lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

As a D2A casualty and LancairAvionics customer I would like to echo the posting of others who have acknowledged the very reasonable proposal from Joe Bartels. The continued success of Lancair is in the best interests of all members of this forum and I encourage everyone to come to an accommodation with Joe. The offer is the best compromise in ensuring that those in need of completing their Chelton based panels get serviced and that Lancair remains sound and able to provide builders with the parts and service we need.

To help those of us who have received thus far neither a pinpoint nor a crossbow, input from those who can speak from experience would be most appreciated.

Those flying with a Crossbow 425 which been returned to the factory for updating:

Those flying with a Pinpoint:

Joe Neustein

ES-P with a pretty panel but no brains

On Jan 9, 2007, at 6:21 PM, Mike Smith wrote:

In light of the recent pictures and information that have been posted on this forum, it appears that Brent Regan and Regan Designs has had a significant involvement in the development of the Pinpoint inertial unit. Brent clearly has a stake in the success of the Pinpoint unit and may want to disclose his affiliations when posting. Brent did not have direct involvement of the development or production of the NAV425EX unit and is not fully aware of its capabilities or functionality. Crossbow is glad to provide answers about NAV425EX design and functionality, more information is provided below. It may be more helpful if Regan/Pinpoint could provide more information about the following information since we believe these are all items that should be seriously considered before installing an AHRS into an aircraft:

1)       Is it produced in an ISO9001 and FAA approved manufacturing facility?
2)       Is a technical support staff available to assist customers? Is there a data sheet?
3)       Has testing for GPS and airspeed data loss been completed and/or published?
4)       Has Pinpoint been successful selling their product to any customers other than Chelton/D2A?

In response to the questions below, the NAV425EX uses a combination of magnetometer input and patented algorithms to provide the best possible solution. We have specified the accuracy of this unit with and without GPS on the data sheet and although the unit will safely allow customers to fly the aircraft without GPS we feel that a solid GPS solution is optimal. One of the main advantages of the GPS solution is that it reduces cost for the installers since you are not required to mount a pitot static tube to the AHRS.

The AHRS500 can accept optional air data input to further improve the accuracy of the product, and is an FAA certified platform. Similar to the NAV425EX, the AHRS500 can provide accurate data without air data aiding for periods of time due to its reliance upon patented algorithms and magnetometer input.

Mr. Regan’s suggestion that the fixes have not been detailed and explained is inaccurate. Crossbow has publicly detailed the fixes and procedures established to correct the bugs initially found in the NAV425EX on our website in February and March of 2006. http://www.xbow.com/Support/Support_pdf_files/Service_Letter_NAV425-06-02.pdf

Crossbow will happily assist our customers in resolving installation issues and we encourage any of our customers that are having performance problems to contact us directly for further assistance.

Sincerely,

Michael Smith
Application Engineer Inertial Systems
Crossbow Technology
Email: msmith@xbow.com
Phone: 408-965-3388