Here's the center dash now;
Collins 250 audio panel
KY-97A Com1
Narco MK-12A Com2
King KT76A transponder
Panel blank
wing leveller?
My goal is not to convert to glass and spend $$$$ but to simply shoot for bang for buck with a simple, cost effective solution. I trained in a Archer II with a 430 Garmin so there's my comfort zone.
That's quite a museum you have there!
My first question: How long do you plan to keep this plane? If you think this is something you're going to use for a couple of years and then move on to something else, then throw a SkyBeacon on it for ADS-B Out and be done with it.
If this is your "forever plane", you're likely better off putting more into it now and having something that's both nice and will last a good long time.
I wouldn't necessarily count on anything that's in there lasting a long time. Eventually, electrolytic capacitors will let go, the acid in them will eat the boards, and you'll have some very expensive door stops. If you're going to keep the KY97A for a long time, send it to someone who knows what they're doing to have all of those capacitors replaced. This will cost in the high three-figure range. Not bad, but worth considering whether a newer com radio like a GTR 225 would be a better investment, especially since you can't get replacement plasma displays for those old King radios any more.
I concur with those who are telling you not to install a Garmin 430. Those are 21 years old now and are likely VERY close to being unsupportable should something go wrong. In addition, the installation cost for a GPS is quite large so it doesn't make sense to freshly install something that's that old and will need replacement (and thus another bunch of $$$ for installation) sooner rather than later. Put in something new that will last and be supported for a long time.
Luckily, Garmin has come out with some nice and relatively economical new gear: The GPS 175, GNC 355, and GNX 375. GPS-wise they're all pretty much the same, the GNC includes a com radio and the GNX includes an ADS-B in/out transponder. I think, since you want/need a GPS, a transponder, and a radio, your best bet would be to combine the GNX 375 with the GTR 225 to check all of those boxes with new gear at the best price.
Now, there's the issue of the nav radio and the other com. Do you ever expect to get instrument rated and/or use VOR navigation? If not, you may want to just do dual GTR 225s.
For the audio panel, Garmin has a few offerings but you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better than PS Engineering's line. If you're looking to stay on the economical side of things, you may want to just put in their PAR 200B, which is a combination audio panel and com radio, as your other radio.
And when you are installing your WAAS GPS, you will find you need to replace the CDI, too. (The CDI is always a "surprise" cost for some reason, but it is required for IFR.) The cost of the replacement CDI might start to tilt your thoughts toward putting in at least one G5 in the first go-round. Building an IFR panel is really hard to do piecemeal. One thing seems to lead to another.
That's for sure... But this isn't necessarily IFR, at least for now.
Wow Guys, Thanx for the great responses! I'll need time to look over your suggestions and research the equipment. However, at this point I'm not IFR certified and will be flying VFR for quite some time so not looking to "IFR cert" the plane. Just want to upgrade the 53 year instruments so even 20yr old technology would be great leap for me! With that said it would be foolish to pay good money for an old Garmin 430 if I can get something newer, better for just a few more $$. So if you have more suggestions on a modest VFR setup that I can keep under $12k I'd appreciate it. If really needed I could go a few grand more but just want to get my dash out of the stone age.
As far as cross-country I'm still working, learning, building hours, & getting comfortable with small day trips. In the next year or two will be looking to go on some 1000 mile trips to visit family.
And that last bit is another thing that makes me think you might regret not equipping things with future IFR flight in mind - At least, not putting in something now that you'll want to tear out later when you decide to get instrument rated.
Long trips tend to mean weather at some point along the way, and unless you're flying strictly in mountainous/desert areas you're likely to find that eventually you get in a situation where you're stuck on the ground at BFE Podunk Municipal Airport on a day that'd be a very easily flyable one if you and your plane were instrument rated/capable. But, I'll come back to that.
Another thing you're likely to want after that first 1,000 mile trip is an autopilot... But more on that later.
Good info.
I fly out of KFFZ which is a class-D airspace so do need the ADSB. I originally thought a wing tip or tail ADSB would be the way to go but it was pointed out to me that if I go in dash I could also upgrade the transponder for not much more $$ so seemed a better choice? I'm old school and prefer analog needles to digital readouts. I appreciate the KISS (Keep it Simple Silly) philosophy and would rather glance at the gauge's needle position then having to stop and actually read numbers off a gauge (same thing we did back in my racing [pit crew] days). I will research the audio and see what I can find.
