What’s a WingBug? A Pretty Cool Idea!
By Ian Brown, Editor
January 2020 - Although not intended to be a "primary instrument," this creative use of wing or strut mounted electronics and hardware provides true ADAHRS (Air Data Attitude Heading Reference System) data to an iPad via Wi-Fi. It provides pitot air speed and static data in digital form to present a "glass cockpit six-pack" plus angle of attack and side-slip awareness. It also provides ADS-B In weather and traffic information for those Canadians flying in U.S. airspace or close to the border, and it's completely portable.
Very sharp WingBug six-pack display.
For amateur-built aircraft, the price of the unit is $950 USD plus tax and shipping and handling. You must provide your own iPad and mounting system. You can also get the device for certified aircraft for an additional $400.
An added bonus is that you can record your flights and review, so this might be an ideal solution for testing your amateur-built aircraft.
WingBug mounted on the strut of an amateur-built aircraft.
The mounting system is the same as used on digital video-recording devices, but hard mounts are also available.
You have to download an app from the App Store. The use of it for the first year is included in the purchase of the device. It should be noted that this is a true pitot-driven airspeed device, not a GPS-based version, although it does have a built-in GPS for flight path recording so it provides valuable backup/redundancy in the event of a primary instrument failure. If you've used a WingBug, please let us know about it. We'd love to hear from you!
You can watch an extensive video on the WingBug here.
