Bill and I planned to do our pitot/static/transponder certification at the same time. Yesterday, we had Mobile Transponder Services (Dan and Mike), based out of Meadowlake (KFLY) visit the hangar. Although, neither Bill or I are IFR rated, we decided to do the more thorough IFR certification on our planes vs. just VFR, since it is a new unproven system. If you do the VFR test, it will only be the altimeter and the transponder...and cheaper. This is required every two years.
First off, both guys were great to deal with. Friendly, helpful and thorough. I would definitely recommend them if you need this done. It was pretty cool to watch too. First thing they did was check the system for leaks. This was my biggest concern...and everything checked out, no leaks. First sigh of relief.
Then they launched into checking out the pitot-static system. They basically unhooked the lines going into the ADAHRS and hooked their instruments to the lines. They then simulated all sorts of scenarios to test the functionality of the system. I wont go into the details, but from an Engineering standpoint, it was fascinating to me. It was also cool to see my EFIS doing its thing for the first time...watching the altimeter, airspeed and vertical speed do their jobs.
Mike was very impressed with the Dynon system and my install, he said it passed with flying colors. In fact, the altimeter was holding to +/- 2 ft! I had to ask him...really? 2 ft? He said yep, well within the 25 ft max allowable. Very cool.
Once he was done, we hooked everything back up and checked again for leaks...to see if we created any? Everything was solid...except for the AOA. We were seeing a leak. What was puzzling is it was indicating a rather large leak. We checked the fittings going into the pitot, they were tight.
As most of you know, the Dynon AOA is on the pitot. Although the AOA is not part of the testing/certification, Mike was nice enough to not only check it for leaks, but also troubleshoot it. After not finding the problem and scratching our head a little bit, I remembered how the AOA works. It has two static ports on the bottom of the pitot that measure pressure differential as AOA changes. They are very small and easy to miss. That's our bogey! We put a piece of tape over these and voila...no leaks. That explained why it was indicating a big leak.
When all was said and done, this cost me $420 and took about an hour and a half...$325 for the pitot-static portion and $95 for the transponder check. Definitely a little pricy, but that shouldn't surprise the pilots out there. I got a sticker for my aircraft logbook and a data sheet showing all test parameters and equipment serial numbers. The service was impeccable and I was a damn happy camper to cross another thing off my list as I advance toward first flight. Big sigh of relief!
If the day wasn't good enough with that news, I also got word that I was going to get the local EAA chapter scales on Saturday! Its all falling into place.
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