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How to get started? Do I smell bad?

Hammerfly

I'm New Here
So I am done my empennage and on to the wings for my -10 and I thought that it's probably prudent to at least start thinking about avionics. The thought behind this was that if there are things that I should be building in, it doesn't hurt to get on those things now. Brackets, braces etc.
I started with Garmin Xpert. Mike was polite enough to get right back to me and tell me to go to the dealer network and talk to them. He even listed them and gave me a link.
I tried contacting Sarasota and Aircraft Spruce. Nothing but the sound of crickets. I also tried contacting Dynon directly. Same thing.
Am I not far enough along to warrant talking to? I get that I am not buying next week. Perhaps I don't know what I don't know and I don't need to be talking to anyone yet hence a response is not warranted. Maybe they are just busy? Just seems odd that I see all these advertisers on the forum but nobody is interested.
Perhaps I smell bad.
 
Try Steinair in Minnesota and/or the experimental division at Aerotronics in Billings, MT. I've found both to be willing to talk and very helpful. Honestly though, it'll probably be some time before you need to start making provisions for avionics.
 
I can tell you that avionics shops are busy. I can also say from where you say you are with your build that you are quite a ways, time wise, from needing to work on avionics installation. Concentrate on getting your airframe built before worrying about avionics. In the grand scheme of building, avionics is at the end of the journey rather than the beginning of the journey.
 
Welcome to experimental aviation. If companies hired the number of employees it would take to help every builder then the cost savings that attract us to experimental aviation wouldn’t exist.

Most of those very broad or vague questions are probably better suited to forums like this. There are many past threads dealing with questions similar to yours. Just requires a bit of practice with the search function.

Good luck.
 
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Welcome to VAF.
And yes, if you ask for advice, you will get lots of replies, and they’ll all say the same thing: ‘Do what I did, because my choices were the best’.
As others said, leave avionics until near the end. But it’s fun to dream.
 
...
Am I not far enough along to warrant talking to? I get that I am not buying next week. Perhaps I don't know what I don't know and I don't need to be talking to anyone yet hence a response is not warranted. Maybe they are just busy? Just seems odd that I see all these advertisers on the forum but nobody is interested.
Perhaps I smell bad.
The good news is that it's almost impossible to make a bad choice - as long as you are clear about your mission. The main limiting factor of most of these systems is the builder and pilot. Even the most simple VFR EFIS is extremely capable.

Clearly every vendor will tell you that their system is "best" and give you a lot of reasons why.

As already mentioned, each builder will tell you what they chose is best because it was - for them at that moment in time based on the information they had available, their budget, their technical skill, their mission, etc.

If you write down your mission, share your level of interest in reading the manuals and installing avionics and electronics, rough budget, I'm sure that the collective brain of the VAF will be delighted to give you lots of advice. :)
 
Dynons HDX installation manual would be a good place to start. It starts with the basics and progresses into the details. It can be downloaded from their web site support pages.

I would think that AP servo brackets are something you would want to cover now rather than later if you know what system you want to install.

Other than that, ADAHRS and magnetometer locations and mounting brackets. You might also think about antennas and where they will go so that you can install doublers as necessary.

Of course making provisions for wire runs are really good also.
 
Jason and his team at Aerotronics were very responsive to me very early on from first call and have been ever since. I had no clue what I wanted or required and Jason and I worked through it over a few calls. I know Stein is also very good however believe they must be busy. They were slightly less responsive and wait times were much longer. This was a 14 months ago before Covid.

Give Aerotronics a call. 406-672-1574
 
One thing to keep in mind. There may be some changes in models / features between now and when you are ready to buy. While thinking about the avionics now is a good thing, no need to nail down all the details with Garmin / Dynon / etc or dealers until you are much further along. I know Garmin has recently stated that they will not be releasing a new version of the G3X touch this year, but that makes me think that a new version will be our NEXT year. This is just as bad as trying to get an iPhone or Laptop. New stuff comes out all the time!

My advice, when you are able, go to OSH or Sun N Fun and visit the Avionics booths or see if anyone around your field has some nice avionics that you can look at / see in action.
 
