J

JDRhodes

Well Known Member
Is a compass required for airworthiness certification?
The FARs require a "magnetic direction indicator." The Dynon EFIS box has that. Is a seperate / conventional compass still required?

VFR only - obviously.
 
Like Webb says, for day VFR it is not required. For night the Dynon meets the requirement in 91.205.
 
Hmm..Not so sure

I never found anything other than a "magnetic direction indicator"..even for IFR..

Am I wrong here..i never did fit a compass.

Frank
 
Nope, you're not wrong.

frankh said:
I never found anything other than a "magnetic direction indicator"..even for IFR..

Am I wrong here..i never did fit a compass.

Frank
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The Dynon meets the requirement for IFR. There are some inspectors that question this, but it meets the definition in the regs.
 
Mel is correct on all counts. (No surprise there!)

For my inspection I Velcro'ed a compass to the glair shield and then removed it after the guy left, just so I wouldn't have any issues. Good thing as the guy had never seen a homebuilt with a glass screen before. Go figure.

For the backup thing, I figure the Garmin 496, with its internal battery will get me home should the Dynon D100 with its internal battery goes Tango Uniform.
 
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yeah, We've got a Garmin in there too - Doesn't everybody? Both it and the Dynon point north automatically.

Thanks for the help! Ask and ye shall receive.
 
JDRhodes said:
yeah, We've got a Garmin in there too - Doesn't everybody? Both it and the Dynon point north automatically.
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I suppose I like redundancy. A Garmin 696 on the left, magnetic compass in the middle, and Lowrance 600C on the right. No Dynon....yet :)

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
Garmins don't have a compass.

They tell you the direction the aircraft is traveling, but not which way it is pointing.
From a practical stand point they are great, but technically they are not a "magnetic direction indicator".
 
N941WR said:
For my inspection I Velcro'ed a compass to the glair shield
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When I built my Moni motorglider, the kit came with flight instruments. The included compass was a $1.99 unit from WalMart on a suction cup. It met the regs!
 
Mel said:
They tell you the direction the aircraft is traveling, but not which way it is pointing.
From a practical stand point they are great, but technically they are not a "magnetic direction indicator".
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True but I would rather the GPS continue to work than have to try and figure out where I am with just a compass. ;)

(BTW, every summer we have a "Navigation Challenge" where the pilots and their Navigators have to find three airports with only using a compass and watch. Oh, and they have to guess their fuel burn. The course is usually 150 miles total so Cub's and Champs can run participate. It is great fun with lots of trash talking.)

Mel said:
When I built my Moni motorglider, the kit came with flight instruments. The included compass was a $1.99 unit from WalMart on a suction cup. It met the regs!
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A friend with a Sonex just got his pink slip using the same compass.
 
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