Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
Jb, I just filled out the preference sheet for #155 sr22 due in Jan.02. The Skywatch is listed as an option.
db
Jim & Darryl: The Skywatch is also listed on the option list for #144 for February 2002 delivery.
I just saw that for a “limited time” that Goodrich has reduced the retail price on the Skywatch by $2,000. According to Russ Myers, Western Reagon Account Manager with Goodrich, the price reduction “may be extended” depending on number of unit sales. Hopefully, this would reduce the cost of the Cirrus option, although I don’t have anything from Cirrus about that.
On the same point, I also spoke with Mike Young, Reagonal Sales Manager with Garmin about Garmin’s announced GTX 330 mode S transponder. His recommendation is that if Skywatch is installed that the GTX 330 mode S not be substituted for the existing Garmin transponder.
I also spoke with Ian Bentley regarding another Garmin product, the GDL 49 satellite weather data receiver. The delivery date of this product has slipped a little with Garmin and they are now saying “first quarter 2002” for delivery. Ian Bentley assures me that the GDL 49 will be offered by Cirrus as a retrofit kit for installation at Cirrus service centers and that the installation will be simple. See Garmin’s announcement of 7-24-01 on their web site for more information on this unit. Garmin’s price is $3,495. Data is provided by Echo Flight on a subscription basis. See www.echoflight.com for informastion on the subcription cost and data presentation.
Apparantly, the Garmin GDL 49 sends a subscriber number and GPS location to the satellite and the data set is then sent to the aircraft receiver. The pilot initiates the request through the GDL 49 for a new data set. Different plans are available for the subscription, but the most basic one is $9.95 per month plus $1 per data set.
Ian also indicates that Cirrus is looking at two ground based weather data delivery systems: Arnav and Honneywell. He indicates that the ground stations for the Honneywell system are primarly in the Eastern U.S. Arnav has been showing their future system but as far as I know it’s still all vaporware so far as I know. I don’t know anything about the Honneywell system. Ian indicates that there are two different transmission formats for the ground based systems and that the FAA has not finally decided on which one will prevail. All the more reason IMHO to go with the satellite-based system.
The GDL 49 will display government weather radar data, color coded as to intensity of the returns, ceiling and surface visability for all reporting airports and temperature/dewpoint spreads for all reporting airports. The temperature/dewpoint spread is color-coded. All display and control is on the GNS 430.
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
so, the best we have is that skywatch was installed in #81. I’ll check with cirrus on Monday what the status is on retrofit (mine is #55 5 weeks ago), and if indeed they are installing on planes going out the door now.
Anybody have more up to date info, and where is the antenna? Speed loss?
jb
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Skywatch was installed on sr22 #81…Ed
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
There is an article about Skywatch at http://avionicswest.com/articles/skywatch.htm#2001avionicswest.com/articles/skywatch.htm#2001
-Mike
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Alex,
I took delivery of N845JR sn 0081 Friday August 24th. I had Skywatch installed after visiting with friends, Avionics shops, Cirrus, Goodrich, etc. I was told it was like a microwave oven or a color TV. Once you’ve had one you can’t live without it. They were right. During Wings Aloft training we took a day trip to Rapid City South Dakota. Jeff Ippoliti flew N916LJ sn 0080 ahead of us. On the return trip Jeff took off first running away from us in a hurry. Following up I found Jeff using Skywatch to paint his aircraft 10 miles ahead 500’ higher and climing. Would not have found him without Skywatch. We formed up for a great photo shoot at 11,500’ cruising 181k. The next day Duluth had an airshow. We left before the airport closed and returned as the airport reopened. Duluth was releasing all the general aviation aircraft that flew in for the show. There were far to many for departure to give adviseries. My Skywatch painted all the aircraft in the area high, low, in front and behind. The traffic alert audio feature started sounding traffic in our head sets. A white diamond turned yellow at 11:00 o’clock two miles closing at the same altitude. It drew attention to that area and we spotted a cessna flying toward us passing close and to our left in a few seconds. If we had needed to make an evasive manuver there would have been plenty of time. I’ll never know if the cessna driver ever saw me. On the trip back to Texas I was picking up traffic before center was adivising me.
As for ease of use. It takes care of itself. There is an extra dedicated screen on the Garmin Nav Page if you choose it. Other wise it shows up on the Garmin Map page. If you are using other pages a traffic alert overlay will occur on any page if the traffic is a possible collision factor. I am happy I made the choice.
John R.
