Basic GNS530 VFR to IFR upgrade in N reg aircraft

What I have found is that European based IAs don’t have any contacts in the USA.

The contacts for DER and Field Approval work seem to be the province of avionics shops.

One big UK shop does the design drawings and then uses derassociates.com to sign it off and do the 8110, at a reported $300/sheet. The finished job is billed to the client at c. GBP 2000 and it may include a day or two of design drawings. That DER company does not enter into any communications with, presumably, people who are not avionics shops (I have tried). But there may be others, and their availability won’t be advertised by those who use them

I don’t know of any UK shops who do Field Approvals. But the last time I tried was about 5 years ago (with UK’s 2 biggest ones). They all seem to prefer to avoid any contact with the FAA, by using the DER 8110 route, and frankly I am not surprised having had some completely hopeless comms with the NY IFU.

As I have often said, there is a business opportunity for a US based person doing Field Approvals, plus offering a DER facility (probably outsourced). They would need to know what they are doing, to be able to deal directly with Europe based IAs who usually know nothing about avionics.

Keith – Why isn’t the A&P/IA that looks after your plane doing this ?

The GNS/W and GTN systems are EZ, as they come with a pre-approved AFMS for all the aircraft mentioned in the STC AML. There is no field approval involved, just the 337 gets filed with the FAA in Oklahoma City The legacy units require that the sample AFMS be edited and included with a place for the FAA inspector to sign on the cover sheet and initial on each page to indicate approval. This is submitted with a 337 and a cover letter requesting field approval. I have personally done dozens of these. They normally sit at the FSDO for a couple of weeks and get returned with the appropriate signatures. When I have done them, I provide the FAA with a copy of the original unmodified sample provided by Garmin and the modified one for a specific aircraft. Most of the work is editing the cover sheet to reflect the N number and serial number and provide a space at the bottom for the FAA to add their signature. Each page also gets a place for the inspector initials.

The existing installation should have a CDI/HSI in the pilot primary view and the GNS should be interfaced to a pressure altitude source such as a blind encoder. I would also recommend that if the installation of the GNS is not in the primary view of the pilot, that an annunciator be added. There is good guidance in the GNS/W install manual that I would follow, as the guidance in the original install manual is ambiguous.

Here is a link to a sample AFMS for a GNS430: dropbox (local copy)

Here is a link to a sample AFMS for a GNS530: dropbox (local copy)

[local copies added – Peter]

Here’s an excellent explaination about the STC AML :
FAA AML

Peter wrote:

It probably is, but you need to find somebody willing to sit down in front of his local FSDO inspector and present the documents (337+AFMS) to him to sign.

I think one might be able to get this done via the post.

Peter wrote:

The official point of contact – the NY IFU FSDO – is hopeless.

No comment (Oops, is that a “comment” ? )

Peter wrote:

GNS530W prices on Ebay are still high. If I was having to change the box I would wait a year or so and put in an IFD540. It’s a good solution for European IFR (airway name route entry, etc).

Funny, I just spent an hour yesterday working-up pricing scenarios for a client that has a GNS530 now and would like to up-grade to either 530WAAS, IFD540 or GTN 750

you would think that a Field Approval from any FSDO would be a slam-dunk sign off.

It probably is, but you need to find somebody willing to sit down in front of his local FSDO inspector and present the documents (337+AFMS) to him to sign. That is how my KLN94 AFMS got done – by an extremely helpful American guy who used to run an avionics shop. However I very much doubt he wants a new post-retirement career

And the West Coast FSDO guy who helped me with the AFMS for this seemingly found himself a woman in the Far East and retired out there Conclusion: women are responsible for AFMS difficulties!

The official point of contact – the NY IFU FSDO – is hopeless.

GNS530W prices on Ebay are still high. If I was having to change the box I would wait a year or so and put in an IFD540. It’s a good solution for European IFR (airway name route entry, etc).

Peter wrote:

Also I am staggered that the N-regs that have always lived in Europe with a GNS430/530 are probably mostly not IFR approved.

Yep, really screwed-up situation. That said, with the literally hundreds of thousands of GNS installtions in the US, you would think that a Field Approval from any FSDO would be a slam-dunk sign off.

That is really interesting, Michael. I have been told that DERs can generate AFMSs but only very few of them are authorised to do it. If you know a DER who can do that, that is priceless!

But at least you have confirmed my suspicions about the non-W boxes. However I am staggered that the N-regs that have always lived in Europe with a GNS430/530 are probably mostly not IFR approved.