PA-28 Avionics Upgraded!

[Bman.]

...sigh, wrong sub-forum.

It was a long time coming and there is still a lot of panel work to be done but the heart is done! I know this is nothing new but I am not getting much appreciation traction with my wife.

I am 20 lbs lighter both in the plane and wallet. Yes, I know I should at least order a new sticker kit. Ill go do that now.

 

[Timbeck2]

I like it!

 

[Fracpilot]

I putting the exact same equipment in my 310 right now. Congrats on the upgrade. Can’t wait to get mine back.


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[NordicDave]

Very nice! Didn’t over spend either. IMHO setups like this will yield a high rate of return at sale time, and provide priceless enjoyment in the present.

Interesting tracking resale values. There’s a pretty significant price improvement for planes with modern GPS/Comm, ADS-B w/ certified In/Out. Bonus for vacuum system removal.

2 friends of mine who are brokers are telling me the marketplace is deducting for old avionics. ROI needs to consider both the uplift in price for new and the downgrade in resale combined for a total number. When it was explained to me it made sense.

 

[bradg33]

I've got a very similar setup in my Twin Bonanza. Absolutely love it.

 

[Rgbeard]

Similar here. Next month all of my old Collins gear gets ripped out in something very similar to this goes in. Thank you for sharing.

 

[alfadog]

Is that a GTN 650 over a GNC 255? I wonder if I might prefer redundancy in the GPS over redundancy in the VHF nav radio, i.e. a GTN 650 over a GNC 355. Thoughts?

 

[mryan75]

...sigh, wrong sub-forum.

It was a long time coming and there is still a lot of panel work to be done but the heart is done! I know this is nothing new but I am not getting much appreciation traction with my wife.

I am 20 lbs lighter both in the plane and wallet. Yes, I know I should at least order a new sticker kit. Ill go do that now.

I have the exact same stack in my Cherokee, except for the transponder. Went with Stratus. You'll like it. Great upgrades.

 

[Bman.]

It's kind of weird to spend almost more than what the plane was worth but the options are to clean-up, update component and keep flying or park the plane and watch is fall into the earth. I couldn't let the latter happen so it's easy come, easy go with the money. I waffled on a few of the options like dual G5s and the GNC 355 versus GNC 255. I originally thought the dual G5s would allow the vacuum system to be hauled off but come to find out the original AI drives the auto-pilot so it remains in the plane. A decent back-up I suppose just more maintenance. I opted for the second NAV/COM for the the simple fact that I would have a second source for land base navigation should the GPS system go down. Should the GPS go on the fritz, I figured I would want other approach options versus RNAV.... and it was several $K cheaper. This ultimately allows for dual G5s, new tach and chronometer.

I want to go flying more right now just to fiddle with it all.

 

[alfadog]

Can't fault your selection and the 355 is certainly more expensive. Just that the odds of both the GPS system as a whole going down or going down locally at the same time that you lose your VFR nav radio is infinitesimal in my mind compared to the possibility of your solo GPS unit going on the fritz. If you lose the 650 during an ILS or localizer approach, you can always declare an emergency (or not) and redo the approach on the other GPS.

 

[Chris Ellington]

Nice upgrade, I've got an older 64' PA28-140 I'm in progress of installing a GPS 175 WAAS touchscreen and single indicator, but if I had a complete do-over of new components (and a larger budget), I'd probably have exactly the same setup you have gone with, or very similar I hope I'm posting pics of mine up in a couple of months.

Good to also see someone going against the negativity of upgrading one of the older somewhat 'entry level' airplanes out in the fleet, As much as it seems easier to justify if you own such upgrades with a Bonanza, Comanche, Cherokee Six, Twin, or higher level type plane, there's plenty of utility added for less expensive airplanes.

 

[frfly172]

Nice

 

[asicer]

Me like. Hopefully the Aerovonics AV-30 will allow you to pull the vacuum out, but who knows if the STC will allow it to be used as back up.

 

[jordane93]

Beautiful!

 

[denverpilot]

Really shows what a game changer the G5 has been in the light GA market. Every panel upgrade here lately has included two of them.

Garmin might be on to something with those. LOL.

Looks great. Nice and functional.

I think Aspen once completely owned and obliterated this market, but sat back and didn’t do anything special after their first product.

 

[lancie00]

Boy am I super jealous. I would LOVE to do that with our Arrow but not until I win the lottery. Very nice!!!

 

[Terry M - 3CK (Chicago)]

What are the actual box numbers on the Garmin stack there and which parts talk to what and what parts are required to meet the ADS B out requirement?

Looks nice!

 

[Bman.]

The stack is like this

GMA-345 (audio)
GTN-650 (gps)
GNC-255 (nav2/comm2)
GMA-345 (transponder)

Dual G5’s replacing the AI and heading indicator.

The GPS talks to G5’s, the transponder and GPS communicate also. You can set the code on either device.

I am just diving in really but so far, slick.


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[Tim Taylor]

Outstanding job!

 

[chemgeek]

Very nice!

I'm in the shop for a couple of G5s. When I'm done, my stack will no longer suck. (no vacuum, that is). Wish I could afford the GTN or IFD unit at this time, and a better #2 NAV/COM, but I'll manage with a 430W. Getting the centralized info on the G5s and GPSS will make a huge difference single pilot IFR. Affordable technology is advancing rapidly for us flib-flyers now. I can still remember my Apollo LORAN unit (it's a paperweight now), and that was pretty nifty.