PowerFlarm Core installation in a 2-33? Advice sought.

[Mark Zivley]

Greetings,

Our club has recently funded PowerFlarm Core installations in several club aircraft.   If you've installed a core in a 2-33 and would be willing to share your insight, I'd love to see what has been done previously before starting on this project blind.

At the moment the tentative plan is to install one display in the front seat, but in a location so that the rear seat pilot may be able to view it as well.

Many thanks,

Mark

markde...@gmail.com if you'd like to reply direct

[Moshe Braner]

Just as well as the rear seat pilot can view the instruments in the panel, eh?  :-)

The 2-33 does not have an electrical system (I haven't seen one with it, anyway) which makes it more of a challenge.  You can use a SoftRF device that can run all day on its internal battery?

[Mark Mocho]

Most 2-33s have a radio, which implies an electrical system of some sort. 

[John DeRosa]

Mark,

Both of our 2-33's have an electrical system for the radio.  To install a radio from scratch requires removing the side panels to run the wiring to the microphones, PTT, speaker and the battery to the panel along with mounting same as well a master switch and bus bar of some sort.  The FLARM Core requires all of that stuff except for mics and PTTs.  Contact me and I can share my efforts with you.

I suspect that the most important question to be answered is where to mount the separate antennas (A, B, GPS) that comes with most flarm devices.  This I have not done in a 2-33.  The only logical place that I can think of would be the glare shield.  This implies that the flarm must be installed behind the panel which could be a tight fit.  You may want to look at the other smaller flarms like a PowerMouse.  

You could kill several birds with one stone with an all-in-one unit that has flarm+antennas+display like the new-ish FLARM-PowerFLARM-Flex. https://www.cumulus-soaring.com/store/flarm-powerflarm-flex It would fit on your 2-33 glare shield.  NOTE: I have zero experience with this unit but it looks like a nice piece of hardware.

Another question to answer is are you trying; 1) to see intruders, 2) to be seen by intruders, or 3) both?  A flarm can only do both #1 + #2 within an environment of flarm equipped aircraft. To do #3 for non-flarm equipped ships (GA and commercial) then you need ADS-B out which means a transponder.  Moshe may speak to correcting what I say here and/or to other options.  

My two cents.   Best of luck.

- John (OHM)

[David S]

Unfortunately, in a 2-33 there is no glare shield because the forward edge of the canopy comes down right at the instrument panel, as in this image from a current advertisement at Wings & Wheels.

https://wingsandwheels.com/media/catalog/product/cache/33eed5a9055abe5aea5699a4a062285a/p/a/panel_3_3.jpg

   ...david

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[Moshe Braner]

The nose cone of the 2-33 is made of fiberglass.  And the rear is cloth.  Therefore I think mounting the FLARM antenna(s) lower than the canopy line would work "well enough", despite the steel tubing structure.  Just keep the antenna(s) not too close to a steel tube (or anything else metallic).  The "B" antenna is not critical to have.

A PowerFLARM Portable (do they still make those?) can run on a set of AAs.  Like the other FLARMs it includes ADS-B reception (not transmission).

SoftRF can run on a single lithium cell.  And can optionally have an ADS-B receiver module added.

[Mark Zivley]

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas.  First visit to inspect the situation in person will be Thursday.   

Mark