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Alex,
I took delivery of N845JR sn 0081 Friday August 24th. I had Skywatch installed after visiting with friends, Avionics shops, Cirrus, Goodrich, etc. I was told it was like a microwave oven or a color TV. Once you’ve had one you can’t live without it. They were right. During Wings Aloft training we took a day trip to Rapid City South Dakota. Jeff Ippoliti flew N916LJ sn 0080 ahead of us. On the return trip Jeff took off first running away from us in a hurry. Following up I found Jeff using Skywatch to paint his aircraft 10 miles ahead 500’ higher and climing. Would not have found him without Skywatch. We formed up for a great photo shoot at 11,500’ cruising 181k. The next day Duluth had an airshow. We left before the airport closed and returned as the airport reopened. Duluth was releasing all the general aviation aircraft that flew in for the show. There were far to many for departure to give adviseries. My Skywatch painted all the aircraft in the area high, low, in front and behind. The traffic alert audio feature started sounding traffic in our head sets. A white diamond turned yellow at 11:00 o’clock two miles closing at the same altitude. It drew attention to that area and we spotted a cessna flying toward us passing close and to our left in a few seconds. If we had needed to make an evasive manuver there would have been plenty of time. I’ll never know if the cessna driver ever saw me. On the trip back to Texas I was picking up traffic before center was adivising me.
As for ease of use. It takes care of itself. There is an extra dedicated screen on the Garmin Nav Page if you choose it. Other wise it shows up on the Garmin Map page. If you are using other pages a traffic alert overlay will occur on any page if the traffic is a possible collision factor. I am happy I made the choice.
John R.
Where are the antennas placed and is there any affect on speed?
M. Myers
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Was the antenna for the skywatch mounted under the ceiling or was a hole needed?
I’m thinking of having one installed by Avionics West.
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Alex,
I took delivery of N845JR sn 0081 Friday August 24th. I had Skywatch installed after visiting with friends, Avionics shops, Cirrus, Goodrich, etc. I was told it was like a microwave oven or a color TV. Once you’ve had one you can’t live without it. They were right. During Wings Aloft training we took a day trip to Rapid City South Dakota. Jeff Ippoliti flew N916LJ sn 0080 ahead of us. On the return trip Jeff took off first running away from us in a hurry. Following up I found Jeff using Skywatch to paint his aircraft 10 miles ahead 500’ higher and climing. Would not have found him without Skywatch. We formed up for a great photo shoot at 11,500’ cruising 181k. The next day Duluth had an airshow. We left before the airport closed and returned as the airport reopened. Duluth was releasing all the general aviation aircraft that flew in for the show. There were far to many for departure to give adviseries. My Skywatch painted all the aircraft in the area high, low, in front and behind. The traffic alert audio feature started sounding traffic in our head sets. A white diamond turned yellow at 11:00 o’clock two miles closing at the same altitude. It drew attention to that area and we spotted a cessna flying toward us passing close and to our left in a few seconds. If we had needed to make an evasive manuver there would have been plenty of time. I’ll never know if the cessna driver ever saw me. On the trip back to Texas I was picking up traffic before center was adivising me.
As for ease of use. It takes care of itself. There is an extra dedicated screen on the Garmin Nav Page if you choose it. Other wise it shows up on the Garmin Map page. If you are using other pages a traffic alert overlay will occur on any page if the traffic is a possible collision factor. I am happy I made the choice.
John R.
Where are the antennas placed and is there any affect on speed?
The antena is mounted on top of the fuselage between the doors. It’s a bit larger than the Stormscope antena. It might cause the loss of a knot or so. I’m getting a solid 181k cruise at 75% power. The Skywatch is displayed on both GNS430’s. On a dedicated page if you choose also on the moving map page. If Skywatch senses traffic as a 30 second hazard, a window will pop up over what ever page you are on displaying the traffic and the audio warning will call your attention to the traffic also.
John R.
M. Myers
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
Has anyone actually seen a demo of Skywatch in operation? Could you please comment on ease of use and other perntinent data for those of us trying to decide to order the option?
Alex
Alex,
I took delivery of N845JR sn 0081 Friday August 24th. I had Skywatch installed after visiting with friends, Avionics shops, Cirrus, Goodrich, etc. I was told it was like a microwave oven or a color TV. Once you’ve had one you can’t live without it. They were right. During Wings Aloft training we took a day trip to Rapid City South Dakota. Jeff Ippoliti flew N916LJ sn 0080 ahead of us. On the return trip Jeff took off first running away from us in a hurry. Following up I found Jeff using Skywatch to paint his aircraft 10 miles ahead 500’ higher and climing. Would not have found him without Skywatch. We formed up for a great photo shoot at 11,500’ cruising 181k. The next day Duluth had an airshow. We left before the airport closed and returned as the airport reopened. Duluth was releasing all the general aviation aircraft that flew in for the show. There were far to many for departure to give adviseries. My Skywatch painted all the aircraft in the area high, low, in front and behind. The traffic alert audio feature started sounding traffic in our head sets. A white diamond turned yellow at 11:00 o’clock two miles closing at the same altitude. It drew attention to that area and we spotted a cessna flying toward us passing close and to our left in a few seconds. If we had needed to make an evasive manuver there would have been plenty of time. I’ll never know if the cessna driver ever saw me. On the trip back to Texas I was picking up traffic before center was adivising me.
