FS: 2018 RV-12 ELSA; $60,000; avionics need repair

[lon@carolon.net]

THE PLANE
A description and photos of the plane (and additional equipment and tools that go with it) is available in this PDF. A video of the plane being flown by the builder (from whom I bought it) is on YouTube.

ASKING PRICE
The plane is equipped with dual Dynon SkyView HDX avionics. If the avionics worked properly, the plane would be worth at least $80,000, but they don't, so I am asking $60,000. The asking price includes the additional equipment and tools listed on the plane’s description.

AVIONICS PROBLEM
The Dynon SkyView HDX avionics intermittently fail in flight so that Altitude, Airspeed and GPS locations are incorrect or do not appear at all. Also, the left Cylinder Head Temperature does not display. Suggestions for the diagnosis and repair of these failures have been discussed on VansAirforce. The failures are described in detail in this PDF which includes photos of the displays taken while the avionics were failing. When the failures occur, they are reflected in ADS-B Performance Reports; here are Reports from three flights: Example 1,Example 2, Example 3. The Dynon "black box" flight data have been uploaded to SavvyAviation where four flight parameters may be compared at once, minute-by-minute during flight, so that the plane's condition can be seen at the moments the failures occur.

MAINTENANCE HISTORY
The plane's annual Condition Inspection was completed on July 7, 2020 (including the required 200 hour carburator overhaul). Service Bulletins have been complied with (including the nose gear leg replacement, the cylinder exhaust tubes replacement, and the Dynamic Propeller Balance). PDFs of the plane's Log Books are available here: Airframe, Avionics, Engine, Propeller. As shown in the Log Books, maintenance of the plane was done by its builder before I purchased it. After I purchased it, some maintenance (including the annual Condition Inspection) was done by Bill’s Air Center at KSMO; some maintenance was done by Able Air at KWHP; and I did some maintenance (as owner).

INSPECTION AND CONDITIONS OF SALE
The plane is in a tie-down space in a quiet corner of Santa Monica Airport (KSMO). If you may want to buy the plane, I will meet you at the airport, so you can visually inspect it. However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, test flights will not be possible, and masks will have to be worn during the inspection even though we will be outdoors. Based on advice I received on VansAirforce and elsewhere, I think the avionics can be fixed by someone who has the right tools, a hangar to work in, and the willingness to treat the task as a hobby, no matter how long a time it may take. The plane is being offered as is, where is. My contact information on the first page of the description of the plane.

[lon@carolon.net]

P.S.
Before posting my plane for sale, Bruce H spent four hours with me, trying to diagnose the avionics problem. Although we didn't find the problem, it wasn't for lack of trying. Here is what Bruce did, in his own words:

Lon,

Just to follow up and summarize to others what we looked at. The wiring harness is stock Van's. We took off all of the various connections at the wiring hub (Van's design/mfg, aka the control module). All of the connections looked fine. No bent pins observed. No pins loose or not seated properly. The 4 wires that head off to the GPS antenna were fine. Solder sleeves were used to connect up a replacement GPS antenna. From looking at the flight data on SavvyAnalysis, the GPS just randomly goes dark (power? ground?). When the GPS goes offline, it will sometimes come back rapidly, or it will additionally take offline something else like the VERT SPEED, or ALTITUDE, or IAS, etc. When this happens, there is no Skyview Network alert. What is odd is that the ADAHRS data and the GPS data are on completely separate circuits (SV network vs. EFIS Serial port).

We looked at the wiring all the way from the front panel back to the ADAHRS unit. No chafing, or pinched wires. Connectors looked fine. No obvious corrosion anywhere. This wiring was correctly installed and tied up with zip ties and was not rubbing anywhere.

We checked the SETUP menus and could see that all of the Skyview network devices were present and communicating. The GPS is on Serial port #5 and it was putting out good data (as we sat on the ground). We tried to wiggle things to see if anything was intermittent, but didn't notice any issues.

We took off all of the connectors at the control module hub and examined the box from the outside. There is a sticker on the box saying not to open and if missing it would void the warranty. We did clean it with some electrical contact cleaner on the off chance there might be something inside causing a short. There is not a lot going on in this Van's control module hub. It is a circuit board that distributes various signals to different connectors/harnesses. There are also some small potentiometers on the box that allow you to adjust things like headset volumes, etc. My only thought is that this hub might be the culprit, since it is the common denominator, and the wiring elsewhere looks just fine. Has anyone else with an RV-12 experienced any issues with the control module hub from Van's? Swapping out a new box here is a trivial task and would be something else to try before giving up.

As Lon has mentioned, the ADAHRS and GPS have been swapped out without any difference, so IMHO it most likely is NOT a Dynon component issue. My recommendation was to go fly it after we examined and reseated all of the connectors. Looking at flightaware, I don't see any flights after November and I was there in December. My offer stands to do some further troubleshooting if you can bring it down to Ramona airport. We didn't really take a look at the CHT, but I think it is likely a bad probe. Swapping Left to Right would confirm this.
__________________
Bruce Hill
RV-9A N5771H flown over 800 hours!
http://www.overthehills.com/RV-9A-Project
APRS Tracking for KJ6YRP and New Flying Blog
2020 VAF donator
EAA Tech Counselor, Build assistance - canopy/tanks/fiberglass/electrical/repairs

[butch]

PM sent,

Butch

[Gerald Clabots]

Have you tried swapping out the Vans box that all the cables connect to. If I remember correctly it is the AV5000.
I had troubles arounf 35 hours on my 12.
had the big red X on the screen.
Finally found a ground on one of the lines in the box. Found it with my ohm meter.
The ground on the line on mine was steady.
Sounds like yours is intermitant. That would be harder to pin down.
Maybe you can find someone to swap boxes for a test.
Good luck

[Carl Froehlich]

If you have not sent the diagnostic file to Dynon, recommend you do so. The diagnostic file is their prime tool for isolating such problems.

Carl

[lon@carolon.net]

The plane has been sold.