G5 AI Only Installation Time Question

DwayneSmithUSMC

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DwayneSmithUSMC
Hello all. I just got a quote from an avionics shop for a G5 AI installation where the quoted install time was 10-12 hours. After browsing several forums I've seen many people say the installation for a G5 AI connected to a GNS430W and second G5 was 4-6 hours on average. Did I just get a high quote?

If so, what it be impossible to just install it myself with a friend? We are both mostly competent.

Edit: This is a AI ONLY installation.
 
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Does it require a logbook entry that you or your friend can’t legally make, and if so, who would make the entry?
 
I thinks there’s also a pitot static test that’s supposed to be done after messing with the system.

I could see it taking 10 hours depending on your panel. Every install is different.
 
Hello all. I just got a quote from an avionics shop for a G5 AI installation where the quoted install time was 10-12 hours. After browsing several forums I've seen many people say the installation for a G5 AI connected to a GNS430W and second G5 was 4-6 hours on average. Did I just get a high quote?

If so, what it be impossible to just install it myself with a friend? We are both mostly competent.

Well, some hangars come with fairies, helpful little creatures they are ;)
:D
 
Hello all. I just got a quote from an avionics shop for a G5 AI installation where the quoted install time was 10-12 hours. After browsing several forums I've seen many people say the installation for a G5 AI connected to a GNS430W and second G5 was 4-6 hours on average. Did I just get a high quote?

If so, what it be impossible to just install it myself with a friend? We are both mostly competent.

4 to 6 hours for dual G5s, GAD29B, GMU11? Who is installing them for that? I wouldn’t touch that job for less than 40 hours.

install manual is only 285 pages,if it’s going into a certified airplane you need a knowledgable inspector and oversight to ensure confirming to certified data.

http://static.garmin.com/pumac/190-01112-10_19.pdf
 
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I think for pretty much anything installed on or in an aircraft, the bar of "mostly competent" should be set more than a bit higher. I've been fortunate enough to be permitted to do some avionics work, but ALWAYS under the watchful eye and tutelage of experienced a&p/ia folks. You need one of those.
 
Mine took about 5 hours, but it was the simplest installation with dash antenna. I don’t know if Garmin permits installing them this way anymore, as their requirements changed over the years. 10 hours seems like an overkill for a single G5 as AI without magnetometer or ARINC interface.
 
My buddy, non-A&P, installed mine (non-certified) to replace a dead TruTrak ADI. It took him about 6 hours total, including pinning it to my 430W and rigging the backup battery from the old ADI to work with the G5.
 
Hello all. I just got a quote from an avionics shop for a G5 AI installation where the quoted install time was 10-12 hours. After browsing several forums I've seen many people say the installation for a G5 AI connected to a GNS430W and second G5 was 4-6 hours on average. Did I just get a high quote?

If so, what it be impossible to just install it myself with a friend? We are both mostly competent.

No way a dual G5 install is going in in 4-6 hours. It may take that long just to site, install, and verify correct function of the GMU-11. The G5 installs require quite a bit of custom wiring, configuration, and testing to verify proper function. Installing two at the same time is probably more efficient of labor than doing it one at a time. You can always try for a second quote to see if you can get a better one.
 
Wait, are we talking about only one AI G5, or dual G5’s? The OP is not clear.
 
The inference is that "G5 AI only" means single G5, attitude indicator presentation. I think it's stipulated that an HSI presentation G5 installation is a bit more, due to the remote magnetometer exigencies blowing up the labor portion.
 
4 to 6 hours for dual G5s, GAD29B, GMU11? Who is installing them for that? I wouldn’t touch that job for less than 40 hours.

install manual is only 285 pages,if it’s going into a certified airplane you need a knowledgable inspector and oversight to ensure confirming to certified data.

http://static.garmin.com/pumac/190-01112-10_19.pdf
So you're making an assumption, against what is actually listed in my post, that a GAD29B and GMU11 need to be installed. Those were installed with my DG/HSI. My post says the G5 AI only, therefore I meant the G5 AI only. Thanks for the reply.
 
I think for pretty much anything installed on or in an aircraft, the bar of "mostly competent" should be set more than a bit higher. I've been fortunate enough to be permitted to do some avionics work, but ALWAYS under the watchful eye and tutelage of experienced a&p/ia folks. You need one of those.
Thanks for the reply. I have an A&P/IA who will check over my work. I didn't mention it because it's not something I need to know.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. Between this thread and others I've read, I'm confident that I'll be able to get the installation done in a day.
 