The only trouble with the SkyBeacon/TailBeacon is that you have to keep your existing transponder, so if that craps out you're kinda back to square one. It's a good solution for those that already had something like a Garmin GTX 327 with a lot of life left in it and no desire for traffic/weather on their panel (keeping it on the iPad only). It's not so good for someone with an ancient transponder that may quit next week.
I did purchase an iPad mini, Stratux, and Fore-flight so I'd have backup Nav and ADSB in. I feel much more comfortable now being able to detect other planes around me. I'm not really an Apple/Mac/iStuff fan but since Fore-flight seemed to capture most the market share decided to give it a try. Currently I struggle with the way the GPS tracks (probably a setting) and have to keep centering the plane in the view.
Tap the little "target" in the upper right corner of the screen. As long as that's blue, it will keep your plane centered. There's an option in the settings (I think it's "auto-center deactivate") that can keep it centered unless you hit the target again to "unlock" it, but I find that I'd rather the map respond when I touch to pan or pinch to zoom rather than having to manually deactivate auto-centering.
Other than that, why do you struggle with the way the GPS tracks? Is it not showing you in the correct position? I've heard many people have trouble with the GPS on the Stratux (Not the factory-built StratuS, but the homebuilt StratuX). You can tap any of the "instruments" in the "HUD" at the bottom and choose to put your GPS accuracy there so that you can at least figure out what's going on.
I also purchased the Synthetic Vision as a poor man's IFR if I ever got into a situation were VFR was lost. I know it's not a legal system but if it gets me down safely we can discuss that. hee hee hee But, I have not been able to use the synthetic vision as it keeps displaying upside down? I've looked for settings, rotated the iPad, etc... Just fuels my distaste for iStuff.
It's not getting your attitude from the iPad, that would be coming from the Stratux... So that's what you need to turn over. You may also need to hit the Calibrate button in the synthetic vision to tell it where straight and level is.
OK, now to the bottom line! If you're *absolutely* sure that you're NEVER going to become instrument rated, you're never going to want an autopilot, and you don't care that it might be harder to sell a plane that doesn't have an IFR-capable panel when you go to sell the plane, here's what I'd do:
1) Garmin GNX-375. This gives you a new transponder, ADS-B in and out, and a very nice color moving map GPS as well as passing traffic, weather, and attitude through to your iPad (so you can sell the Stratux). $7,995 retail.
2) PS Engineering PAR-200B. This gives you both an audio panel and a com radio. $3495 retail.
3) Garmin GTR-200. This is your #2 com radio. $2,095 retail.
This checks all your boxes, and gets all the old stuff out of your panel. Figure retail + 60% for installed cost and you're looking at almost $22K, but you'll never have to do another upgrade if you never get instrument rated and never want an autopilot.
Now, that said, I think after using your plane a bit you're going to find that you want to get an instrument rating and have an airplane so equipped. You'll probably also want a working two-axis autopilot. With that in mind, I'd do this now:
1) Garmin GNX-375 GPS+ ADS-B Out. ($7995)
2) PS Engineering PAR-200B to replace the Collins audio and the Narco nav/com. ($3495)
Using retail + 60%, that puts you a bit over $18K for now but gives you mostly new stuff and some nice capability for something that's in your extended budget but will last a good long time. Keep the KY-97 for the moment.
When your DG dies or needs overhaul, or when you decide to get the instrument rating, whichever comes first:
1) Replace the DG with a G5 HSI, which will both serve as the directional and course deviation indicators and let you get the GNX-375 installation certified for IFR ($2599 retail, though maybe >60% for install on this one)
When the KY-97 dies, or when you decide to get that instrument rating, whichever comes first:
1) Replace the KY-97 with a Garmin GNC 255 Nav/Com ($4495). This replaces your last old radio, gives you VOR and ILS capability when paired with the G5 HSI.
Really, the best plan would be to do those previous two together at the same time, but not required.
When you decide that you're sick of hand flying those 1,000-nm trips:
1) Garmin G5 AI ($2299)
2) Garmin GFC 500 autopilot with trim ($8995)
At the end of it all, you'll have a very nice capable traveling airplane, and being able to do a piece of this at a time will hopefully keep you from breaking the bank.
