Still a month to go ...

Jim Lee, the Phoenix dealer, has taken our Phoenix (serial no. 26, registration number N42EJ) to the avionics shop, but the previous Phoenix is still there, not quite done. Starting on ours later this week, and likely taking 3+ weeks to finish the equipment installation, makes it about the end of February before it's ready for delivery. If so, we'll be heading home about the second weekend in March.

I'm disappointed it won't be ready sooner, but the warmer weather in March will make the trip home more pleasant, and give us more flexibility to visit friends and family on the way back. Not by choice, but perhaps a better outcome.

But what is going into the glider that takes three weeks? It comes ready to fly with basic instruments, but nobody stops there, with most owners getting what I'm getting:

• Dynon "glass panel" - a display panel about the size of an 8" tablet (eg, iPad mini), and sensors for the engine parameters, air speed and orientation, GPS for navigation, and more.
• Communications radio and transponder, both from Dynon.
• Pitch and roll servos for the autopilot
• Soaring instrumentation (soaring flight computer and variometer) from ClearNav
• Two person oxygen system
• Strobe, position, and landing lights
• bits and pieces, odds and ends

To see what the panel will look like, mostly, visit The Phoenix cockpit post, and see the revised schedule for the timing of the trip.