Taking the plunge

[Ned Gravel]

14 hours ago, steingar said:

I hope the OP’s avionics guy knows what he’s doing, unlike the monkey working on my airplane.

They are good.  But I feel your pain.  

When the other shop installed my GMA340, they installed a Garmin product that was not designed with sufficient shielding to prevent interference from my Narco radios - known for being RF dirty.  That shop hummed and hawed for two months and still never identified the problem or was able (or willing) to fix it.

These guys told me in five minutes, and provided a slide-in replacement for my GMA340 with a PS 8000 unit that has the requisite shielding, with a trade in on the Garmin audio panel that paid back its cost to me.  

This shop meets both of my requirements. They are competent and they are honest.

 A Twink is being completed with the exact same conversion as mine.  Lessons learned on someone else’s bird.....

[Guest]

On 5/24/2018 at 7:56 PM, Ned Gravel said:

I am on my way to Shanghai, then Kyoto, then Hong Kong, but C-FWSR is on her way to Brantford.

See https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CFSWR.

So begins the journey to /G.

I sure hope that the G5 with GPSS flys straighter lines than that.

Clarence

[Ned Gravel]

Clarence:

I noticed that too, but I figured I would ask Dan about it when I get back.  

[kpaul]

2 hours ago, Ned Gravel said:

Clarence:

I noticed that too, but I figured I would ask Dan about it when I get back.  

My G5s seem to track nice and straight.

[Ned Gravel]

Kevin:

It may be the autopilot or it may have been the lack of the autopilot.  My Mooney tracks pretty straight if you leave it alone or if the autopilot is doing the tracking for you.  Somewhere between these two is where I have run into trouble.  Messing with needles while flying and not paying attention to things like the DG tend to cause the track to "wander." 

But that is just me.

 

[Ned Gravel]

Update.

Got this from the shop today when I sent them a request for a pic.

They noted a couple issues while doing the install and asked if I knew of them and wanted to do something about them.

1.       Fuel flow on JPI does not work.  (My comment = OK - did not have it installed)

2.       A/P tracking way off, in nav/app mode.  (My comment = Hmmm, cause of the wandering track?)

3.       Heading bug seems really lazy  (My comment = OK - good thing I am replacing the DG with a G5)

4.       Mk12D loose in its tray.  This may be a simple adjustment of the set clips (OK - secure please when you move it down to put the 480 above it) 

5.       #2 Nav is not centred (5 deg at 0 and 180 deg)  (OK - please fix)

Small things.  they are on top of things.

Pic does not show much, but it alleviates any inherent lack of confidence.  It will be ready by 14 June.

[Ned Gravel]

Here are the results.  Got off the flight from Hong Kong in Toronto and instead of taking the scheduled (booked and paid for) flight to Ottawa, caught a shuttle and spent the night in Brantford.  Picked up my Mooney on Friday the 15th.  Took it to Clarence's to fix an oil leak and purchase a used pair of K model yolks and then flew it home.  Yolks and seat cams will be installed during the annual after Oshkosh.

The checkride with the instructor in Brantford went well.  I was prepared and he could see that.  Basics on the use of the G5 with the 480 are OK.  What needs tweaking is the sequence of buttonology which involves three instruments:  G5, STEC 50 and 480.  I filed IFR for the run home (in severely clear weather) for my own exercise.  You can see that my track is not quite as straight as kpaul's.  The guys in the shop were telling me that the STEC 50 course adjustments (at least on my STEC) are too course for the inputs provided by the 480 and G5.  A resistor is needed in the line somewhere.  They are looking.

The shop did a one-time download onto the database card and I was good to go - fully compliant with both Tpt Canada and FAA IFR requirements.

I am now /G!!!  In the aircraft outside of Clarence's shop, I got the Wx briefing (Foreflight and Skew T charts), prepared a flight plan using RNAV routes, called my girl, filed my flight plan and then started up.  Did the runup and asked tower for a clearance and got "approved as filed."  

Then things got interesting.  One the way to the hold short point tower came back and told me that "Centre was not pleased" with the routing.  OK.  Instead of going north around the ins and outs of heavy iron into YYZ, they wanted me to go South.  OK.  Change 1.  Change the Foreflight.  Change the 480.  

Airborne off of 32, I contact Centre and they give me another change.  Change 2.  They are "not pleased" with the routing through Toronto terminal airspace and they have a new and improved routing.  Guess where?  You got it - North (almost as originally filed).  OK.  Change the Foreflight.  Change the 480.  (Are the quick readers here picking up a pattern?)

