AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2015 - 91

example, the ability to operate outside of
the United States, which is the only country so far to adopt the 978-MHz UAT
option for ADS-B Out. "We believe that the
1090 is going to be the decision of choice
for most of the aircraft," Grindberg said.
Of the first 10,000 U.S. ADS-B Out installations, two-thirds employ the 1090-MHz
solution, Appareo noted.
Choosing to make the Stratus ESG a
panel mount drove the decision to 1090
MHz, said Derek Aslakson, aviation product manager. "Our philosophy is that if
you're going to upgrade your panel, it looks
and feels like an upgrade," he said. "A UAT
reuses an existing transponder that may
fail. This is a fresh install. We think it will
increase the resale value of a plane."
Stratus ESG will be priced at $3,490,
including the transponder, GPS antenna,
and install kit. In most cases, it will be able
to use the existing transponder antenna,
Aslakson noted. The company plans to complete the final submission for certification
late this year, so look for approval in 2016.

SANDIA AEROSPACE STX 360 SENTINEL

Sandia Aerospace's STX 360 Sentinel is a
panel-mounted ADS-B transceiver, operating on the 978-MHz Universal Access
Transceiver frequency, that includes a
built-in Mode C transponder.
Sized to fit in the same panel space as
an existing transponder, which Sandia says
will save on installation costs, the STX 360
has an internal diplexer-so it requires just
a single antenna, further reducing installation costs and complexity. And because
the STX 360 is a combination unit, its single point of entry for the squawk code
eliminates the possibility that the aircraft
might report two different codes. The unit
does require position information from an
approved, WAAS GPS receiver elsewhere
in the aircraft.
"The idea for the Sentinel came when
our market research indicated that there
was a need for an ADS-B solution with
a transponder and UAT built in," said
Dennis Schmidt, Sandia Aerospace president. "There are a lot of transponders out

there that have gone bad. Some of them
can no longer be repaired," he added.
The STX 360 Sentinel displays traffic and METARS on its sunlight-readable
organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
display. It also offers a wireless output capability, which will allow ADS-B
In weather and traffic information to be
displayed on iPads and other portable
devices.
Albuquerque-based Sandia also
announced the STX 180, a remotely
mounted version of the Sentinel. The STX
180 incorporates the same UAT and Mode
C transponder but is mounted behind the
panel or elsewhere in the aircraft; it is controlled by Sandia's ½ 3ATI control head
or through other manufacturers' compatible EFIS systems installed on the aircraft.
Deliveries of both the STX 360 Sentinel
and the STX 180 will begin in 2016. Sandia
said both units would be priced below
$3,500.
AOPA
EMAIL mike.collins@aopa.org

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2015

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