FINALLY! G5s and GFC500 take to the sky in my ride...

BryanAV8R

BryanAV8R

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Messages
178
Location
Fall River MA & Morrisville PA
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Display name:
Bryan
Big day today. FINALLY, the IA/avionics guy signed off the paperwork, configured the boxen to play nice, annual signed off, W&B done...even installed new sheepskin seat covers (well, that had nothing to do with the avionics, but they look nice...).

THOROUGH pre-flight. The ride had been pretty much spread around the hangar floor since March. Invasive surgery and wires pulled around and through all sorts of holes and such. Servos mounted...the lot. Pays to spend the extra time.

Started her up. Avionics came alive. Avionics guy noted that the plane was MPH, not KTS...and made the adjustment in the G5 AI to track the mechanical ASI. And, the compass was swung and card filled out. Nice.

Run up uneventful...took to the rwy...pressed TO/GA button, FD went to 9 degrees nose up. Take off...climb at Vy...800 agl...hit AP on...heading...altitude cranked up to 2K.

Boring. Plane turned on course, climb at Vy and leveled off at 2K. Entered in some waypoints in the 430W...switched GFC to NAV....plane turned on course...holding 2K +/- 10 or so feet (it was bumpy today in NJ...but the GFC seemed to smooth out (or at least respond) the little annoyances.) 39N-KTTN-39N-KBLM-SBJ-DFRTZ-39N. 1.1 hr on the hobbs. It was the most uneventful flight. If I didn't have to work this afternoon...I would have planned a ride up to KEWB and asked my buddy to meet at the restaurant there. Maybe this weekend.

Now, to get my IPC going with some good equipment in the plane finally...

G5s.jpeg
 
GFC500 is a good bit of kit.
 
BryanAV8R said:
Big day today. FINALLY, the IA/avionics guy signed off the paperwork, configured the boxen to play nice, annual signed off, W&B done...even installed new sheepskin seat covers (well, that had nothing to do with the avionics, but they look nice...).

THOROUGH pre-flight. The ride had been pretty much spread around the hangar floor since March. Invasive surgery and wires pulled around and through all sorts of holes and such. Servos mounted...the lot. Pays to spend the extra time.

Started her up. Avionics came alive. Avionics guy noted that the plane was MPH, not KTS...and made the adjustment in the G5 AI to track the mechanical ASI. And, the compass was swung and card filled out. Nice.

Run up uneventful...took to the rwy...pressed TO/GA button, FD went to 9 degrees nose up. Take off...climb at Vy...800 agl...hit AP on...heading...altitude cranked up to 2K.

Boring. Plane turned on course, climb at Vy and leveled off at 2K. Entered in some waypoints in the 430W...switched GFC to NAV....plane turned on course...holding 2K +/- 10 or so feet (it was bumpy today in NJ...but the GFC seemed to smooth out (or at least respond) the little annoyances.) 39N-KTTN-39N-KBLM-SBJ-DFRTZ-39N. 1.1 hr on the hobbs. It was the most uneventful flight. If I didn't have to work this afternoon...I would have planned a ride up to KEWB and asked my buddy to meet at the restaurant there. Maybe this weekend.

Now, to get my IPC going with some good equipment in the plane finally...

View attachment 98704
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Nice!!

I have had mine installed for 3+ years and 650+ hrs of flying. All garmin 2-G5s, GMA345, GTX345, GNC650, GNC255, FS510 and GFC500.

It has been flawless except for one servo went bad and was replaced under warranty while I waited.

I only use the AP about 50% of the time on long XC trips so I don't forget how to fly the plane in IMC. That AP will wreck your flying skills if you let it.

Cincinnati Avionics installed my AP in 9 days. They rest of the stack was previously installed by them in 7 work days. I liked how fast they are and everything was configured properly the first time thanks to Scott. Highly recommended.

IMG_0328.JPG
IMC...
IMG_0328.JPG
 
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Gary Ward said:
Nice!!

****DELETIA***

... That AP will wreck your flying skills if you let it.

IMG_0328.JPG
Click to expand...

I can see where that is the case. Thinking the initial activity is that it gets used a lot...but, as time goes on...who wants to use George to go 20 miles for a burger run?

Luckily, I get enough stick time with students and intro rides. Just the long 2 or 3 hour drone along on victor airways rides that I've been hand flying that I'm pretty sure will be a lot less tiring?
 
BryanAV8R said:
I can see where that is the case. Thinking the initial activity is that it gets used a lot...but, as time goes on...who wants to use George to go 20 miles for a burger run?

Luckily, I get enough stick time with students and intro rides. Just the long 2 or 3 hour drone along on victor airways rides that I've been hand flying that I'm pretty sure will be a lot less tiring?
Click to expand...

For sure less tiring! My buddy and I fly our planes together on plenty of long XC trips and he is always more tired then I am especially in IMC. He is whining like a little girl sometimes after a long flight. lol

Around town I rarely use the AP and I do a lot of around town flying.