In the middle of all that I forgot the take the GPSS off (or was it on) in the G5 we weren't headed where we should be.  Plan B.  Kick the 480 out of GPS instructions to the G5 and put it in VOR mode - take the GPSS off and set the heading bug so the STEC can at least follow something that is correct.  Put it all back together when the flight plan in correct in the 480 and then turn it onto GPS instructions to the G5 with GPSS now engaged again.  OK.  Good.  That is the perfectly aligned segment just north of Toronto.  Lesson?  Forget the Foreflight until after the 480 is back to sequencing waypoints, then play with Foreflight.

Then, following T614 (the third of the routes they picked out for me to follow). Centre takes out two of the waypoints (that have turns in them that the GPS is correctly sequencing) and clears me direct to a third.  15 seconds later they ask why I have not turned on the new course????!!!!!  Sheesh!!!!  I swear someone told them that this was the maiden flight of my new setup.  Remainder of the flight was relatively uneventful.  Messing with the Ram Air (about 70 miles from Ottawa) turned my STEC off inadvertently and that raised the pucker factor some - until I corrected that.  

But I am getting better at EMRE for the 480 and I have learned that if it gets complicated, kick it out of GPS to VOR mode and take the GPSS off of the G5 so that the STEC can follow the heading bug until the new plan is in place and ready to Execute.  In the meantime I absolutely love doing RNAV approaches with vertical guidance provided by the GPS.  The STEC now almost never leaves HDG mode and the NAV functions are just between the 480 and the G5.  Life is very good.  But I will be checking with the shop about enhancing the fineness of the STEC outputs so that my track looks as straight as kpaul's.

More pics.

I have to find a way to power my ADS-B in, my iPad in a way that keeps the cables behind the instrument panel - and the coax for my handheld.  Left side shows rock solid performance.  Right side (notice the Sensorcon) shows the sequencing for T614.  The 480 is waaaayyyy better than the 430 to fly.

Next week, Danville, VA and the Mooney Caravan practice.

[Marauder]

Great write up. When I became “/G” in 2012, it took me a while to get used to the changes from flying Victor airways to the routing a /G plane could get. The 5 letter waypoint spellings were my Achilles Heel.


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[kpaul]

My Mooney was /G when I bought it, and I have been flying /G aircraft for work for much longer.  I just file airfield to airfield, no airways, no navaids.  I very rarely get anything other than 'as filed.'  People love to make it much harder than it needs to be.

Flew from KLIT to KCHS (Little Rock, AR to Charleston, NC) yesterday.  My filed flight plan was KLIT-KCHS.  On departure I initially received runway heading to 4,000,  upon checking in with departure I got a "turn left direct KCHS"

I know in the NE US they have routings that won't allow direct initially.  Also in Europe its also a bit more complicated.

Flying with my G5s I just swap between GPSS and HDG modes if I need to modify my GPS routing.  

[Bob_Belville]

10 minutes ago, kpaul said:

My Mooney was /G when I bought it, and I have been flying /G aircraft for work for much longer.  I just file airfield to airfield, no airways, no navaids.  I very rarely get anything other than 'as filed.'  People love to make it much harder than it needs to be.

Flew from KLIT to KCHS (Little Rock, AR to Charleston, NC) yesterday.  My filed flight plan was KLIT-KCHS.  On departure I initially received runway heading to 4,000,  upon checking in with departure I got a "turn left direct KCHS"

I know in the NE US they have routings that won't allow direct initially.  Also in Europe its also a bit more complicated.

Flying with my G5s I just swap between GPSS and HDG modes if I need to modify my GPS routing.  

Yeah /G is mighty fine. In our part of the country we don't have to use airways but we deal with a couple of Bravos, ATL, CHT, and some MOAs. When I bring the plane back from Tampa this week I'll file VDF-JEXEX-DBOLT-KMRN to jog around Bulldog  MOAs. If they're cold I'll be requesting direct through them. From KMRN to KECP I'll include SINCA and RRS to stay clear of ATLs Bravo and Tyndall MOAs.  

But Washington and NY centers are another story altogether.

[kpaul]

58 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Yeah /G is mighty fine. In our part of the country we don't have to use airways but we deal with a couple of Bravos, ATL, CHT, and some MOAs. When I bring the plane back from Tampa this week I'll file VDF-JEXEX-DBOLT-KMRN to jog around Bulldog  MOAs. If they're cold I'll be requesting direct through them. From KMRN to KECP I'll include SINCA and RRS to stay clear of ATLs Bravo and Tyndall MOAs.  

