I have been flying behind the Aspen Pro1000 for 5 years -1100 hrs now, and consider it excellent. Since v 1.5 firmware (circa 2008/9) it has been completely stable.
No issues with readability in direct sunlight (too bright in fact at night).
I upgraded last year to v2.2 with synthetic vision, and it renders terrain very well even here in the remote North of Thailand.
I have found it much more intuitive than Garmin’s user interface, and their support refreshingly pro cstomer.
I would certainly install one again. If I ever re-engineer my panel, I would install the MFD version alongside it.
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Thanks to all who helped enlighten me on this one, especially NCYankee for his clear explanation of GPSS, the role of the adapter and how it interfaces with the KFC150 autopilot. I’ve read so many confused posts (elsewhere) on this topic!
Out of interest, why would it be more critical in the tail, assuming the tail section is either composite or aluminium, compared to being installed in a wing of same material?
Typically the wing tip is more silent for both magnetic fields and electro magnetic fields. The tail section often also has or is closer to transmitting antenna’s, ventilation blowers, trim and A/P servo’s, passenger headset / speaker (magnets) and in some aircraft even the battery. These device create magnetic and/or electro magnetic fields which can degrade the performance of the flux valve.
Sure – what I had in mind was mounting the fluxgate not close to any of the other stuff, but at the far end of the rear section.
I have seen it done like that in helicopters. That video I posted actually has the MT102 fluxgate still mounted in an ex-helicopter mounting bracket.
With the SG102 the fluxgate calibration is quite easy, to take out the effects of nearby metal.
In most aircraft the tail section would not be the best section, even the most rear part. Think about steel brackets for tail attachment on a lot of aircraft, steel control cables (some aircraft stainless steel, but these tend to wear out much faster and are not recommended for most operations).
In the tail section you have more moving parts and more variable currents which cannot be calibrated for. Another point to take in account that you can calibrate the field, but a strong field which has been calibrated for, reduces the sensitivity of the system. It would be better to degauss first if needed, and then do the calibration.
this items are of less concern when you mount the flux valve in the wing tip (on most aircraft)
Yes that makes sense. In the wingtip you have just the lights.
However does anyone mount a fluxgate in a wingtip properly, with the round cover plate etc? The metalwork is quite a complicated 3D shape and it looks like Socata fabricated it from a number of pieces, some of which were pressed out.