That is my buddy's Cherokee in my signature picture.
 
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Well...finally got the last bits and pieces primed, painted, strung together, installed, tightened, waxed, vacuumed, fitted...
for now, (except for the wheel pants being properly color coordinated), 79975 is finished.

Fuzzy skins of sheep installed in the front (giving it that 1950's custom car vibe...hey, maybe some fuzzy dice?):

fuzzy.jpg

"Beauty" shot, pulled out and onto the taxiway so we can take her up for a ride...note the new hoerner wingtips versus the excessively droopy ones that were on there...LED position lights (trust me, they're there), too.

79975_done.jpg

Best part? Watching a pile of videos on how the GFC500 and the G5s work...and getting some initial buttonology experience with them...but seeing that the top status line is all green...and the climbed at he IAS I set to the altitude I preselected and proceeded on course...holy autopilot, batman! It works!

autopilot_engaged.jpg

So...where did we go? Just a short 100 mile adventure around the central NJ area:

testflight.jpg

Pretty well chuffed, I'll admit. As of now...I think it was well worth the investment (which included some ash and trash accessories: Dual HUD, new skins of sheep, instrument overhaul, skinned knuckles, new wingtips, LEDs, panel marking stickers, and personal wrench time to help, and an annual inspection and IFR signoff...) figure it came out, in round numbers, to what an annual would have cost if the O320 needed an overhaul.

But, I now have a pretty capable, with limitations, 172K with a 2 axis digital autopilot, GPSS, VLOC, altitude preselect and hold, approach capable airplane. That's got to count for something, no?

See you up there!
 
Sounds like you picked up the airplane from the avionics shop and everything worked like it was supposed to right off the bat. If that’s true, you definitely owe the shop a shout-out!
 
BryanAV8R said:
Big day today. FINALLY, the IA/avionics guy signed off the paperwork, configured the boxen to play nice, annual signed off, W&B done...even installed new sheepskin seat covers (well, that had nothing to do with the avionics, but they look nice...).

THOROUGH pre-flight. The ride had been pretty much spread around the hangar floor since March. Invasive surgery and wires pulled around and through all sorts of holes and such. Servos mounted...the lot. Pays to spend the extra time.

Started her up. Avionics came alive. Avionics guy noted that the plane was MPH, not KTS...and made the adjustment in the G5 AI to track the mechanical ASI. And, the compass was swung and card filled out. Nice.

Run up uneventful...took to the rwy...pressed TO/GA button, FD went to 9 degrees nose up. Take off...climb at Vy...800 agl...hit AP on...heading...altitude cranked up to 2K.

Boring. Plane turned on course, climb at Vy and leveled off at 2K. Entered in some waypoints in the 430W...switched GFC to NAV....plane turned on course...holding 2K +/- 10 or so feet (it was bumpy today in NJ...but the GFC seemed to smooth out (or at least respond) the little annoyances.) 39N-KTTN-39N-KBLM-SBJ-DFRTZ-39N. 1.1 hr on the hobbs. It was the most uneventful flight. If I didn't have to work this afternoon...I would have planned a ride up to KEWB and asked my buddy to meet at the restaurant there. Maybe this weekend.

Now, to get my IPC going with some good equipment in the plane finally...

View attachment 98704
Click to expand...
Sounds amazing! The hardest part of most flights from now on will probably keeping focused and resisting the urge to pull out a novel. ;)
 
Congrats! Lookin’ good.

Got shoulder harnesses (tucked away up above)?
 
OneCharlieTango said:
Sounds like you picked up the airplane from the avionics shop and everything worked like it was supposed to right off the bat. If that’s true, you definitely owe the shop a shout-out!
Click to expand...

Well...I did some of the grunt work (designing the panels and contracting for their construction, hanging trays, building the harness for the yoke control buttons, etc), but the majority of the work was done at Princeton Airport in NJ. They've been a garmin dealer since the early days, and know how/what to do to make the install come out right.
 
I really like our G5s. In hindsight the biggest gain in value of them over the GI275 was we bought all the G5s and installed them ourselves, so contacted labor cost was basically 91.411 and 91.413 inspections by a local repair station.

We have around 270 hours on them now, split between two airplanes.

I would do it all over again if I had to.
 
bnt83 said:
I really like our G5s. In hindsight the biggest gain in value of them over the GI275 was we bought all the G5s and installed them ourselves, so contacted labor cost was basically 91.411 and 91.413 inspections by a local repair station.

We have around 270 hours on them now, split between two airplanes.

I would do it all over again if I had to.
Click to expand...

That, plus the fact that the failure-prone vacuum system, pump, assorted fittings, gauges, regulators, filters, and mechanical gyros are now sitting in a box in my hangar (the shop said "I've got bins full of these things...don't need more taking up space...) with the associated useful load I get back...yeah, only 15 lbs or so, but still...
 
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