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1. 07:46 AM - Fw: X-ponder squawk - (cjpilot710@aol.com)
2. 08:06 AM - FSDO changing operating limitations on pre-moratorium aircra (Pete Fowler)
Message 1
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| Subject: | Fwd: X-ponder squawk - |
Received from pilot friend--(general aviation)
Transponder: Garmin 320
Encoder: Ameri King 350
I thought I would post this for others flying small airplanes. I spent a
week this month chasing a frustrating problem in my PA-12. It all started
about two weeks ago as I was approaching Bowman field (LOU). As I approac
hed the pattern the tower asked me to "say altitude". I told them 1500 fee
t. The tower replied that I was showing 1900 feet. A moment later they sho
wed 1200 feet. Basically on every radar sweep they showed a different alti
tude. After flying around a bit it was clear that my Transponder or encode
r was all over the place. Ironically my biannual transponder check was due
and I had my radio man coming to the hanger the next day. I called him to
inform him that I now also had a squawk with the system. After explaining
the problem he suggested I re-rack the encoder as well as the transponder
. He figured there was a good chance something was loose. So I climbed und
er the dash and re-racked both instruments. For good measure I blew compre
ssed air over all the connections. I then took the airplane around the pat
tern and asked the tower to tell me what they saw. There was no change, my
altitude was all over the place.
I called my radio man back and told him the results. He suggested that I
should replace the encoder. So I grabbed the Aircraft Spruce book and spe
nt some money. I waited 3 days for the new encoder and when it arrived I
swapped out the old unit for the new. My flight around the pattern reveal
ed that the problem still existed. Basically the altitude being transmitte
d from my airplane was hopping up and down as much as 700 feet.
I called my radio man again and told him the news. It was clear the encode
r was not the issue. He suggested swapping out the transponder with a simi
lar unit. I was able to locate an airplane with a Garmin 320 like mine. To
get the replacement transponder I flew to a grass strip just west of Lexi
ngton, KY. The gentleman who owned the replacement transponder was very ge
nerous. I landed by his hanger and within ten minutes was back in the air
with the replacement transponder. I climbed up to 3000 feet, called Louis
ville Approach and asked them what they saw. Unfortunately they saw me all
over the sky. I descended back to the grass runway, swapped out the trans
ponders and headed back to Bowman. It was clearly not a transponder proble
m.
I called my radio man and he decided the next thing to check would be the
wire harness running from the encoder to the transponder. I contorted mys
elf back under the dash and removed the harness. We tested each of the 9
wires and could not find a problem, but just to be safe we replaced the
harness with a new one. At that point I had to leave for work and my radi
o man stayed behind. His plan was to hook the encoder up to the transponde
r and power everything up on the work bench to see if it worked. With his
test equipment he pumped up the system to watch it climb. The encoder see
med to be working just fine, and then while it was climbing his cell phone
rang. When it rang the encoder altitude jumped a few hundred feet. After
he took the call he continued to watch the encoder. Each time he spoke th
e encoder jumped.
You probably know where this is going. I have an I-phone and yes I always
have it with me in the airplane. I usually do not use it but I stow it in
a map pocket and it stays on.
We put the airplane back together. I flew around in the pattern for fiftee
n minutes (Iphone off) while the tower watched my altitude. It was rock so
lid right on the money. I landed and then turned on my Iphone. I took off
again and immediately the tower saw my altitude jumping all over the plac
e. While talking with the tower I turned the phone off and immediately thi
ngs returned to normal.
My radio man has never encountered this anomaly but is convinced the phone
is the culprit. I am as well. By the way the encoder is made by Ameri Kin
g. I have an old Ack unit that we put in after discovering this problem an
d the Iphone does not effect the Ack unit.
Hopefully this information will prevent someone else from chasing their ta
le.
Message 2
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| Subject: | FSDO changing operating limitations on pre-moratorium aircra |
While I can't get in touch with the people who can help over the weekend, I thought
I'd post this for reference.
I have a pre-moratorium Nanchang with operating limitations that have few limitations
(virtually none) that the aircraft has been operating under since 1991.
Out of the blue my local FSDO called and said they had my "new operating limitations".
I went and reviewed them at the FSDO and politely declined to accept or
sign them and am contacting EAA warbirds and another source at the FAA who I
haven't heard back from yet but, in a nutshell, the FSDO is trying to put all
the limitations on my plane that are "normal" for Nanchangs but is markedly different
than the ones I have. The only thing they left in there was that there
is no range restriction. I don't and they don't understand what pre-moratorium
really means in terms of what they can and can't do.
So I'm wondering if anyone knows the actual regulations that cover re-writing operating
limitations. The plane has had no configuration change, nor did I request
a change of operating limitations so am wondering under what regulation the
FSDO can not only re-write but add a lot of contradictory and confusing limitations
(suddenly it's VFR day only but later it's VFR only if not equipped for
night VFR, stuff like that). I know there are a lot of opinions but I'd like
to be able to read the actual regulations regarding this but can't seem to find
anything on the FAA website due to an overwhelming number of hits on the search.
--------
N4183E
http://nanchangcjs.yuku.com/
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=298512#298512
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