New from Recreational Mobility, “The Searey Specialist,” is the FlareAssist Radar Altimeter for glassy water landings.
FlareAssist annunciates the aircraft’s altitude above the surface, starting from 30′, down to 1′. Accuracy is +/- 3″.
Audio can be plugged into the intercom via a MP3 plug, or hardwired into the intercom’s non-muting input. Power requirement is 12 VDc, less than 400 milliamps current draw and may be hardwired or plugged into a cigarette aux power plug.
The unit weighs less than a pound, and on the Searey it mounts to the underside of the wing strut mounting plate, just outside the canopy.
FlareAssist is not just for Seareys, said company officials, who note it may be installed on any experimental aircraft.
To accomplish this, the company needs to know the offset distance from the bottom of the radar plate to the surface or keel.
Units are now available for sale, priced at $2,495.
I like this idea. I could use this on a land based plane. Just like a large airliner, you get told the bottom of the plane is 100′, 90′, etc. down to 10′ and it should allow one to make good landings more often than not at night.
Just another step towards CAT III for GA?