Spending time at Grand Rapids Technologies

My airline decided I needed to enjoy a long layover in Grand Rapids, MI this past Tues/Wed. Other than enjoying the Old Chicago pizza joint that was attached to my hotel, I wasn't sure how I would spend my time.

Even though I am only as far as working on my wings, one of last decisions I have to make for my RV-8 is the panel. Next to the engine this obviously has the potential to be a very expensive endevor. My mission for the -8 is acro as well as going places a Boeing can't take you. I also want a system that offers redundancy, and good situational awarness.

So back to my layover. The day before my trip I checked google and found out my hotel was only about 4 miles from GRT! I made a quick call to the number listed on GRT's website, and was invited by Carlos for a tour and some hands on time with their products.

I arrived in the morning and was promply met my Carlos and was shown around the building and introduced to various employees. I was suprised to find out that they build and machine the majority of their parts in house. Next I was taken in a room that had some EFIS screens set up and ready to demo. Carlos had MS Flight Sim rigged up to drive the units. Carlos showed me all of the bells and whistles the HX and the Sport had to offer. I found it amazing that these small boxes have more capability than the avionics in the airliner I fly! Carlos was very informative, and more than willing to answer all of my questions.

As I was getting ready to leave he showed me one really cool item you can incorperate into these units. GRT has a video input feature this allows you to hook up a small infrared (Flir) camera. Very cool!

Thanks to Carlos, and everyone at GRT for making my layover alot more enjoyable.

Room where the units are being assembled.



Wiring harnesses are included!



Carlos showing everything they have to offer.



Infrarred image as displayed on the GRT screen.

GRT Tour

The way you were treated at GRT "before you bought" is nothing to the way they treat you after you are a customer. After doing a three screen panel, and upgrades in my RV-10, and seeing firsthand the wonderful customer service attitude at GRT I went a duel HX, duel AHRS, for my RV-7, and am going a single HX with the RV-3 panel.

I'm about 90% sure I'm going to replace my panel with a dual GRT 6.5" HX system with dual AHRS. Before I do I am planning to visit GRT, which would be about a 2.5 - 3 hour flight in my -8. I had thought about going to SnF to look/talk, but SnF and Osh are nothing short of a zoo around vendor booths and I'd rather have a few hours of quality time with them. Thanks for your report, I look forward to my visit.

I'll second Russ' comments

I agree Russ. Sandy, Carlos and all at Grand Rapids are just super nice people and their customer service is absolutely superior and top notch. I have yet to install mine (or even purchase the screens yet), but they have been eagar and super about answering any and all questions about the wiring. Dave

db8 said:

I agree Russ. Sandy, Carlos and all at Grand Rapids are just super nice people and their customer service is absolutely superior and top notch. I have yet to install mine (or even purchase the screens yet), but they have been eagar and super about answering any and all questions about the wiring. Dave

Click to expand...

Ditto the above, and they are "on time" when they promise something.

A friend of mine purchased another, popular in RVs, EFIS from a west coast company at OSH in 2008 (2008 not a typo). This "new and improved" EFIS is yet to be delivered due to one reason after another. They have provided an EFIS model that is older tech for his panel until they get the "N & I" EFIS actually running. It is just unclear when all the glitches will be addressed and consistent deliveries will start to happen.

GRT delivers on their promises and is solid as a rock in product support because of the people that they have working for them.

Ditto all the above.

There isn't a problem with EIS 4000 that Sandy can not solve. The service is excellent.

Thanks for posting the images. I came away from Air Flow Performance with a similar feeling after a visit.

There are people in this business who do care about their customers and everyone of vendors in my sign off are in that category.

Ditto to all of the above. I live outside of the US, and have received fantastic service from Carlos and Sandy. Great product and and great people to back it up.

Ditto, some times the actual set up gets me confused and Sandy and Carlos have al;ways taken the time to help us tech challenged pilots.
Ed Hamilton

Compelled to Post on this One

I can vouch for all of the cudos on customer support for GRT...Carlos and the gang have been great. I have the first generation GRT (2 screen, single AHRS) system installed in my RV-7A, and have been flying it for about a year and 186 hours. Like many of you, I have had reservations about relying on this system in solid IFR conditions, so we have taken it slow (and I have backup round gauges, etc.), but throughout the year this system has done very well, integrates well with my other equipment (Traffic Information System data from the Garmin GTX330 is nicely displayed on the GRT EFIS as well, radio frequency selection from the GRT satellite WX transfers to my #2 Garmin SL30 easily, etc.).

Opportunities for customer support with GRT have included:
1. During installation and planning GRT personnel were always there to consult, and if not in the office when we called, they have ALWAYS returned phone calls promptly...usually within minutes of when we call.
2. The only glitch that we had during initial installation was a slight modification of the EIS in order to get the proper RPM reading(s) from the engine due to the Laser III ignition system that we installed (duel electronic ignition)....minor modification, quick and painless with GRT customer support.
3. During initial flights the system has worked very well with no surprises.
4. The only persistent issue has been with the XM weather receiver, which occasionally loses its subscription data (about 2 times in a year)....related to 30 days or more of non-use in a hangar....now that's a good excuse to go fly if I've ever heard one! The problem is well known to GRT, and they are working on a solution with the XM folks, and the work-around is posted in the faq's on their website.
5. We live in Indiana, and have made 4 trips to Northern California to visit family (among many other shorter trips), and the GRT gear has performed as advertised....we've even been able to assist ATC and other aircraft on occasion with our ability to see and avoid weather with the XM data.
6. The only significant failure was the recent (1/1/2010) failure of the right hand display screen on a long trip. With the multi-function capability of the system, the flight was not changed or compromised at all (other than my conservative flight management would have prevented us from going hard IFR at a destination if that had been the case...keep the workload as low as possible in IMC). My concern when I got back was...this system has been installed and operating for over a year, and with a lot of other products, we are so accustomed to being "sold" a new product just after the warranty expired, etc....but once again, just one call to GRT, and although my failure was rare, the tech thought my description indicated a fixable problem, so we shipped it back to GRT, they fixed it and it was back in the RV and flying within a week (even with cheap Ground UPS service)....FREE!!
7. In my day job(s), I fly helicopters for a living, and am a firm believer in the quality of the Garmin products to the extent that I constantly think/dream about having the G900X system in my next project (RV10 once the "honey do" list around the house is whittled down a bit), but as I continue to experience the GRT product and their dedicated staff of people, I am more comfortable with staying with the GRT product....customer service really makes the difference.
8. One tip to builders....I know most of us are pretty meticulous anyway, but detailed written flight records during the test phase are invaluable in helping get the fuel system calibrated properly/accurately. If you take the time to do it right, then your fuel quantity can be accurate within .2 gallons or better.
9. These same written records are good for setting up your engine (if you have fuel injection) to verify fuel flow balance in order to run lean of peak, and/or to quickly spot a problem (i.e. clogged fuel injector, cylinder running too hot or cold), before significant damage occurs.

So congratulations Grand Rapids Technologies to a good product and a very dedicated group of people....you are doing it right!

JR