Location for ELT

As I near completion of my plane I almost forgot to put in an ELT. Is there a preferred location? what are the regs on accessibility? do you need to have an external antenna?
Any thought comments or suggestions appreciated.

As long as you have the remote hooked up, then you don't need to access the ELT unit itself. The remote has to be in visual contact with the Pilot. I put mine behind the seat in the fuselage and have the antenna internal in the back between some tubes.

You can see it in this picture. It's the yellow box under my strobe pack.

http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/pic...pictureid=1787

Thanks Andy, do you like the model of ELT that you bought (trying to decide if it is Worth the bucks at this point to go with a 406 unit).

Well, thus far all it's done for me is make my wallet lighter! However the reason I sprung for the upgrade is I figured I would be flying much more in backcountry locations with the Kitfox and might as well have the sat capability if it's ever needed. I have the smallest Kannad model.

By the way, I have an old 121.5 model that needs a good home. If you want it, it's free if you pay the shipping.

Thanks for the offer, I just put a bid on one on Ebay yesterday:(
If it does not go through I will let you know, if I don't reconsider and just get the 406.

Dorsal,

We mounted the ELT (406 type) behind the header tank under the mixer tubes behind the right seat. Very similar to Andy's except on the other side. A person needs to make sure the mount is solid - if the mounting has a lot of give - the ELT might not work right, according to the ELT instructions anyway.

We have a panel mount switch for the remote - Like Andy said - the unit does not need to be easily accessible if the remote switch is. Still need to put some type of passenger-proofing over the switch - although it has a side guard on it.

I also went down the same reasoning as Andy did - got the 406 - while the 121.5 is perfectly legal now - the 406 will do you more good if you actually need it - again - we intend to do back country flying long ways from home.

Antenna location - where I wanted to put it - on the back - it was too close to the com antenna so also did the inside the fuselage mount. Certainly there is some chance the fuselage tubing will shield it to some extent; but, if it is mounted on the top or bottom, you first have to decide if you do crash - will the top side up or bottom side up be how it ends up???? I figure inside the fuselage it has some chance of working no matter how things work out. Also visited the the DAR on the issue - he was in favor of an inside the fuselage mount. There are probably a thousand legal ways to mount the antennae - and just plain luck if the choice happens to be the right one if you need it:confused:.

Sincerely,

Dave S
KF 7 Trigear
912 ULS Warp

Dorsal,
This is my 2 cents on buying the 406 ELT...If you have the bucks, go for it. Using a satellite system is the way to go. If you are a little strapped for cash (as many of us are in this economy) take a look at a couple other options:
1. A personal locator system (like SPOT) http://www.findmespot.com/en/
Could be a good choice. It has a relatively low front end cost to purchase, but you will need to buy into a yearly subscription.somewhere between $100 - $150 per year .
2. APRS tracking. This is a unique system that has been around since the 80's but is gaining in popularity amoung aviators. You can search Vans Airforce site and find quite a bit on it. It involves first getting your Amateur Raido Operators Licence. The technician class test is easy to pass and they did away with the need to learn Morris Code in 2007. I won't go into everything, so just do a search on the web for APRS and there are volumes of info. The bottom line is, after an initial investment of about $200 in equipment, the service to tracking on the Internet is free. Take a look at this site which shows currently moving cars, ships, bikers, and planes http://aprs.fi/moving/ After getting your own call sign and placing it in your plane, your family and friends can go to this site, type in your call sign and see you moving across Terra Firma.

Tailwinds!

SPOT is certainly a nice system but there are other personal locators that don't require a subscription. (Of course they don't have the added features that SPOT has.)

Go Here!

As one who frequently flies over water I'm very attracted to a 406 ELT that attaches to my body rather than the airplane. If I ever had to ditch it would be nice to have it with me treading water instead of going to the bottom with the airplane. Whatever I decide to put in the Kitfox I'm definately springing for a personal locator the next time I take an extended flight over water.

Thanks for all the input, I expect I will go with a 121 to get started. The unit that I am planing on in the long run is the new ACK E-04 as it takes GPS input directly and seems reasonably priced. They say it will not be available till after May and I plan to have my plane finished before then .