ELT mounting location

[ampzapper]

Any suggestions for where and how to mount the ELT? I’m trying to figure out how to give it enough structure without adding too much weight.

[Bryan Cotton]

I made a U-channel out of 0.016 2024-T3 and ran it under the elevator pushrod, behind the seats. I'll get a better picture later. We did the design based on some FAA mounting stiffness requirements. The U-channel runs the length of the bay behind the seat and ties into the structure on the bottom of the bay. The nuts that hold the bracket on are on the bottom of the airplane.

[Area 51%]

My preferred location based of ease of access.

[avee8r]

My EBC-102 (121.5 type) ELT, is mounted vertically on the aft side of the bulkhead that is immediately aft of the pilots left elbow. Never interferes with anything.
Happy Landings
John
S/N 0373 N50NX

[Murray Parr]

I put mine under the seat and built a hinged access panel for it. I mounted it to a doubler plate directly to the floor close to the lower longeron angle.

[Bryan Cotton]

Plusses:
1) It's light but stiff
2) Is not taking up baggage room. That's dead space.
3) Not in the crush zone under the seat.

[ampzapper]

Thanks for the suggestions and pictures. Bryan, where did you find the FAA mounting stiffness requirements? I found general guidelines but nothing very specific.

[Bryan Cotton]

Thanks for the suggestions and pictures. Bryan, where did you find the FAA mounting stiffness requirements? I found general guidelines but nothing very specific.

In my ACK E-04 installation manual it said:

ACK ELT-04 mounting.png (69.64 KiB) Viewed 1090 times

So technically not an FAA requirement. Adam did the analysis of the structure WRT the stiffness requirement. So we basically added a floor beam.

[Skippydiesel]

FYI - in Australia, for recreational level aircraft, we can substitute an ELT with a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).

PLB's are very much cheaper than ELT's.
Are battery powered, independent of ship power & can be carried on the pilot/passenger or in an accessible location in the aircraft.
Lighter in weight
Access the same emergency satellite system as ELT's
Could be carried by survivor away from aircarft
Unlikely to deliver a false transmission

In short, a PLB is cheaper, way more convenient and do the same job as an ELT - what's not to like?