Uavionix SkySensor

How to keep the Cessna 170 flying and airworthy.

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strangebird
Posts: 77
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:15 am

Uavionix SkySensor

Post by strangebird »

Has anyone installed the Uavionix Skysensor[EmailMask][/EmailMask], the right wing companion to the Skybeacon, Skysource has ADSB In, strobe and green navilight.

I was thinking no more portable ADSB IN unit to fall off the dash or off the window and I can get rid of my no longer supported Aeroflash strobe,

I am aware this unit is not certified, TSO, for certified aircraft, but my IA says we can just make a minor alteration entry in the log book.

Any operational issues, thoughts etc appreciated.
Last edited by strangebird on Wed Mar 01, 2023 10:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GAHorn
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Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 8:45 pm

Re: Uavionix Skysource

Post by GAHorn »

If you mean the uAvionix “SkySensor”…. yes. It works flawlessly. I have used it in conjunction with my Ipad-Pro and Fly-Q and it depicts traffic on moving map, weather/radar, etc. as advertised.

Here’s a screen-shot of ADSB-In service using it last summer:
on the way home from convention
on the way home from convention
2F482B4D-C7EE-48B1-95A5-C663788E8DB8.png (238.56 KiB) Viewed 3565 times
And Here is another screenshot of traffic-avoidance, near-miss, when I turned Left to avoid a Mooney overtaking me from behind, Notice the Mooney Tail Number showed up also…The Magenta-Line depicts my Flight-Plan Course-Line, the large Green Arrow depicts the winds aloft at my altitude, THE “00” indicates the altitude DIFFERENCE between us (in other words we were at same altitude), and the dark/black line in front of that Mooney shows where the Mooney would be in One Minute: (click on the pic to Enlarge it): Here’s a “link” to the original thread/post: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16136&p=149163&hili ... ss#p149163
Click to ENLARGE
Click to ENLARGE
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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mmcmillan2
Posts: 161
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2020 9:30 pm

Re: Uavionix SkySensor

Post by mmcmillan2 »

Oh, that is cool!
170B owner, KCFD, CFI(I), ATP Multi
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rupertjl
Posts: 382
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 5:29 pm

Re: Uavionix SkySensor

Post by rupertjl »

I also installed the SkySensor on the right wing tip to compliment my SkyBeacon on the left. I hooked up the yellow wire to get strobe ability as well since I am not IFR capable. No issues, ADS-B in and weather work great, and coupled with my AV-30's and AV-Link wifi module i also get the traffic on my AV-30 that's set up as the DG.
1950 170A: N9191A s/n 19366
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c170b53
Posts: 2527
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:01 pm

Re: Uavionix SkySensor

Post by c170b53 »

I’ve been waiting, waiting and waiting for this stuff, trying to stay legal (and maybe I’m just a fool for doing so). Its a head twister, one one hand there’s debate on the minutiae of FAA rules as they pertain to our planes and on the other hand (pounding on the keyboard imploring legality :D ) going stealth with some installs. I’m trying to wait until the Skysensor and Avlink are declared legal for certified. Given the safety advantages of some of the equipment available, its a shame there’s a wait on the FAA.
Psst…anyone know of a good autopilot install soon or never to be certified for a 170 ?
Jim McIntosh..
1953 C170B S/N 25656
02 K1200RS
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GAHorn
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Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 8:45 pm

Re: Uavionix SkySensor

Post by GAHorn »

Garmin is reported to be working on approval for the 170 Autopilot.

As for the SkySensor… Jim is there not a “minor alteration” clause in Canada? The lighting of the SkySensor already meets the TSO requirements for nav and anticollision lighting. You aren’t required to use the wifi feature if you don’t want to…. heh-heh 8)

But, of course, the SkyBeacon is not useful in Canada …and not planned for use there …is it? Why wouldn’t you just use the tailbeaconX and grab one of the portable (loose equipt) devices for ADSB-in?

Also, even if you had the SkySensor…unless Canada enables the UAT features…. I don’t thing the SkySensor would do anything for you North of the border, would it?

And on a parallel matter….if one of us “down here” wanted to fly across Canada to Ak… what would our ADSB status be if we don’t have the satellite version of ADSB? Would NavCanada allow that?
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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c170b53
Posts: 2527
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:01 pm

Re: Uavionix SkySensor

Post by c170b53 »

All good questions, not sure my answers make sense but… as for Skysensor, if Uavionix sought approval under NORSEE maybe a piggy back much like they achieved with the AV-20 could work but they have the position light to deal with (like you say its required albeit its manufacturing process is well within hand grenade range, as a package it still experimental).
As for ADSB in Canada, unlikely required by gen aviation but 406 Mhz ELT is required. Doesn’t make sense for foreigners, yet, because there’s very little aviation infrastructure here and great distances with nothing, SAT based monitoring does makes sense hence why our ADSB requirements are what they are. ADSB track will likely point out my last position with better reliability than a 406 should ELT failure occur during a crash. Maybe, maybe not but as far as I can tell, I can’t lie to my wife of my whereabouts with the “X”.
What I’m looking for is traffic awareness and yes I could go Garmin but it would be just another pair of cables messing up the cockpit.As I already have tailbeacon-x, I’m hoping for an easy amalgamation of components to show traffic on my tablet (also using cables :roll: ).Would love to enhance my situational traffic awareness this summer.
As for flying to Alaska, likely Richard knows best but I’d say most will be on their own if they lack a 406 or ADSB that has antenna diversity, yet many flying still listen in on 121.5 so there’s some hope.
Jim McIntosh..
1953 C170B S/N 25656
02 K1200RS
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