As for ease of use. It takes care of itself. There is an extra dedicated screen on the Garmin Nav Page if you choose it. Other wise it shows up on the Garmin Map page. If you are using other pages a traffic alert overlay will occur on any page if the traffic is a possible collision factor. I am happy I made the choice.
John R.
Where are the antennas placed and is there any affect on speed?
M. Myers
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
thanks, jb
jb, I just sent my preference sheet back to Cirrus for sr22 #155, due Jan."02. The Skywatch was listed as an option to choose.
db
The Skywatch antenna is mounted on top of the fuselage between the doors. It’s a bit larger than the Stormscope antenna and may cost a knot or so. I’m getting 181k true at 70 to 75% power. The Skywatch displays on both GNS 430’s. On a dedicated page if you choose and on the moving map page. If traffic comes withing the 30 second window Skywatch will pop up a visual window over whatever page you happen to be on. Also the audio warning “traffic” will sound in your head set or on the speaker.
John R. N845JR sn/0081
What is the cost of the Skywatch option?
What is the cost of the Skywatch option?
The cost on my SR20 optional equipment form is $21,500.00. available on “B” or “C” models.
Paul,
I can’t answer your question, but it is worth noting that the Skywatch does not display on the Arnav or the Sandel. I was asked by Cirrus last week if we wanted the option and I found this out in my discussions. It only displays on the Garmin 430s. I am pretty sure it shows up on both units, which would give you the option of dedicating #2 to a moving map display with it active.
Apparently, neither Arnav or Sandel have their units set up to process the Skywatch data. I think the info would be far more useful if it was presented in your field of view for a normal instrument scan. Supposedly, at least Arnav is working on it.
FWIW,
Greg
Was the antenna for the skywatch mounted under the ceiling or was a hole needed?
I’m thinking of having one installed by Avionics West.
According to http://forum.sr20.org/cgi-bin/agnes?Sr20Agnes+Sr20AgnesHTMLArticle+2412Gordy’s 9/2 post, SkyWatch does indeed display on the Sandel.
It only displays on the Garmin 430s. I am pretty sure it shows up on both units, which would give you the option of dedicating #2 to a moving map display with it active.
Apparently, neither Arnav or Sandel have their units set up to process the Skywatch data. I think the info would be far more useful if it was presented in your field of view for a normal instrument scan. Supposedly, at least Arnav is working on it.
FWIW,
Greg
Was the antenna for the skywatch mounted under the ceiling or was a hole needed?
I’m thinking of having one installed by Avionics West.
Thanks for setting me straight. I just talked to CD last week about our final confirmation of options and the Skywatch was a particular point of interest to my partner and I. We made our decision to NOT get it partly because we were under the impression it only showed up on the 430s (after talking to CD). Maybe the headset people were right, my hearing really is going bad.
If anyone wants to berate me for spreading bad info, use CAPS, I can hear them just fine.
Greg
According to http://forum.sr20.org/cgi-bin/agnes?Sr20Agnes+Sr20AgnesHTMLArticle+2412Gordy’s 9/2 post, SkyWatch does indeed display on the Sandel.
It only displays on the Garmin 430s. I am pretty sure it shows up on both units, which would give you the option of dedicating #2 to a moving map display with it active.
Apparently, neither Arnav or Sandel have their units set up to process the Skywatch data. I think the info would be far more useful if it was presented in your field of view for a normal instrument scan. Supposedly, at least Arnav is working on it.
FWIW,
Greg
Was the antenna for the skywatch mounted under the ceiling or was a hole needed?
I’m thinking of having one installed by Avionics West.
If anyone wants to berate me for spreading bad info, use CAPS…
Greg,
The POH says that CAPS is strictly for emergencies! 
- Mike.
so, the best we have is that skywatch was installed in #81. I’ll check with cirrus on Monday what the status is on retrofit (mine is #55 5 weeks ago), and if indeed they are installing on planes going out the door now.
Anybody have more up to date info, and where is the antenna?
in front of comm ant. looks like a stormscope ant.
Speed loss?
none note according to the wings guys.
jb
Anybody have an idea as to the status of the Skywatch option. When I picked up my 22 5 weeks ago, they indicated the next couple weeks. Any news on: new installs, retrofit kits?
3 months plus or minus.
thanks, jb
your welcome, eb