Any thoughts on using a Uavionix Tail Beacon on a 185?

[Tom3holer]

After going over it many times I have decided to get the Uavionix ADS-B beacon for my A185F. I would like to get the tail beacon as I understand a fairing is required for the Cessna wingtip install.
What concerns me is the durability being its a taildragger.
I did call Uavionix yesterday and they did say it should not be a problem. There are Very few if any out in the field on taildraggers so it does give me pause.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Tom

 

[wireweinie]

This is a solid state unit, with no moving internal parts, so should be a non issue. You should evaluate how much of your operations are truly 'off airport'. If the majority of your landings are on runways, I'd think the possibility of vibration issues decreases even further.

Web

 

[180_jeff]

Aside from the egregious tracking issues, my understanding is you are going to have to fly around with your nav lights on all the time. Sounds goofy to me. No adsb downgrade for me. never.

 

[JP11]

A buddy has one in the tail of his RV- ( i can't remember the numbers worth a damn)

it's a taildragger one. He has to be careful with his tow bar to not hit the unit. I plan to do one in the tail of my supercub.

JP

 

[FdxLou]

Just finished a TailBeacon install on my '54 C180. Only pushed it in and out of the hangar a few times but I don't see any interference issues. Like Web said, it's solid state so shouldn't be an issue. As for running my Nav lights continuously, they are AeroLed's and are designed for that.
Lou 1

 

[Tom3holer]

Thanks guys for the thoughts.
I will need ADSB where I live to get to where I love to be; northern Maine.
Most of my flying is out on grass strips nothing off airport.
I do like the aesthetics of the tail beacon better than the wingtip one.

 

[hotrod180]

I've got a Tailbeacon on the way, shpuld be installing it in about a week.
I don't see a downside with the Tailbeacon vs any other version of ADS-B.
One reason I chose this over the Skybeacon is that while I've never knocked off an aft nav light,
I have (and seen others) knock off a wingtip light ona hangar door or whatever.

Not a concern with a C180/185, or with his Yankee, but an IA buddy wondered
if replacing a rudder-mounted nav light with a Tailbeacon might be problematic
if there wasn't a separate ground wire going to the airframe, instead of grounding through the rudder hinges as some airplanes do.
A plain old nav light isn't too choosy about grounding, sometimes not the case with modern solid-state avionics.

 

[hotrod180]

Aside from the egregious tracking issues, my understanding is you are going to have to fly around with your nav lights on all the time. Sounds goofy to me. No adsb downgrade for me. never.

I don't have LED nav lights, and don't like having to have them on all the time either.
I rewired the aft nav light to it's own separate circuit breaker on the avionics master circuit.
Pull the avionics master & the Tailbeacon comes on, along with the com radio txp etc.

 

[wireweinie]

an IA buddy wondered
if replacing a rudder-mounted nav light with a Tailbeacon might be problematic
if there wasn't a separate ground wire going to the airframe, instead of grounding through the rudder hinges as some airplanes do.
A plain old nav light isn't too choosy about grounding, sometimes not the case with modern solid-state avionics.

Ground path is a ground path. If your tail nav does not flicker on/off when the rudder moves, it's ground path is good. While grounding through a moving part like the hinges is far from ideal, it's in operation all over. I always use a separate ground wire out of a rudder in order to bypass the hinges but the old school still works.

Web

 

[hotrod180]

Yeah, but I seem to see a lot of comments about iffy grounds causing gremlins in avionics.
Adding a dedicated ground wire to a rudder-mounted Tailbeacon seems like it might be a good idea.

 

[FdxLou]

The taillight on a 180/185 is mounted on the tailcone below the rudder. They use a case ground with no separate ground wire. Like Web said, that may be ok for a low powered bulb, but I wanted a separate ground. I added an airframe ground to the bulkhead just fwd of the tailcone. I like Hotrod’s separate CB for the taillight. Although I have LED nav lights that can be on continuously this will give me complete control of the ADS-B.
Lou

 

[wireweinie]

Yeah, but I seem to see a lot of comments about iffy grounds causing gremlins in avionics.
Adding a dedicated ground wire to a rudder-mounted Tailbeacon seems like it might be a good idea.

Can't go wrong with a dedicated ground wire.

Web