"Visual Instruments' Flap Position Indicator lives up to its billing"
Ben Sclair, General Aviation News and Flyer
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A while back we bought a 1963 Cessna 205. While there was little wrong with
it, we wanted to put our touch on the "new" plane. To date, this has
included new radios and wind screens. A paint job and new interior are also
in the works.
Not long ago, Steve Mahoney from Visual Instruments called me. He told me
about their recently certified Flap Position Indicator. It is designed to
replace the existing Cessna flap indicator in about two hours. You simply
remove the existing transmitter and indicator, and insert the Visual
Instruments Flap Position Indicator and transmitter.
Mahoney challenged me to have our mechanics install the unit. He told me
that since he had installed the unit numerous times in his airplane, he
wanted a second opinion for reference.
True to his word, a few days later, Serial No. 3 was sitting on my desk. It
took a couple of weeks to get with our mechanic and get it scheduled. I
delivered the kit and brought the plane over a few days later.
When I left Tosch Industries, mechanics Greg and Bob had all they needed.
They had looked over the kit, visited the Visual Instruments website
(VisualInstruments.com) and were ready to go.
After the dust settled, they had the unit installed and operational in 2-1/2
billable hours. Both were impressed with the ease of the installation and
the accompanying paperwork.
The only comment Greg had for me was that our Model 205 would probably take
just a little longer than most of the other approved aircraft because the
access hole is smaller than most.
Now for the fun part: the test flight. As things turned out, my flight back
to our home airport, Pierce County (1S0), started at dusk and ended in the
dark.
I don't use flaps for takeoff at longer runways, but during the run-up and
takeoff check, the indicator was easy to read.
During my flight, as the lighting decreased, I glanced over at the Flap
Position Indicator a few times to get a feel for it. With the flaps
retracted, only one green bar is displayed.
It was not a distraction in the darkening cockpit, and it was easily
distinguishable at a glance.
As I entered the traffic pattern and slowed things down, it was time to
deploy some flaps. I ran them for a few seconds, then glanced down to
determine their position. Even in the dark cockpit, I could easily tell the
flaps were at 10°, as I had three green bars. Coming around base and then
final, I fed in a little more flap and glanced each time as more and more
bars showed up, each one telling me the position of the flaps.
With my old indicator, and the existing instrument lighting in the 205, I
would have been hard-pressed to confirm the flap setting. That's not a
problem now.
The Visual Instruments Flap Position Indicator lives up to its billing as
easy to install and use. At a list price of $399, it beats a replacement
unit from Cessna by about $200.
The unit is currently certified for the Cessna line only - specifically, the
172F, G, H, I, K, L and M; the 182E, F, G, H and J; the 205 and 205A; the
210, D, E, F and T210F; and the 206, P206, A, B, TP206A, B, TU206A, B, and
U206, A and B.
If you have a need for a replacement flap indicator, or you're looking for a
nice, simple upgrade to the panel, give Visual Instruments a call at
503-472-3350."
(Reprinted with permission of General Aviation News and Flyer)
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