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NORSEE & the CAA

I am based in the UK. I would like to install the Guardian Avionics recording device which allows a non critical display on an ipad

This has FAA Norsee approval (Non Required Safety Enhancing Equipment). This was discussed on the forum years ago but things may have changed in that the the Self Declared Maintenance Programme in the UK means the owner is now ultimately responsible for the Maintenance Programme (within limits)

I would be totally happy to connect a twisted pair to sniff serial data from both my Garmin G5 and my JPI EDM engine monitor. What harm could this do? The safety benefit from having a decent engine display like a glass cockpit is obvious.

If I put in my Maintenance Programme “can connect all FAA Norsee approved devices” would that work? – “It’s on my maintenance program so it must be OK”

United Kingdom

Don’t know if things have already changed so dramatically – but at least in EASA-land a maintenance programme is about maintenance (makes kind of sense, right?).

Installing additional equipment is not maintenance and therefore a) it doesn’t make sense to mention it in a maintenance program as b) even if it is mentioned you can not derive any right to install additional equipment from the maintenance program.

Archer-181 wrote:

What harm could this do?

Theoretically messing up with the wiring can render both your G5 and your JPI unserviceable. If both of them are not primary instruments it should not have catastrophic impact on safety.

Archer-181 wrote:

The safety benefit from having a decent engine display like a glass cockpit is obvious.

It’s absolutely not: Every additional display in your cockpit takes away attention from looking outside and flying the airplane. If this display is on a mobile device like an iPad, there might be additional safety downsides by this device flying around in the cockpit, (power) cabling of this device limiting your movements, etc.
I’m not saying that on balance the impact of adding such a device is not positive – but stating that the net safety benefit of such an additional display is obvious makes me wonder if you did a proper risk-benefit-analysis…

Germany

Malibuflyer wrote:

Installing additional equipment is not maintenance and therefore a) it doesn’t make sense to mention it in a maintenance program as b) even if it is mentioned you can not derive any right to install additional equipment from the maintenance program.

Not exactly. According to the EASA cover regulation on continuous airworthiness:

‘maintenance’ means any one or combination of the following activities: overhaul, repair, inspection, replacement, modification or defect rectification of an aircraft or component, with the exception of pre-flight inspection;

Nevertheless, you are right that such installations don’t belong in the maintenance program – merely because the maintenance program defines what has to be done but does not limit what may be done. Now, regarding the airworthiness of the aircraft so modified, we can refer to the manufacturer’s documentation plus CS-STAN – in your case, CS-SC104a — Installation of lightweight in-flight recording systems, which in its turn refers to FAA AC 43.13-2B.

LKBU (near Prague), Czech Republic

Thanks all and interesting comment about it not being an obvious addition to safety. My plan would be to install a dedicated Ipad mini (with Velco or a ram mount, not screwed in) high up on a bit of the panel on the right.

I would leave it displaying the Engine data. At the moment to monitor CHT’s I have to mess about with the awful JPI interface and look down. Then toggle to see fuel flow for initial rich of peak leaning.

It seems to me that having a display high up which you can glance at instead of toggling using a low mounted JPI must be better.

There is also the engine monitoring in the “Cloud” – I never download data from the JPI as it’s a bore. Savvy claim they can detect failures in exhaust valves before they are serious from JPI data. If the data was easily available it might get looked at………..even things like voltage being recorded over time might be useful to look back at if one ever has an electrical issue?

United Kingdom

If you have the panel space there is no reason not to panel Mount the IPad , there are mounts that can deliver power and cooling air to the iPad.

To me this would make far more sense than some Velcro mounted device, the only problem might be reflections from the iPad in high light situations.

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