A small avionics company called uAvionix ignited a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moment last summer when it revealed an ADS-B Out unit packaged in a navigation light dubbed SkyBeacon. At AEA 2018 in Las Vegas this week, it followed up with a new product housed in a taillight that will fit many aircraft.
In this podcast recorded at AEA, uAvionix’s Shane Woodson told AVweb that the new product is called the Tail Beacon. “One thing we’ve learned from talking to many customers is that the wingtip is a very dynamic position out there. And SkyBeacon is not going to fit every single wingtip,” Woodson told us.
Woodson added that Tail Beacon, which houses a white LED taillight and an ADS-B Out transmitter, gives owners who can’t make the wingtip solution work mechanically or because of antenna performance an alternative. The Tail Beacon has an integrated WAAS GPS and a self-contained blade antenna. All that’s required to install is power and ground wires. Since it has no ADS-B In function, it doesn’t have the wireless capability of the other products. The device mounts to the vertical fin with only two screws through a mounting ring.
uAvionix is currently testing the Tail Beacon for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Meanwhile, approvals for the SkyBeacon wingtip mounts were expected later in 2018 in the May to June time frame, Woodson said. Price is expected to be at about the $2000 mark.
