Narco

All such a rule will do is make the sellers of old junk on US Ebay rub their hands and shift otherwise worthless boxes to Europe at premium prices plus, Sir, $300 for DHL Express which is the only delivery option we offer, Sir

I happen to know somebody on EuroGA with a US shipping address, should anybody find themselves getting a bad deal in that regard. $300 shipping for a $400 value radio would surely dictate a better plan.

BTW, checking EBay earlier I was surprised to see new, unused Narco displays available for about $200 depending on type.

Well you’ve got some hours left :-P

It goes into force tomorrow.

From article 4.4: “owners of radios shall ensure that from 17 November 2013 their radios include the 8,33 kHz channel spacing capability whenever they are subject to radio upgrades. "

In the definitions an upgrade is " ‘radio upgrade’ means the replacement of a radio by a radio of a different model or part number; "

Repairing the old radio or replace is with the same P/N is not meet the definition of upgrade.

I was asking for a reference, not shooting the messenger

We don’t shoot people on EuroGA

You are right, though (without going through all the detailed text carefully) I can’t see the rule which allows a same-model non-8.33 replacement, but a different model replacement has to be 8.33, and it is effective right now.

Well, it is not my idea, so don’t shoot the messenger.

Have a look at articles 4 and 5, and appendix 1 of this document.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:320:0014:0024:EN:PDF

Is there a reference for this regulation?

It seems odd because

• 8.33 is not mandatory for VFR
• there are aircraft types which are patently not IFR capable
• the workaround (of installing the same type) is so trivial, and will merely support the market price for shagged old radios
• on most old planes there is no record when a particular radio was installed, so if another non-8.33 model magically appears one day, nobody will be able to question it – especially if you change the maintenance company for the next service

All such a rule will do is make the sellers of old junk on US Ebay rub their hands and shift otherwise worthless boxes to Europe at premium prices plus, Sir, $300 for DHL Express which is the only delivery option we offer, Sir

It should be possible to find these in Europe as well, as lots of radios are getting replaced to meet the 8,33 kHz requirements.

Note starting November 17th 2013 it is no longer allowed to upgrade avionics (change in P/N) to non 8,33 kHz radio equipment within EU.
In the example above this means it can only be replaced by the same P/N non 8,33 kHz radio which is currently installed

Peter, the reason is that it would be a straight forward replacement of existing gear. The alternative is a new audio panel, new nav/com, CDI etc. costs are £9k+ fitting.

Whats the process / cost if buying eg. a Narco 810 from the US to use in an EASA aircraft?

I think the “full” answer is that you have two options:

• Buy a new (unused) unit, in which case an FAA 8130-3 form is good for an EASA installation, or

• Buy a used unit, in which case you need either an EASA-1 form (good luck with getting that from a US company) or you need a dual release FAA 8130-3 form (needs to come from an EASA approved FAA 145 company, and there are a few of them out there e.g. South East Aerospace).

But why buy a Narco? Unless you want a plug replacement, there is no point. I wouldn’t know anything about this of course but if you pick one up on US Ebay and plug it in, nobody will notice.

Whats the process / cost if buying eg. a Narco 810 from the US to use in an EASA aircraft?

Assuming the intent is to replace an existing comm radio of the same type, I might ask if there’s any probability of the radio serial number being queried at annual inspection, or at any other time? Obviously, physically exchanging radios in that circumstance takes 30 seconds, can be performed by a pilot, and satisfactory comm radio operation is easy to check.

I understand aircraft radio licenses are still required in Europe – is that license referenced to a radio serial number? Other than demonstrating a ‘highly developed’ respect for authority (in accordance with the EU model ) is there any reason to do anything except install the radio?

If any of that is concern, and the display is the issue, just swap displays.

I’m assuming there is duty to be paid unless shipped by a private party as a gift.