I just finished a flight yesterday and noticed that after shutting down the engine, with the master switch still on, and all the electrical loads turned off, that the Gyro was gradually winding down as if I had turned off the master.
Is this the battery quickly running out of energy? How fast does the average piston engine 28V battery last!?
I sometimes like to have a play about (
), with the avionics(
), but after yesterday it's made me think, just how long after you've been playing with the COM box, or fooling around with the GPS, do you have until the battery doesn't have enough energy to get the donkey going?
I'm talking average figures here, I know some bats are very nice and last longer than others. Another reason I ask is because come Monday, I'll want to be programming the GPS before my trip to Jersey as a crosscheck for my VOR's as I have heard the plane is a bit temperamental when it comes to NAV equipment. At what time should I stop programming the GPS? I need enough time to be able to create a route and store it, otherwise, it's lost when I turn the bleeder off
!
Cheers
obk