January 2020

Visit from the Fire Department and ADS-B

Finances

We have around $2,000 in the bank. We are collecting dues of $20 for the year.

ADS-B

ADS-B is now required above 10,000', in the mode C veil, B and C airspace and above the lateral boundaries of the airspace, and in the Gulf of Mexico. You can get permission from the controlling agency to enter the airspace without ADS-B (but with a transponder) by calling ahead one hour. To enter Santa Barbara, you can call Santa Barbara Tower/TRACON at (805) 681-0116 and they will gladly let you in. The procedure Class B may be different, so call well in advance of when you need to enter or leave their airspace.

There are two types 1090 and 978. The 978 standard is US only, so if you want to fly to Mexico you need a 1090 ES version. Canada is still working on their rules but expect them to require two antennas since they rely solely on satellites. You don’t need ADS-B to go to the Bahamas.

Upgrade ADS-B Out
If you have a Garmin GTX 330 transponder you can upgrade it to a 1090 ES version for only $1,600 from Garmin, and around $2000 all in.
The transponder requires a WAAS GPS source and upgrding a GNS 530 to WAAS and upgrading a transponder is $4,500 + $1,600 + $400 = $6,500

There are lots of options for installing ADS-B Out but the cheapest is probably uAvionics
uAvionics is 978 MHz. The SkyBeacon wing mounted version is $1,850, Tailbeacon $2,000. Another $100-200 depending on paperwork.
If you are OCD and want both sides to match a green strobe is $600.
uAvionix Experimental Tailbeacon 1649.00
They are coming out with an ADSB-In wing mount, skySensor-EXP $799 that is compatible with GDL90 Apps.

There are lots of options for ADS-B In
Stratus 3 $699+ ForeFlight, Fltplan Go, FlyQ, WingX, iFly GPS Synthetic vision, AHRS
STRATUS 2S – NEWLY OVERHAULED $499.00

ForeFlight Sentry Mini ADS-B Receiver $299 : No Battery
ForeFlight Sentry ADS-B Receiver $499 :with CO Detector/Synthetic Vison/Battery

Dynon DRX $349 ForeFlight, FlyQ, WingX, Avare, GDL90 Apps: No SV/AHRS
Stratux $249 ForeFlight, iFly, FlyQ, WingX, GDL90 Apps: Battery Pack, Synthetic Vision, AHRS

Garmin GDL 52 $1,199 and is compatible with ForeFlight, but you might need an XM Weather subsctiption.
Garmin GSL 50 is not compatible with Foreflight

KSMX FAAST Meeting

A bunch of us attended a FAAST meeting in Santa Maria. Some takeaways are:
They love to do IFR Approaches KSMX and VBG.
When R-2517 is hot it really means hot since some of the radars can literally fry you.
In the future there may be UAVs in R-2517 even while cold.

The Santa Barbara approach controllers would like for you to request flight following on the ground at KSMX—it makes for an easier handoff.
There are two new controllers at KSMX so be sure to clarify instructions if you aren’t sure what they are asking you to do.

99s Flyout

The 99s are having a Santa Ynez Flyout Feb 15th. Check their Facebook for details.

Rotocraft Raffle

Vance brought his rotocraft to the meeting and Ted got to fly back to KSMX with him.
A longer ride is $250 for an hour of ground and an hour of flight  or $450 for all day which typically includes two and a half hours of flight.