shelve for GMU 11 idea

So...I was looking for an easy way to mount a GMU 11 on an already built plane and think I may have an idea. I built a shelve (looks like a little shovel for playing in the sandbox) and, using a doubler plate, mounted it on the back side of the lower (larger of the two) panel in the cargo area of my 9. feels solid, will check alignment with a digital level and is at a good (ok, not perfect) distance from anything magnetic. It won't be in the way of anything thrown into the cargo area so should be safe.
Anybody else do this? Any critiques? If it works out then it's an easy mounting solution.
danny

And if you put something metal (camping pots?) in the cargo area...?

I'll be mounting my GMU 11 on the F714 aft deck (dwg 26 and 27) just below and ahead of the horizontal stabilizer.

The Garmin magnetometers are very sensitive. I was working on a composite airplane with very few options to mount the GMU and I considered putting it in an overhead tunnel. I was surprised that the headsets on your head a couple feet away caused it to completely fail the interference test.

Moral of the story, you don't want to place it anywhere the magnetic field could change. Anywhere in or near the cockpit is asking for trouble.

On most RVs the deck under the empennage fairing works pretty well.

Thanks,
Levi

I mounted mine on the aft deck as others have done. I'm still at the building stage so I don't know yet how it will work there, but others have had success. It should be an easy spot to get to. I made my own bracket, but Stein sells one if you are so inclined.

LNSelf said:

The Garmin magnetometers are very sensitive. I was working on a composite airplane with very few options to mount the GMU and I considered putting it in an overhead tunnel. I was surprised that the headsets on your head a couple feet away caused it to completely fail the interference test.

Moral of the story, you don't want to place it anywhere the magnetic field could change. Anywhere in or near the cockpit is asking for trouble.

On most RVs the deck under the empennage fairing works pretty well.

Thanks,
Levi

Click to expand...

Levi,

would you say the position under the emp fairing is preferred in my case?

Items in my wing tip:

• nav

• strobes (grounded in the fuse)

Items in my tail:

• tail light

• ELT antenna

• VOR antenna

• pitch trim

Thanks,

supik said:

Levi,

would you say the position under the emp fairing is preferred in my case?

Items in my wing tip:

• nav

• strobes (grounded in the fuse)

Items in my tail:

• tail light

• ELT antenna

• VOR antenna

• pitch trim

Thanks,

Click to expand...

Igor,

I haven't found the items you mentioned to typically cause the interference test to fail when mounting on the aft deck. I do try to keep the wires as far from the GMU as possible and I would recommend a ground wire run forward with the power wires to any lights to minimize interference. In other words, don't ground your lights locally in the tail if your GMU is nearby.

Also, it is always a good idea to run the built in magnetometer interference test to ensure that any uniquenesses to your aircraft aren't going to cause any issues.

Thanks,
Levi

Still thinking

Items in my wing tip:
nav
strobes (grounded in the fuse)

Items in my tail:
tail light
ELT antenna
VOR antenna
pitch trim

I have pretty much the same as Igor but add a strobe to the tail. On the cargo panel it's about 1 1/2 ft from some rg400 coax for a com, at least 2+ft from the strobe power supply and 1 1/2 ft from the r/h rudder cable. In the tail things would tighten up considerably. Oh, and I hadn't thought of the "everything plus the kitchen sink" camp trip but I think I have better distancing on the cargo panel and will be using non-magnetic screws for attachment.
More ideas?
thanks guys
danny