uAvionics Tail Beacon

Lachlan said:
Yeah, man, totally agree. That's why I never take my airplane outside. I just let it sit in the hangar all the time, flat tires, covered with bird poop and dust... It's sooooo much better that way. Outdoors is dangerous, dude! There's *WEATHER* out there, and I'd hate to get caught hangin' out in it! Video games are way better than real flying any day. And spending three to four times the needed price for ADS-B on an airplane that costs less than a solid used car makes so much sense, especially for those guys that hardly ever fly under the Mode C veil. Rock on, hater. I'll be your wingman any day!
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Just curious. How is it that my opinion being different from yours make me a Hater? I respect your right to your opinion. Where is the Hate? I really don’t get this.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Just curious. How is it that my opinion being different from yours make me a Hater? I respect your right to your opinion. Where is the Hate? I really don’t get this.
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I really didn't get his point either. Just figured maybe he's having a bad day or mood-swing, either way I thought you were on point with your post
 
MBDiagMan said:
Just curious. How is it that my opinion being different from yours make me a Hater? I respect your right to your opinion. Where is the Hate? I really don’t get this.
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It appears as though you make known your negative opinion of uAvionix as often as possible. Please, do point out a positive endorsement of their products and I’ll rename you a Liker. How’s that?
 
So... if I can’t make a sound case for the beacons, then that makes me a hater. Uh, okay... I got it.

Okay then..... that little wing thingy out on the nav light looks really cool!!! How’s that? Am I still a hater?
 
MBDiagMan said:
So... if I can’t make a sound case for the beacons, then that makes me a hater. Uh, okay... I got it.
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Ummm...you bumped the thread after no activity to post a negative rant which was essentially identical to the other negative rant you had already posted in the same thread (which was still only one page at the time).
 
Man, you guys are sensitive! I still don’t understand why my difference of opinion makes me a hater. I don’t hate anyone. Never have and never will.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Unless you have a plane that is not worth much and don’t plan on having it very long, coupled with a SERIOUSLY cramped budget to the point you can barely afford to fly, I just don’t see the tail-beacon/sky beacon coupled with an antique, twist in the sqwauk transponder as a good use of funds. It is hanging out in the weather and depending on other obsolete equipment for its functionality.

Sorry, but that’s just how I see it.
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Suppose you just bought a plane, it isn't equipped, you are based inside of rule airspace and you can't get an install date before 2020 for the GTX345 that you wanted. One of the uAvionix units could make a good stopgap until a shop gets some free time.
 
The almost totally painless fast installation of the uAvionix XxxBeacon, the relatively inexpensive price point (although I have a hard time calling anything four figures and up "inexpensive"), and the ability to turn it off by leaving your nav lights off when..... ahem.... not needed.... are the three pluses, and I almost went that route. Ultimately, a great price on a Stratus ESG, the FAA rebate, and the couple hundred bucks I'll get selling my Narco AT150 made that option more attractive... and I ended up w/ 1090 and a new, almost free transponder to boot.
 
Well before you guys verbally slash and slaughter each other, this sight is for opinions to be shared. We don't all think the same and that's good for multiple reasons. So maybe we can just share our differences rather than calling out those differences and offending one another.
 
Still showing out of stock but due today on ACS, probably going to get knocked back another week...
 
Now Spruce website says July 30. Unreal. I’m starting to think Uavionix should have spent money on someone to help push this through the FAA.
 
I was able to snag a rebate today. They made you select which hardware you were installing, so I put down the GDL 82. Hopefully the tailbecon comes out before my rebate expires and I can switch hardware, otherwise I guess I'll just install the GDL 82. I already have a GTX327, so this might be the best option anyways.
 
aggie06 said:
Now Spruce website says July 30. Unreal. I’m starting to think Uavionix should have spent money on someone to help push this through the FAA.
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Is it an FAA issue or a "selling faster than they come in" issue? With the Echo-UAT I bought, the same thing was happening - expected stock data kept moving back. So I finally just ordered one instead of waiting for them to be in stock. Then, after a couple weeks, one showed up on my door.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Is it an FAA issue or a "selling faster than they come in" issue? With the Echo-UAT I bought, the same thing was happening - expected stock data kept moving back. So I finally just ordered one instead of waiting for them to be in stock. Then, after a couple weeks, one showed up on my door.
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It’s an FAA issue. Per the uAvionix website it’s still pending TSO certification.
 
hamer said:
I was able to snag a rebate today. They made you select which hardware you were installing, so I put down the GDL 82. Hopefully the tailbecon comes out before my rebate expires and I can switch hardware, otherwise I guess I'll just install the GDL 82. I already have a GTX327, so this might be the best option anyways.
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I don't think you are obligated to use the same equipment as you selected on the request form. They might just be asking for data mining.
 
