philiplane
A&P, IA, CFI, CFII, MEI,
I was an early adopter of the Landing Height System from Microkit Solutions. I love having the audio call outs during the last 200 feet to landing. They now have an upgrade with more features, most importantly, an active landing gear warning system.
I just got word from Nidal at Microkit Solutions about their latest upgrades to the Landing Height System. This makes an already great unit even better! And the upgrade cost is $225 or less, depending on the model you have:
LHS Upgrade Options – Landing Height System for Certified Airplanes
New Features
The LHS 200 Series adds two major features (GPS Input & Gear Warning System) along with few other minor changes.
GPS Input (All 200 Series models)
The LHS GPS Input accepts an RS232 “Aviation Output” format GPS data. This feature is optional and not-required for the normal operation of the LHS. It’s disabled by default and can be enabled using the LHS unit Wi-Fi interface. If the GPS data includes GPS reported altitude, this feature can be enabled to announce 3000 ft, 2000 ft, 1000 ft and 500 ft GPS altitude. For 200 ft and below, announcements are still actual laser based above surface level reporting.
LHS also decodes GPS reported speed. Pilots who fly IMC a lot can set up a speed value (Approach speed + 20 kt, for example) in the LHS unit, and the unit will mute any ice crystal hits or such if the reported speed is above the setup speed.
Gear Warning System (200-C model only)
The 200-C model now “physically” check the status/condition of the landing gear and if the unit starts seeing the ground (220 ft and below) with the gear is still retracted; it won’t be announcing the range but will be repeating “Check Landing Gear” every few seconds until either the Gear Switch is lowered or airplane started to climb. This feature is optional and not-required for the normal operation of the LHS. It’s disabled by default and can be enabled using the LHS unit Wi-Fi interface.
The GPS input is a single wire that connects to a suitable GPS source. The Gear Warning System input is a single wire that connects to either your gear switch or Down indicator light.
Refer to the 200-C Upgrade Guide for more technical details on the actual wiring.
I just got word from Nidal at Microkit Solutions about their latest upgrades to the Landing Height System. This makes an already great unit even better! And the upgrade cost is $225 or less, depending on the model you have:
LHS Upgrade Options – Landing Height System for Certified Airplanes
New Features
The LHS 200 Series adds two major features (GPS Input & Gear Warning System) along with few other minor changes.
GPS Input (All 200 Series models)
The LHS GPS Input accepts an RS232 “Aviation Output” format GPS data. This feature is optional and not-required for the normal operation of the LHS. It’s disabled by default and can be enabled using the LHS unit Wi-Fi interface. If the GPS data includes GPS reported altitude, this feature can be enabled to announce 3000 ft, 2000 ft, 1000 ft and 500 ft GPS altitude. For 200 ft and below, announcements are still actual laser based above surface level reporting.
LHS also decodes GPS reported speed. Pilots who fly IMC a lot can set up a speed value (Approach speed + 20 kt, for example) in the LHS unit, and the unit will mute any ice crystal hits or such if the reported speed is above the setup speed.
Gear Warning System (200-C model only)
The 200-C model now “physically” check the status/condition of the landing gear and if the unit starts seeing the ground (220 ft and below) with the gear is still retracted; it won’t be announcing the range but will be repeating “Check Landing Gear” every few seconds until either the Gear Switch is lowered or airplane started to climb. This feature is optional and not-required for the normal operation of the LHS. It’s disabled by default and can be enabled using the LHS unit Wi-Fi interface.
The GPS input is a single wire that connects to a suitable GPS source. The Gear Warning System input is a single wire that connects to either your gear switch or Down indicator light.
Refer to the 200-C Upgrade Guide for more technical details on the actual wiring.
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