GDL 51R

[Blizzard]

Working on placement of everything on the sub-panel. Read the installation guide and I'm a little confused. It says to mount it with the arrow facing forward within 3 degrees. I get that. It also says connections should face aft. I get that too. Next line says it may be mounted vertically within 30 degrees of level flight. That rules out the cables facing aft. If it's mounted vertically, does it retain all of it's functionality as if it was mounted horizontally? Attitude sensor, etc.

Thanks

 

[Mile High Relic]

Working on placement of everything on the sub-panel. Read the installation guide and I'm a little confused. It says to mount it with the arrow facing forward within 3 degrees. I get that. It also says connections should face aft. I get that too. Next line says it may be mounted vertically within 30 degrees of level flight. That rules out the cables facing aft. If it's mounted vertically, does it retain all of it's functionality as if it was mounted horizontally? Attitude sensor, etc.

Thanks

I read that to be 3 degrees left/right, and 30 degrees up/down.

I don't see where it says it can be mounted vertically. It says "The unit can be mounted with the serial tag pointing straight up or straight down, within 30 degrees of a level flight position."

Isn't the serial tag on the top or bottom?

 

[AlpineYoda]

I was under the impression that it was the only thing in my entire panel area that had to be mounted in a specific fashion - very close to in line with the aircraft and close to level. The device broadcasts a backup attitude signal that can be read by iPads, phones, etc for use if the screens go down and you have to rely on Foreflight / FlyQ / etc.

Therefore, the rule about straight and level so the internal accelerometers are happy.

For what it's worth, I mounted mine on the forwardmost tunnel cover, using some nutplates riveted to the cover. The tunnel cover is straight and only a few degrees off level.

 

[Blizzard]

You guys are totally correct!! I completely misinterpreted what I was reading. Thanks for helping me get my head re-caged!!! You guys saved me a lot of "do over" work. When the "BIG Question Mark" is hanging over my head....this is my first stop. Thanks again.

 

[rdamazio]

Also, afaik you only need to mount it in that orientation if you want to use its AHRS function - if all you care about is XM receiving, it'll still work in any orientation.

 

[g3xpert]

GDL 5X Orientation

Working on placement of everything on the sub-panel. Read the installation guide and I'm a little confused. It says to mount it with the arrow facing forward within 3 degrees. I get that. It also says connections should face aft. I get that too. Next line says it may be mounted vertically within 30 degrees of level flight. That rules out the cables facing aft. If it's mounted vertically, does it retain all of it's functionality as if it was mounted horizontally? Attitude sensor, etc.

Thanks

Good Evening!

These are the two installation items you referenced:

• Mount the unit with the FWD arrow aligned to within 3.0° of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft (LED bezel parallel to the wing spar). Mount the GDL 5XR so that the connectors point in the aft direction.

• The unit can be mounted with the serial tag pointing straight up or straight down, within 30 degrees of a level flight position.

Ideally, this box needs to be mounted with the serial tag facing straight up (towards the sky) or straight down (towards the ground). The arrow needs to be in line with the longitudinal axis of the aircraft (don't introduce a yaw in either direction). Ensure the connectors are facing aft. From this position, you can deviate 30 degrees in pitch, nose up or nose down.

As mentioned above, a vertical orientation would be problematic for the AHRS within this unit. This would not negatively impact the SXM receiver however.

Thanks,

Justin

 

[Draker]

What is the expected ill effect of mounting it incorrectly? I just had a look at my 51R install and noticed I completely disregarded the FWD label and mounted it facing aft instead. I wasn’t aware it even had an inertial unit. Planned to only use the device for SXM and weather reception.

 

[g3xpert]

GDL 5X Attitude

What is the expected ill effect of mounting it incorrectly? I just had a look at my 51R install and noticed I completely disregarded the FWD label and mounted it facing aft instead. I wasn’t aware it even had an inertial unit. Planned to only use the device for SXM and weather reception.

Ryan,

These units can provide attitude information to something like an Aera 660 or iPad running Garmin Pilot to view basic attitude information. SXM functionality is not impacted by the installation orientation however.

Mounting the unit outside of the prescribed orientation will cause poor attitude solution.

Thanks,

Justin

 

[rapid_ascent]

It might be good to add some orientation requirements on the mounting drawing. I wasn't aware it had an inertial unit either. I recently saw the 2 items noted in the manual and realized I needed to make a new mount.