Jay Honeck wrote:

The main problem is a mechanic who would call FSDO in the first place.
This guy is just shirking his very well laid out responsibilities. If
you read the manual that the mechanic goes by you can see why the FAA
guys make life hard. The very fact that you called means that your
install is much more than a minor alteration.


I don't blame the avionics tech (not an A&P) for calling the FSDO. The
AirGizmo is in one of those famous regulatory "gray areas" that can
drive everyone nuts, both inside and outside the FAA.

There's nothing gray about it. It's so crystal clear that Mike Busch
wrote about it in detail in several publications. If you were to read
the regs the A&P goes by you would come to the same conclusion. He
quoted them in his article. Any mechanic who calls FSDO for an Air
Gizmo installation in incompetent.




*I* think it's obviously a minor alteration, but (in fairness to those
who think otherwise) the unit DOES occupy an avionics bay,


It is nothing more than a cover over a hole. The fact that the hole is
designed for a radio is irrelavant



and it does
require wiring that leads to (and through) the back of the AirGizmo
unit.

It requires no such thing. That you choose to hardwire the GPS to power
to make life convenient is your option. As for the GPS antenna you are
merely tucking those into convenient areas of the trim to make it look neat.



The only way this really differs from a standard avionics installation
is that the 496 is designed as a "portable" unit,



That is the crucial difference. The FAA deserves blame in a lot of
areas but not this one. Tell your mechanic to RTFM.