Stratus Heat Problems

[Dennis]

Hi Group,

I'm considering adding a Stratus second-generation ADS-B unit to my Skycatcher for use with the iPad mini Retina and ForeFlight. I understand there are some issues with overheating. It gets very warm on my black glare shield in the Skycatcher which is the best place to mount it. Any group members have experience with this unit?

Fly safely,
Dennis Persyk N900DP Based 68IS North Central Illinois
Skycatcher Page http://users.foxvalley.net/~dpersyk/skycatcher.htm

[cogito]

Hi Group,

I'm considering adding a Stratus second-generation ADS-B unit to my Skycatcher for use with the iPad mini Retina and ForeFlight. I understand there are some issues with overheating. It gets very warm on my black glare shield in the Skycatcher which is the best place to mount it. Any group members have experience with this unit?

Fly safely,
Dennis Persyk N900DP Based 68IS North Central Illinois
Skycatcher Page http://users.foxvalley.net/~dpersyk/skycatcher.htm

I've been using a stratus 2 since December, 150hrs, and haven't experienced any overheating issues. I have a bubble canopy and live in southern California. I recently moved the stratus under the dash and use an external antenna, but did this so the airplane looks neater, signal quality remains good.

[Flocker]

Hi Group,

I'm considering adding a Stratus second-generation ADS-B unit to my Skycatcher for use with the iPad mini Retina and ForeFlight. I understand there are some issues with overheating. It gets very warm on my black glare shield in the Skycatcher which is the best place to mount it. Any group members have experience with this unit?

Fly safely,
Dennis Persyk N900DP Based 68IS North Central Illinois
Skycatcher Page http://users.foxvalley.net/~dpersyk/skycatcher.htm

I fly a C-162 with a Stratus on the glare shield. Never had an issue. I've actually had the iPad overheat, but never the Stratus.

[Jack Tyler]

We fly a Grumman with a sliding canopy and a relatively large, unobstructed windscreen. The top of the canopy is solid fiberglass, providing more coverage from the sun than the small, sliding overhead awnings you see in LSA bubble canopies. Our Stratus II has overheated when mounted on our glare shield and has shut down, and this was in an early Florida summer before temps (but not sun strength) really started percolating. My conclusion is that a glare shield is not a healthy place for a Stratus. Even when working without interruption there, it gets extremely hot. My engine will run normally with 450F degree CHTs and Lycoming says that's acceptable...but that too is a bad idea for longevity's sake.

You'll find in the manual that the Stratus orientation is supposedly very important. There's an alignment arrow on the underside that indicates this, and if you want to utilize the 'glass cockpit' feature in Foreflight, guidelines on its proper orientation are also stressed in that manual.

OTOH we have a small 'nook' of windscreen area on the far left hand, lower corner that seemed like an excellent place for a Stratus suction cup mount. I asked Appareo & Sporty's just how important these orientation instructions were and they were quite dismissive of them. Their suggestion: mount it where you want it and see if it works. Sure enough, ours works fine while oriented vertically (not horizontally) and with the orientation arrow 90 degrees from the a/c heading. And it's far cooler there.