Approach Fast Stack

[captainron]

http://www.approachfaststack.com/index.html

One of the more interesting exhibits I saw at Sun & Fun, this company makes wiring harnesses that connect all your avionics to a central hub. This hub contains a printed circuit board that makes everything "talk" to each other. Quick and neat, kind of like hooking up a computer where everything gets plugged into the back. Anyone have any experience with these folks?

[tommylewis]

Yes, I have an Approach Hub connecting 3 GRT screens, PSE8000, SL30, 530W and 327 together. In my opinion, it was well worth the cost. As in many decisions in building your airplane, it is the time vs money. Mine worked the first time and we now have 26.7 hrs on an RV7a.

Tom Lewis

[gmcjetpilot]

To add to Tom's comment, it is a cool thing but guess its not cheap. It does make your installation more "integrated".

I have no proof, but my big concern is UPGRADE. Its all going into the central integration box. To add, subtract or modify, basically might mean a whole new box or architecture, verses changing what you need. On the other hand it might make it easier to change things out? However if you panel is a done deal, set for good, than it does not matter.

I'm also guessing at one other potential negative, all the extra connectors and connections, verses the direct wired method makes more possible failure points. If you do have a problem the issue could be inside the "combiner" or integration module, which may or may not be hard to trace?

I think this concept with a simple panel would be overkill. I am more of a do-it-your-self (cheap) guy, so it does not appeal to me; it sure is neat and clean. When making my harness, I built extra disconnects and branches in, somewhat a poor-mans copy of this concept.

[BrickPilot]

Yet another issue is weight. Routing wires to a central place for distribution might mean an extra foot of wire here, and extra six inches there, etc. Ounces count.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by gmcjetpilot

.....

I have no proof, but my big concern is UPGRADE. Its all going into the central integration box. To add, subtract or modify, basically might mean a whole new box or architecture, verses changing what you need. On the other hand it might make it easier to change things out? However if you panel is a done deal, set for good, than it does not matter.

.......

George... I think this (future upgrades) is a plus for the system, rather than a negative.

Most avionics interconnects are sort of standard in what the wires do... it's the connectors, pin numbers and harnesses that are different. Take a nav/comm or a transponder, every model has similar functions and connections, with most avionics wires that leave the stack being audio type functions.

If the Approach Hub is a sort of universal back plane, their individual short cables connect the differring transponders into a universal "transponder plug" on their backplane. This occurs for each type of equipment, so changing a King KT-76A to a Garmin GTX-330 is a cable change only, to the transponder, and to wherever the altitude info. is coming from.

Where this may breakdown is with the more complex, and differing, Integrated EFIS/EMS/display type of avionics. However, if these new items are going to more RS-232 communications, this should be easy...

Jim Weir (RST) suggested a similar poor mans approach a while back, which he called "Karmic Avionics Standards". Approach Systems seemed to have taken a similar integrated standards approach, with a physical universal hard backplane.

See his articles here...

http://www.rst-engr.com/rst/articles/

Having worked under (behind) a few certified avionics stacks, I can see the Approach Hub system being much cheaper for future upgrades due to reduced labor costs - but if you do the work yourself, this cost doesn't count...

gil in Tucson