Has anyone installed the RYAN 9900 BX i n their Cirrus? Is is a better value than the Skywatch?
Mike:
If I am not mistaken, the problem with the Ryan system is the antenna. You need a new one to install this product and drilling holes for antennas in a composite aircraft requires an “act of God” to get approved.
In reply to:
Has anyone installed the RYAN 9900 BX i n their Cirrus? Is is a better value than the Skywatch?
IIRC, one Cirrus in Northern California did a field STC to put a Ryan in his plane. It was a Ryan, not sure of the specific model number. The plane was grounded for a long time (like 9 months) to get it signed off.
Alas, that plane (and Pilot) was lost in a crash near San Jose. You can find some details in Member archives searches about the this, but it takes a while and they are all old.
For my money, the paperwork challenge alone would keep me with Skywatch. I could not get that when my plane was built, so I did the poor man’s approach a Garmin GTX330 Mode S transponder and have been happy with it, even if Skywatch is better the 330 gives me what I need for the areas that I was concerned about.
In reply to:
Mike:
If I am not mistaken, the problem with the Ryan system is the antenna. You need a new one to install this product and drilling holes for antennas in a composite aircraft requires an “act of God” to get approved.
When you complete a search using Ryan TCAD you will find several posts listed including this one. /forums/t/10855.aspx?View=Threaded%20tcad&Match=And&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=67575
Also - Ryan does make a very nice system ( BX model ) and is by far my preference over Skywatch … but the 9900 model is $7900 and is at a great pricepoint.
I believe you will see an STC for Ryan and Cirrus in the very near future. The market opportunity is simply too large for Ryan to miss out on.
The Ryan rep at the MD AOPA said they had one Cirrus flying with a STC, and there would be news shortly.
Hope it’s a little sooner than the WX news! 