406 Mhz ELT installation

[Jody Brausch]

[jeffrey aryan]

[Jay]

[Jody Brausch]

[jeffrey aryan]

[ics-12766]

[N3322G]

[Ben Ayalon]

[Jody Brausch]

[MillenniumFlight]

I'm in the same position as Jody, often crossing through Canadian Airspace en -route from Minnesota to the Northeast US, and flying into Toronto 2 or 3 times per year. So, according to the most recent information I can find , I will need an installed, approved 406MHz ELT from February 1st 2009. Unlike the Caribbean countries and possible Mexico, the proposed Canadian rules do not permit even a TSO'd portable unit to be used instead.

Because this deadline is fast approaching, and I have trips planned to Canada and Vermont in the spring of 2009, I've asked my A&P to investigate and quote for the unit to be installed at the annual in March.

Estimated costs are:

- $1100 for the ELT unit, without GPS coupling; $2100 with GPS coupling
- 1 hour @$75 per hour for the "plug-and-play" installation, because we already have the remote test / activation switch unit installed
- Additional 2 - 3 hours @$75 per hour for the additional costs associated with GPS coupling, if we choose that option.

Unless something changes between now and the end of February, I'll be having this installation done in March, and will post an update of costs / times / hurdles / headaches once the work is done!

As a side-note, I wonder how Canadian ATC is planning to enforce this requirement for aircraft transiting their airspace?

Bryan McIver
N8807Y
1969 PA-30

[Jody Brausch]

Hi Bryan, and thanks for posting. I've been looking further into the 406 Mhz issue, and came accross an interpretation of the current ruling last week. According to the EAA website, there will be a two year transition period for aircraft to meet the new ELT requirement, partly due to the bottle-neck that has been created to meet the ruling. The phase-in is specific to lines of lattitude and longitude, but I think that it is safe to say that this would include your route from the northern areas of the Great Lakes into places like North Bay, Toronto, Quebec, etc. Extreme northern routes would seem to be less likely to meet the phase-in criteria, and would be required to meet the February 1 deadline.

You should be able to find this interpretation by going to the EAA website and click around until you find a reference to the 406 Mhz ELT requirement. As I said, I found it last week. That web address is www.EAA.org . Good luck with it, and I would be curious to see how you interpret the two year phase-in of the regulation. I interpret it to mean "grace period" to meet compliance for a great number of operators.

Happy New Year,

Jody