But Washington and NY centers are another story altogether.

Bob,

As long as you are filing IFR I would just file through the MOAs.  If they are active ATC will route you around anyway.  If they are cold you will get the "direct".  VFR flying is when I will avoid MOAs unless the controller tells me they are cold.  If it's on the weekend then the MOA's are generally cold, unless it's a Guard weekend.  Going into ECP if IFR they will likely vector you through the MOAs under the active altitudes.  The mil aircraft will have a block altitude coordinated with ATC.

The Atlanta Bravo is a pain, but I still file direct through it in my Mooney.  I don't try to guess which direction they are landing and what point ATC wants me to fly to.  I have been given different points every time.  I was in the ATL area last weekend, I flew in and out of KFFC, on departure they actually vectored me north west at 4000 MSL toward the arrival corridor.  There was some weather, but I fully expected to go south west around it no NW. 

[carusoam]

Great pirep, Ned!

A great reminder of what it takes to get a flight plan entered into a box and properly activated...

And what happens immediately after you are all set up and comfortable...  

Constantly developing plan B....C....and D.

 

Most of my flight plans used to be VOR to VOR but flown /G...  Plan B was to use the VORs...

thanks and best regards,

-a-

 

[gsxrpilot]

+1 for always filing direct and letting ATC sort it out. I've also learned that by filing for an altitude of 15K or higher, ATC seems to know to offer direct if I'm willing to climb. #turbo Also +1 for knowing the GPSS on/off toggle. Anytime ATC gives me a significant routing change that will take some time to enter in the GPS, I just ask for an initial heading, toggle off GPSS and fly the heading bug until I've got the GPS set up and ready to go. It takes two seconds and give me time to get everything set up.

[Ned Gravel]

So most of you have noted the waviness of the tracked course in all this flying. 

What could the problem be?  Bad G5?  Bad STEC 50?  The avionics shop eliminated all the usual suspects.  G5 and 480 CDIs were rock steady.  STEC 50 servo cables loose?  Did I want to invest the time and effort to chase them down?  Josh asked me to wait until I came back from Oshkosh. 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Because the flightaware coverage there is somewhat more precise than near Ottawa (or even Brantford)." he replied.

So Ok.  I checked out the tracks from today's flights from Ottawa to Brantford to Detroit to Madison, to get ready for the Caravan.

Anyone else see the difference?  The last one is completely within (ADSB? TIS-B?) coverage and straight as an arrow.

I am good.  We're done here.  

[carusoam]

I’m guessing you felt it flying in a straight line the whole time...?

The wavy lines in the radar pictures would be quite a wavy flight as well...

nice follow-up, Ned!

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

So most of you have noted the waviness of the tracked course in all this flying. 

What could the problem be?  Bad G5?  Bad STEC 50?  The avionics shop eliminated all the usual suspects.  G5 and 480 CDIs were rock steady.  STEC 50 servo cables loose?  Did I want to invest the time and effort to chase them down?  Josh asked me to wait until I came back from Oshkosh. 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Because the flightaware coverage there is somewhat more precise than near Ottawa (or even Brantford)." he replied.

So Ok.  I checked out the tracks from today's flights from Ottawa to Brantford to Detroit to Madison, to get ready for the Caravan.

Anyone else see the difference?  The last one is completely within (ADSB? TIS-B?) coverage and straight as an arrow.

I am good.  We're done here.  

 

Does the app that you use have a breadcrumb capability? Here is a flight done completely by autopilot. ADS-B near me seems fine until I make circles, then you can tell the data points are reported on FlightAware with not as much resolution that I think ADS-B claims the surveillance rate is.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[carusoam]

WAAS breadcrumbs are much finer than non-WAAS breadcrumbs....

When Using an app like CloudAhoy.... skyradar WAAS gps vs. ipad’s internal gps makes a difference....

Best regards,

-a-

[Ned Gravel]

6 hours ago, carusoam said:

I’m guessing you felt it flying in a straight line the whole time...?

The wavy lines in the radar pictures would be quite a wavy flight as well...

nice follow-up, Ned!

Best regards,

-a-

No feeling in flight at all regarding constant course changes.  

[Ned Gravel]

3 hours ago, Marauder said:

Does the app that you use have a breadcrumb capability? Here is a flight done completely by autopilot. 

No app.  Just Flightaware