wigglyamp wrote:
Airplus have done the EASA STC for the Avidyne IFD in the Robin.
it seemed to me that they dealt with STC for Aspen: here
According to @Jesse they did this design
[ post edited to remove off topic stuff, yet again ]
I am informed that the Robin STC for the Aspen never materialised.
I’ve never understood how an avionics installation (assuming no autopilot connection) is required to have an STC, or be considered a major modification if its only taking power off an existing bus, requires no major structural mods and is presumably using TSO’d hardware. Maybe the latter is the issue? Garmin seemingly uses STCs as a way to manipulate/mandate use of their dealers for installation, but the FAA seems to go back and forth… Right now I’m aware of one avionics shop doing complete panel upgrades on nothing more than a logbook entry (i.e. a minor modification under FAA rules) and the local FAA FSDO is completely on board. It seems to me this is how it should be – I think changing the type certificate to install an appliance is a bit wacko, fundamentally.
According to the last Info Pilote (French flying magazine), a French club upgraded a Régent to a G500 Txi + GTN650 + GTX + G5 for 60K€.
No mention of the paperwork involved, nor of the shop that did the job.
From here
It’s a DR400-180 unfortunately no autopilot but the aircraft is so stable that I can fly it with my knees if I need to free up both hands.
If I could I would fit a Garmin autopilot but current Garmin policy is all new autopilot certification is done by the company in the USA. I would be very happy to help Garmin certify the autopilot for the DR400 as we are very experienced with Structural repair and are Garmin agent and installer.
I do get the impression from Garmin that if there is the demand they would consider certification for the DR400 but I think we would need a few people putting some money up front to get this underway.
Thanks for the explanation A_and_C ! My reason for asking is as follows, I was thinking about retrofitting a modern autopilot in my bird (a DR253) but nothing is certified for the Robin. The message from the avionics people I talked to was pretty clear, “if you want an autopilot, it’s cheaper to buy another airplane” :D
Edit to add: when you say, “need a few people putting some money upfront”, do you have an order of magnitude in mind? and would this cover the DR253? (we can discuss all this in mp) Thanks!
you could put a little pressie on Garmin to do something for Robin aircraft by following this link.
To take advantage of having an expert on here @A_and_C.
Some Robin aircraft have autopilot. There are the 1 axis on the Aiglon for example.
But AIUI some Robin 400 are fitted with the STEC55X.
The 401 I believe has this plus when fitted for IFR has the Garmin G500 with certified GPS choice of GTN650 or 750.
It is even possible to fit all this kit in a homebuilt Jodel.
Can you say why it is so difficult/expensive (in regulation, STC or certification terms) to be able to retrofit such equipment to other Robin aircraft. And that would include the Garmin autopilot.
IOW what exactly is the blockage?
) in paper generation.