Economical shop for a vacuum attitude indicator OH?

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Johnbo

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Johnbo
I know, I should upgrade to an AV30 or a G5 but I’m not ready to go there just yet as it won’t stop with just one of those.

my vacuum driven attitude indicator is not indicating correctly and I suspect that it is ready for OH.

what shops are generally regarded as doing good work for a fair price with good turnaround times? I’m on the East coast if that helps.

thx.
 
Aircraft Quality Instruments (AQI), if I remember correctly they're in Kansas.

There used to be a shop at my home airport that did them but demand for gyros has fallen too much to make it a worthwhile business.
 
Rudy's Aircraft instruments in Rudy, AR. has always done good work for me. Good prices, quality work and quick turnaround.

JMPO

Chris
 
I hear what you're saying but I just put in an AV30 and all I can say is - wow. I can see how it would be tough making a living overhauling mechanical AI's these days the AV30 replaces about half a dozen instruments at least, all in one 3 1/2 inch hole.
 
Silvaire said:
I hear what you're saying but I just put in an AV30 and all I can say is - wow. I can see how it would be tough making a living overhauling mechanical AI's these days the AV30 replaces about half a dozen instruments at least, all in one 3 1/2 inch hole.
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I’ve got an AV30 in my RV4 and I love it. But I don’t want to open the Pandora’s box that is an avionics upgrade in a certified plane...
 
AV-30-C comes with an STC it's pretty simple.
 
Silvaire said:
I hear what you're saying but I just put in an AV30 and all I can say is - wow. I can see how it would be tough making a living overhauling mechanical AI's these days the AV30 replaces about half a dozen instruments at least, all in one 3 1/2 inch hole.
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Careful there. It *replaces* one instrument (2 if you could the slip indicator). It *supplements* about half a dozen others.
Johnbo said:
I’ve got an AV30 in my RV4 and I love it. But I don’t want to open the Pandora’s box that is an avionics upgrade in a certified plane...
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Isn't it just power/ground/pitot/static with the rest being optional?
 
Yes, hook up is easy but in my experience once your behind the panel other things end up getting fixed or modernized and a $2k instrument turns into a $7k project. The AV30 is a bit of a gateway drug.
 
Johnbo said:
Yes, hook up is easy but in my experience once your behind the panel other things end up getting fixed or modernized and a $2k instrument turns into a $7k project. The AV30 is a bit of a gateway drug.
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You’re going to be behind the panel anyway, in order to get the attitude indicator in and out. You’re just as likely to tear stuff up and find things that need fixing doing that as you are if you installed the AV30.

I have not had good luck with rebuilt gyros. Every one I’ve sent in has required several visits to make them right. I’d just get an AV30 or find a good used instrument and call it a day.
 
I’m kinda in the same boat, though my AI hasn’t failed yet: it’s just 25 years past it’s last overhaul. The DG is starting to precess more (and it’s about 30 years post overhaul) and the TC is dead, so I’m thinking of just getting all three dealt with at the same time.

I’ve looked at the AV30 for both my AI and DG but they don’t yet play well with my Century AP, from what I gather. The Garmin GI 275 is apparently an option but getting two of those installed is north of $10K.

Bottom line, don’t forget about your autopilot when considering alternatives.

Also, I’ve seen several reports on several different forums about the AV30 DG drifting (“precessing”).

Back to the OP, I’ve heard good things about Castleberry for overhauls and will probably work with them. I’d be curious if anyone has any feedback about them.
 
asicer said:
Careful there. It *replaces* one instrument (2 if you could the slip indicator). It *supplements* about half a dozen others.

Isn't it just power/ground/pitot/static with the rest being optional?
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Right - "replace" was the wrong word but you can get half a dozen instruments you probably didn't even have - G-meter, Bus-voltage, HDI, Density-Alt, AOA...hmm, there's got to be one more.
 
About AQI, I had to send my ALT to them 3 times before they finally fixed it. Every time it back saying tested and certified to 20k etc. AQI was great at some point, but I heard they lost some good people there.

Your experience may be different, just sharing mine.
 
Hey guys, I’m new on here. Mostly just come for the classifieds but... the best shop I’ve found is Naylor’s Instrument service in Gainesville Florida. Been using them for years. Tried AQI for a year, sent them 12 instruments to get overhauled, 4 failed on arrival and had to be sent back. Not good odds. Tried Rudy’s, they were okay, better than AQI but still had issues on occasion. Naylor’s? There’s a reason I’ve stayed with them for the last 8 years. Their prices are about the same as all the rest but in 8 years and maybe 100 or so instruments, I only had 1 that needed a second trip to their shop. 1 out of 100 and they took care of it immediately.
 
WannFly said:
About AQI, I had to send my ALT to them 3 times before they finally fixed it. Every time it back saying tested and certified to 20k etc. AQI was great at some point, but I heard they lost some good people there.

Your experience may be different, just sharing mine.
Click to expand...

How recent was your experience ?
 
RussellJ said:
Hey guys, I’m new on here. Mostly just come for the classifieds but... the best shop I’ve found is Naylor’s Instrument service in Gainesville Florida. Been using them for years. Tried AQI for a year, sent them 12 instruments to get overhauled, 4 failed on arrival and had to be sent back. Not good odds. Tried Rudy’s, they were okay, better than AQI but still had issues on occasion. Naylor’s? There’s a reason I’ve stayed with them for the last 8 years. Their prices are about the same as all the rest but in 8 years and maybe 100 or so instruments, I only had 1 that needed a second trip to their shop. 1 out of 100 and they took care of it immediately.
Click to expand...

Great PIREP, appreciate you sharing!

As much as I love the new instruments, $425 for an overhaul of a gyro is still much less than the $2000+install minimum for the AV-30/Garmins.
 
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