Skip to main content

Thinking about future upgrades (Part 1)

I'm titling this Part 1 as it likely won't be the last time I muse about upgrades I'd like to perform, provided I'm able and willing to spend the funds.

For the most part, the plane is about as good as it can be, but one obvious area in which it can definitely be improved is the avionics. Although the plane is IFR-certified, it only has two nav radios, both with localizer support, and one with glideslope. Each is connected to a matching CDI in the panel. Although the plane has a GPS antenna, it is connected only to the Garmin GDL-82 that provides ADS-B out capability. I do not have a GPS unit of any kind in the panel. The plane also has the typical "steam gauge" instruments typical of an aircraft manufactured in the 70s. In particular, it has the standard vacuum-driven attitude indicator and heading indicator, and the standard electrically-driven turn and bank coordinator.

At a minimum, I'd like to replace one of my Bendix/King KX-155 radios with some sort of GPS unit with a moving map display, along with a communication radio and nav radio. It would replace the radio used for comm 1 and nav 1, and connect to the CDI with the glideslope indicator. The other existing radio would be left in place. Ideally, the GPS unit I installed would also support ADS-B In, and be able to display nearby traffic. The Garmin GTN 650 or GTN 650xi is an example of a unit that would work well for this.

Beyond that, I'd like to replace the attitude indicator and heading indicator with electronic equivalents. This would have the added benefit of allowing me to remove the vacuum pump. Any weight that I can remove from the nose of plane will improve my CG envelope. As for what to install, Garmin makes both the popular G5 and the more recently-introduced GI 275 electronic flight instruments. A pair of either model would work well. However, I'm more interested in the Aspen Evolution 1000 primary flight display. It's a single unit that is designed to replace both instruments, and fit in the two holes in the panel they currently occupy. It has a larger display area than the Garmin solution would provide. And it has the added advantage of not being Garmin products.

Garmin products are great, but the impression I've received as I've researched the various options from various manufacturers is that Garmin is sort of like Apple. They make great products, but they also try to lock you into their ecosystem. This is not to say I wouldn't consider Garmin products; I might decided it's the best solution and go with a full Garmin system. But I will also consider products from other manufacturers like Aspen and Avidyne.

For now, though, I'm just looking at what's available and thinking about the future. I won't be upgrading anything for a while. My main focus for now is building time and hoping the engine is going to last for a while. But, someday, maybe in a year or so, I'll start upgrading the panel, especially if I decide it's time to get my instrument rating. It would be much better if I had a GPS navigator that I could use for RNAV.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Approaching the annual

I know I haven't been posting much, but that's mainly because nothing much of note has been happening. I've been flying, but not really going anywhere in particular. The engine continues to run very well, and the plane is still solid. I was hoping to do more "destination" flying this year but, for whatever reason(s), it didn't really happen. Next year, hopefully.... On the horizon, though, is the annual inspection. It's already scheduled for mid-December, since the last annual is good to the end of that month. I've also arranged for it to be an owner-assisted annual. I'm told that every airplane owner should do this at least once and I can certainly understand why that is the case, even before I do it. I will be learning about my airplane in a way that nothing else will match and, incidentally, save some money at the same time. I'm looking forward to it. Leading up to the annual, I have been compiling a list of squawks that I want to take care ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Not much going on right now

I've put about ten hours on the plane since I got it back from the shop last December. The weather has been generally poor so flying regularly hasn't been possible. For now, I'm focusing on putting time on the engine to continue breaking it in and get to the first oil change. Oil consumption has already dropped to normal, or near normal levels so it looks like break-in is going well so far. And that's pretty much it for now. I am looking forward to more regular VFR conditions as we move into spring and summer. I'm also looking forward to flying to other places for fly-ins and other get-togethers since I missed most of them last year.
Post a Comment
Read more

April showers....

I haven't been flying in a few weeks due to the weather. It has been a rather wet April and the alignment of rain showers with the weekend has been exquisite. I have nineteen hours on the engine so far. The plan is to run it to 25 hours, then do the first oil change. At that point we'll most likely switch to regular oil. I do have Camguard that I intend to use but my understanding is that, with a new or overhauled engine, you should run at least one oil change interval on regular oil without Camguard before starting to use it. If the weather is nice at some point during this next week, I may just take a half day off from work and go flying, then make up the time later.
Post a Comment
Read more