Thanks for the input. I am installing the G5 AI only.
That was my original intent too. $1200 for dissimilar redundancy = good deal. But it turns out that it only took a small effort to pin it out to my 430W via RS232 giving me both AI and HSI. I did not need the GAD29B and GMU11 to get that capability.
 
That was my original intent too. $1200 for dissimilar redundancy = good deal. But it turns out that it only took a small effort to pin it out to my 430W via RS232 giving me both AI and HSI. I did not need the GAD29B and GMU11 to get that capability.

I'm interested in hearing more about how you made that work. Doesn't the G5 require a GAD29 to be approved for IFR HSI use?
 
I'm interested in hearing more about how you made that work. Doesn't the G5 require a GAD29 to be approved for IFR HSI use?
He has an experimental g5, which allows mode toggling between AI and HSI presentation. The certified versions are software locked in the ai or HSI/dg modes respectively. Yai bull***** rules.
 
He has an experimental g5, which allows mode toggling between AI and HSI presentation. The certified versions are software locked in the ai or HSI/dg modes respectively. Yai bull***** rules.
Yes, I can toggle between the two displays. In my case, that's usable by setting the GPS source to the 430WAAS. I did order a Garmin GPS antenna for the G5 off ebay which I'll install on the glare shield so I can also toggle the G5 to its own GPS for track if the 430 goes down. The autopilot already has input from the EFIS (or I can use it standalone for heading/altitude hold) so I don't need to route the G5 to that, nor do I need an additional magnetometer since all I really need it for is track.
 
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Yes, I can toggle between the two displays. In my case, that's usable by setting the GPS source to the 430WAAS. I did order a Garmin GPS antenna for the G5 off ebay which I'll install on the glare shield so I can also toggle the G5 to its own GPS for track if the 430 goes down. The autopilot already has input from the EFIS (or I can use it standalone for heading/altitude hold) so I don't need to route the G5 to that, nor do I need an additional magnetometer since all I really need it for is track.

Your prior post mentioned you don't have a magnetometer feeding into your G5. I assume that means your HSI presentation shows track and not heading? Or is a stand alone G5 capable of acting as a DG when not hooked up to a magnetometer? If your G5 is not capable of showing heading, what are you using in your airplane for magnetic heading info? I'm assuming you're not flying IFR?
 
After browsing several forums I've seen many people say the installation for a G5 AI connected to a GNS430W and second G5 was 4-6 hours on average.

4 to 6 hours for dual G5s, GAD29B, GMU11? Who is installing them for that? I wouldn’t touch that job for less than 40 hours.

So you're making an assumption, against what is actually listed in my post, that a GAD29B and GMU11 need to be installed. Those were installed with my DG/HSI. My post says the G5 AI only, therefore I meant the G5 AI only. Thanks for the reply.

I don't believe he was making any assumptions. When I read what you wrote the first time, I read that as installing two G5s. I think most people read it that way, too. It's not what you meant...the "and" was meant to connect with the 430 not the other G5, but it's ambiguous. Yay, English (and pretty much any language). It's just a misread of that sentence. Not sure why most people seem to read it against how you meant it, but that's the way it seems to click for most readers. It came across as "this much bigger install was only 4-6 hours, so why is my simpler one so much?" rather than "this was about the same as mine, so why a few more hours on mine?".
 
Your prior post mentioned you don't have a magnetometer feeding into your G5. I assume that means your HSI presentation shows track and not heading? Or is a stand alone G5 capable of acting as a DG when not hooked up to a magnetometer? If your G5 is not capable of showing heading, what are you using in your airplane for magnetic heading info? I'm assuming you're not flying IFR?
G5 gives me track and course. Magnetic heading I get through the EFIS from its magnetometer. The two units don't talk to each other. They each only talk to the 430
 
I don't believe he was making any assumptions. When I read what you wrote the first time, I read that as installing two G5s. I think most people read it that way, too. It's not what you meant...the "and" was meant to connect with the 430 not the other G5, but it's ambiguous. Yay, English (and pretty much any language). It's just a misread of that sentence. Not sure why most people seem to read it against how you meant it, but that's the way it seems to click for most readers. It came across as "this much bigger install was only 4-6 hours, so why is my simpler one so much?" rather than "this was about the same as mine, so why a few more hours on mine?".

He had to have been making an assumption because he listed installation of items I didn't ask about. How is that anything if not an assumption. Anyway, thanks. I've made my decision and really don't need any other input. We can easily do the installation ourselves.
 
Some ‘hangar fairies’ are more capable than others. I’ve bumped into a few at my airport, kinda in the so-so category. I don’t think they could handle a G5.
 
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