A word of warning....
I just inherited a Trimble Flightmate pro GPS and have had nothing but
problems trying to get any info/support/accessories from the manufacturer.
I actually sent them money for a manual and after receiving an obvious
PHOTOCOPY of the original for 35 bucks (it was the wrong manual) the reps
told me I would be lucky to get the money back. If it were not for the
fantastic generosity of subscribers to this newsletter (thanks Peter L.!!) I
still would not have a manual.
I have spent way too many precious minutes of my day on hold, being
forwarded from one person to another only to end up on someones voicemail to
give any merit to the validity of the company. I actually asked one of the
ladies if the comapny was about to go out of business since their customer
service was so poor.
The GPS works great. My only point is I would never buy anything
(especially an avionics stack) from a company such as this. Just my two
cents that might cause someone to call the customer service before they buy
to see what the future might be like.
Happy flying!
---ehops
-----Original Message-----
From: James R. Stoutemyer <jstoutemyer@fuse.net>
Date: Saturday, April 24, 1999 2:22 PM
Subject: Trimble/Terra & Mate-N-Lok
>FYI for anyone interested in the continuing saga of Terra avionics, the
>following item appeared in May 1999 issue of IFR magazine.
>
>"TRIMBLE BAILOUT DUE TO WEAK MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
>Trimbles's decision to bail out of the light airplane GA avionics market
>was due to a weak distribution and marketing network, according to
>Trimble CEO Bradford Parkinson. Interviewed by Aerospace Daily,
>Parkinson said Trimble was happy with it's re-engineering of the
>Terraline, which it bought in 1996, but lacked money to market the
>equipment and losses were mounting. Trimble is still looking for a
>buyer for it's light GA line and says it will remain in the airline
>market."
>
>FWIW, although AMP Mate-N-Lok II connectors have many plus features
>which make them an excellent choice for use in homebuilt aircraft,
>builders need to be aware that AMP spec data for this particular series
>specifies durability at 50 cycles, mating and unmating. No problem for
>low count cycle applications, but it does raise a long term reliability
>issue for high count cycle applications such as wing to fuselage
>disconnects for trailered Europas where wings are mated/demated
>repeatedly. Anyone with in-service problems in this regard or other
>type connectors you are using?
>
>Avioniker Jim
>
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