Graham Singleton wrote:
Martin wrote>
> >>It has occurred to me to wonder what builders are doing about antennas
> within the structure for VHF nav & com and ADF.<<
>
Graham replied>
> VHF antenna is built into the fin. No one bothers with ADF any more, doesn't
> work hardly in glass airplanes anyway. VOR can be built in easily but also is
> almost superflous, until the GPS packs up, of course.
> Graham
Such faith in GPS ! If you lived where I do you might be a little less
confident
! VOR and
ADF are needed here - try finding a small island in a lot of sea by pilotage
when
the GPS dies
on you ! In some places there is only ADF - the Grenada VOR has been
temporarily
u/s for four
years or so and broadcast stations can be a very comforting replacement for a
beacon
in need.
Personally I should never want to fly without ADF and VOR in the aircraft and I
normally
supplement this with my own GPS and handheld nav/com.
Yes, the obvious place for the com antenna is the fin - where do you put the nav
antenna (which
is normally horizontal)? What materials do you use for the antennas ? I
have a feeling
that a dipole made of thin copper wire would be likely to suffer as the airframe
flexes and would
eventually crack and fail. Perhaps using braid would be better ?
---From the way you write it sounds as though antennas are a foregone
conclusion and
perhaps you are
all using some commercially available item - but I tend to roll my own and
thought
that others
might also !
Regards,
Martin
Martin W. Berner, 26 Mayfield Road, Valsayn Park, Trinidad, The West Indies
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