MBDiagMan said:
One more reason to classify uAvionix as a less than top rate product/supplier.
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Well now there may be an AD coming for Garmin’s 345. So I guess they’re also a less than top rate supplier?
 
dmspilot said:
I don't think you are obligated to use the same equipment as you selected on the request form. They might just be asking for data mining.
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Interesting, they have a dedicated email for the rebate, I'll ask and see what they say.
 
aggie06 said:
Well now there may be an AD coming for Garmin’s 345. So I guess they’re also a less than top rate supplier?
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Update: I just heard this could impact the 330 and 375 as well. That's not good.
 
It's unreal the level of garmin shilling on this site.
 
hindsight2020 said:
It's unreal the level of garmin shilling on this site.
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Yeah, and the person I really respect on that front is Ted. He actally DOES work for them and you'll never hear him playing fanboy here.
 
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timwinters said:
Curious...do you work for garmin?
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Odd question. I am retired. I have no dog in the hunt. I do, however have a career full of working for and doing business with tech companies and fifty years of electronics and software experience. I know good service or bad service and products when I see them. We have yet to see how Garmin will deal with the AD that has been said MIGHT be issued. Until we see their response, or even whether this AD materializes, we have no way of judging how they handle it now, do we?

Don’t call him a cowboy until you’ve seen him ride.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Until we see their response, or even whether this AD materializes, we have no way of judging how they handle it now, do we?
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Actually we do. They have a long customer service track record. I have a long history of experience with their products. They have a history of doing the absolute minimum required...less actually. It's nice being the big dog with little or no competition so you can treat your customers like sh*t, deny flaws/defects, and charge the customer for repair/replacement instead of being honorable and taking care of the customer.

The most obvious example of this was the 396/496 defective charger plug debacle of a dozen years ago or so. They knew they had issues, the plugs weren't built robustly enough and after a short period of use, would come apart. They instructed their front line customer service folks to deny knowledge of the issue and pretend each caller was the first to be calling about it..."you must have abused it or damaged it in some manner." (a customer service supervisor told me this, point blank, during my third or fourth call when the front line guy told me it was the first he'd heard of it). I bought 3 replacement chargers before they FINALLY stepped up to the plate and admitted to the flaw. A flaw that many of us had finally learned how to fix with a few strategic drops of superglue.

My GNC-300XL also had its share of issues, all but one I paid to fix...

There's more...but that's enough...

And then there's the aggressive forced obsolescence timeframes..."oh, your unit's a dozen years old? Nope, we don't support that any longer. So sorry...but we can sell you the new GNStickItUpYourAss-MFD"

I have Garmin products...it's hard to avoid...but they are my last choice, not my first.
 
That’s all great. I’m not in love with Garmin, but from where I sit, they’re just another run of the mill organization when it comes to tech support and product update. They’re products are probably overpriced, but generally of adequate quality and sophistication. IMHO on the other hand, the beacon is a band aid solution that depends on old tech, old production items for its existence.

No malicious intent, just simply stating my opinion and viewpoint.
 
aggie06 said:
Well now there may be an AD coming for Garmin’s 345. So I guess they’re also a less than top rate supplier?
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What’s up with the AD? I did some searching and didn’t find anything.
 
TSO received. STC hopefully soon, then shipping.
 
Email received from uAvionics
 
Still not over the finish line yet. STC testing and more FAA paperwork to go...meanwhile, I've been enjoying my NGT-9000 for almost a year. Lots of Grumman pilots are waiting for a tail beacon, because the wingtip model does not fit our planes.

The only downside to the tag-along units (UAvionix, GDL-82) is that you need to keep your ancient transponder healthy. (And of course you don't get the benefits of FIS-B or ADS-B traffic display) I suppose I could have stocked up on used Narco AT-50s (which is what I had), but I thought that was tempting fate. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
 
For those insisting on an 82 or beacon as their solution, 327’s are reasonably priced on the used market. If you are fortunate enough to already have one it makes the low dollar solution a lot more viable.
 
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