NotarPilot

Sorry for the delay responding to this but here is a picture of my current set up.

Protect from which elements? I use them on the inside and for me they serve two purposes: Keep the majority of the heat out (which they do) and keep prying eyes from looking at my panel and hopefully any would be thieves from seeing what they can steal from my plane.

Being a CB here, does anyone use a homemade set up using climbing rope and maybe a carabiner tied to each end? Assuming you get quality carabiners, and not ones from Temu, I would think you have enough strength to keep your plane grounded in strong winds. The carabiners could be used to attach to the airplane tie down loops, and directly to the eye bolts on the ramp and then just simply tie a knot in the middle of the rope to take out the slack. Would this be a bad idea?

Several years ago, I came across a post either here or on Beechtalk about someone making their own window shades using heat shield material from Home Depot. I did the same and I think I ended up having to buy two rolls to have enough material to make shades for all the windows. You simply place a section of the material large enough to cover the entire window and use a Sharpie to outline the shape by feel. I think the two rolls ended up costing me less than $25. I have a Bruce's cover that came with my plane but I prefer my CB home made window shades. They weigh A LOT less, cost a fraction of a custom cover, take up less room in the plane, install from the inside in about 1 minute, keep prying eyes out and I don't risk the custom cover grinding sand onto the windows on a windy day. I wish I had a photo of them installed to show you but I can say they work great and have lasted 4 or 5 years now, still in good condition. I definitely wouldn't spend several hundred dollars like some of those pre made ones. People will talk about the sun reflecting back through the glass and eventually causing crazing on the plexiglass. Yeah, maybe/probably if you keep your plane outside all the time, but for occasional use for a few days at a time, I don't see the harm. My plane normally lives in a hangar so they really only get used for several days per year. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-24-in-x-10-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-Radiant-Barrier-24x10DRI/314983628

How good would a heavy duty leather bag be at containing one of these theoretical iPad fires? I found this video burn testing different leathers and materials and it seems you could possible produce a simple leather bag that might slow a fire or maybe maybe even starve it of enough oxygen to kill the fire. Maybe.

I switched to Concorde from Gill after buying my plane. Never had an issue. I tend to replace them after 4 or 5 years regardless if I feel they need replacing. This is probably a bit premature on my part.

PM sent.

I have a dual screen setup in my J and I’m very happy with it. I have a 10” screen on the left and 7” screen on the right. No AP yet as it wasn’t STC’d yet, when I did the installation. I had @Baker Avionics do the work and I was very happy with the end product. I’ve used the Dynon and Garmin G3X with one of my students. Both are extremely capable but there are some nuances that have me lean towards the Dynon. Cost being probably the biggest.

I would do it but I would have to do it the following week. I work on the 16th til 19th and I don’t work the following week.

Thanks, Lance. That answers the question perfectly and I think I’ll bid on that unit for sale.

Maybe some electrical engineer or someone can help me out. I want to buy a docking station for my Avidyne IFD 440s so I can remove them from the plane and update the firmware at home. Lonestar Aviation sells one for the 440 for $399 and one for the 430 for $329. I called Lonestar to ask what the difference was being that the trays are the same and they are interchangeable drop in replacements. The guy I spoke with in their engineering department gave answers that didn't make sense saying the connecters are different. That's not true and you can see the back of both units are the same. When I told him the connectors are the same he then said that the voltages could be different and mentioned some are 12, 24 or even 16 volts. I've never heard of an aircraft with a 16 volt electrical system. The guy almost seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about or just trying to justify why I need to pay $70 more for a product than a less expensive one which will do the same thing. Has anyone used a Garmin 430 docking station and stuck an Avidyne 440 in it? Is there possibly any truth to what this guy was saying and that I need to get the Avidyne specific docking station?

As an owner produced part?

Let’s be honest. Mooney pilots would never pay to use a dating app.

What’s a Dynon 1100 system? I’ve never heard of that.

I hope Garmin learned something about where they choose to manufacture parts in the future.