Jason and his team at Aerotronics were very responsive ...Give Aerotronics a call. 406-672-1574

+1 for Aerotronics! I used them for design and build. GREAT shop to work with! Very responsive and professional. Even after install, any question I have had has been responded to quickly. Could not be happier!

I also agree it's good to plan for now, not later. I needed to alter some sub panel clearances for panel. Much easier during fuse build. Plus, lead times can be long right now.
 
One more for Aerotronics. They've been really patient and helpful and, honestly, even if someone undercut the prices I'd still work with them. Their willingness to help a newbie like me has been truly inspiring. Cannot say enough good things about Andre Todd over there.
 
Dan had it right in post #8. Download ALL the installation manuals of equipment that you might be interested in. Wouldn't hurt to do the same for the user manuals, since you might find that some things are easier to use than others.

Dave
 
Paul,

Check your private messages. I'm also a -10 builder and would like to talk projects and avionics!

BR,

Brad
 
+1 for Aerotronics. Avionics is a journey. I started out asking them "what's the best EFIS?" And I got an education that continues to this day although my panel is now built. Not too soon to start thinking about what you want in your plane. There's lots of equipment to go in the wings: pitot heat, roll servo, wingtip antenna, OAT probe, lights, etc. and many of these impact/interface with the avionics. OTOH, some of the decisions I made years ago in the fuselage need to be changed due to the avionics, so don't be afraid to go back a step or two. So, education, planning, revisions as required. One of the vendors that was at the top of my list when I started planning does not exist, and another has been not stepped up with current technology. Less likely now with the big two or three vendors, but still, avionics is the fastest changing part of a plane. The equipment you preliminarily select today may be obsolete by the time you write the cheque. So keep learning.
 
As a Dynon dealer/RV builder I would be happy to have a phone call regardless of who you go with.

I do have some Garmin install experience also.

email me a good # and time.

[email protected]
 
Welcome to experimental aviation. If companies hired the number of employees it would take to help every builder then the cost savings that attract us to experimental aviation wouldn’t exist.

Or.... if they hired enough employees, they would generate more revenues.

Backlog at SteinAir for custom drop-in panels is running 10-12 months. A few more hands on deck could translate that into near term cash flow and avoid losing customers to doing it themselves or going elsewhere.
 
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Smell

I'm upwind so it's ok here. Kidding.
Call Dynon again and leave a detailed message. They are busy and Covid is slowing the response time. I got a call back after a couple days.
 
Or.... if they hired enough employees, they would generate more revenues.

Backlog at SteinAir for custom drop-in panels is running 10-12 months. A few more hands on deck could translate that into near term cash flow and avoid losing customers to doing it themselves or going elsewhere.

That is true, but to counter that just a little:

The past year has been incredibly difficult for everyone everywhere. If someone (employee) sneezes or has a fever they get sent home, get a test, and possibly quarantine for 14 days. That has been the case for many companies and has resulted in reduced resource availability of unknown duration and depth. Others are working from home (Dynon, Garmin, etc.. all have folks working from home). It's extraordinarily difficult to ramp up staffing around something transitory like this, and unlike some folks - we don't "hire then fire" based on short term demand (though many do, and that's ok for them - it's just now how we do things here).

I know we're losing some folks, but we're all doing the best we can in a weird and bad circumstance. I don't speak for the mfgrs or other shops, but I do deal with them regularly and I know everyone is trying very hard - though we obviously could do better. Supply chains globally are a mess, the parcel carriers and mail services are a mess, so on and so forth!

I apologize to any folks who feel let down due to lapse in communications or lead times. We are in fact adding staff (slowly) to try and keep up without having excess capacity once all this **** passes.

Finally, I will say that if you do find someone or a shop that isn't busy right now, that should send up a big bright waving flag (not necessarily a positive one). Again, not speaking for Dynon or Garmin, but BOTH are trying very, very hard right now, that I do know as a fact! :)

Cheers,
Stein
 
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That is true, but to counter that just a little:

The past year has been incredibly difficult for everyone everywhere.

Absolutely. I will note that the people you currently have are terrific. While waiting for my spot in the queue to come to the top, I've received all my antennas, servos, etc and one of your people has answered more than a dozen of my dumb questions thoughtfully and completely.

So, I suggest just cloning the people that you already have on site.
 
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