without it).

I know I'm being a noodle. I like my tech, too. Done too much flying around weather to believe that having any amount of data is better than simply avoiding it to begin with.

[Pehu]

I have no plans to enter into conditions that DA40 can't handle. It does not have TKS or similar, so icing is a no go. Also that aggressive weather is a no go. Unknown clouds and weather are still unknown with Golze and stormscope. I have flown two winters here in Finland and during the cold times its pretty much VFR & VMC all the way with DA40.

I have flown with my current shared DA40NG with the ADL software via mobile connectivity that you now and then get up to FL100 even. It does paint a good picture and makes you quite well aware what is around you - just to help with some decisions, going around bad weather, find routes etc. Or maybe turn around.

Someone once said, that Golze ADL makes a good strategic tool to your toolbox, but thats not a tactical tool like a weather radar. It also gets you metars/TAFs via satellite that you don't necessarily get updated via apps relying on random mobile connectivity. That lets you decide on alternates, if the weather quickly changes.

I appreciate the warning thou. To me this new tech is mostly about getting some data to support the flight planning done on the ground and to find a way to go around the weather. That "some data" is better than no data. I plan to fly a long time, so I live by the rule that I rather grumble about not flying on the ground than worry about flying on the airplane

What comes to ADS-B in Europe, I don't think these services come to us any time soon. I don't know if they have plans to set up similar system like you have in the US (so envy of that!). It might come in 5-10 years, who knows. But before that, we have to rely on Golze which is the best tool available to us.

[pietromarx]

I'm of the same mind.

Thanks

[Lou]

Pekka, I'm replying to the comment: "I don't think these services come to us any time soon." In fact, ADS-B is coming very quickly, ie weeks or months, not years: https://aireon.com

Whether local ATC will use the service may take years, but as I understand it, you will be able to get traffic for similarly equipped aircraft.

[Pehu]

Lou,

Thanks for the info. This surely looks promising! Althoug they do not have any information about weather or ADS-B IN services in general. Just tracking of aircraft.

I also got the reply from the factory about the electricity use, Golze + USB ports use less juice than ADF (which I don't have) so we are all good with the power usage.

Pekka