Today UPS delivered the last piece of the puzzle Avionics-wise for my Long-EZ from Aircraft Spruce: my COM 2 radio:

Specifically, the Trig TY91 VHF Radio.

As with nearly all decisions for this build, I had originally targeted the Trig TY91 as my COM1 radio, with the GPS radio as the COM2. Then the way the radio swap circuitry had to work, in conjunction of my going with the Garmin GNS-480 for my GPS unit… and due to the 480’s phenomenal COM radio functions, I decided to go with the GPS as my COM1 and the HXr controlled radio as my COM2.

With my COM1/COM2 radio selection made, for cost (and weight) reasons I then decided to go with the remote REM760M radio as my HXr-controlled backup COM2 radio. However, they apparently stopped producing them and GRT Avionics stopped selling them so I was driven back into the arms of the Trig TY91…. more expensive, and a few ounces heavier, but by all accounts definitely a superior radio.

Moreover, with the Trig radio I then required a serial adapter from GRT that allows the HXr EFIS to control the radio functions. Pretty cool in my opinion, as again it frees up panel space with the actual radio unit (above) being shoved into just about any available open spot in the plane (I plan to mount mine on the the top avionics shelf of the Triparagon).

One glaring oversight in my planning out the panel components with both HXr EFIS controlled Trig components –this radio and the TT22 transponder– is that I failed to take into account the considerable 2″ length of their respective serial adapters. Two inches may not seem a lot in the normal world, but behind my Long-EZ panel, where some clearances are just over 1/8 of an inch, it matters!

So much so that I have been considering a swap-out of the TruTrak 3-1/8″ ADI due to its depth and overall space it occupies. I’m more than happy with the functionality of the ADI, but it is a space hog in the tight quarters that is the reality of my avionics/instrument bay. More to follow on that later.