I'm midway through my instrument training; and I'm in the middle of having a GNX375 and GI275 (MFD/CDI) installed in my Archer; I had the same layout you describe (I added back a Narco DME previously uninstalled) but after thinking it through, I wanted something besides a pair of 42-year old...
@AA5Bman - what shop did the avionics work for you? I'm pursing a similar setup (GNX355, GI275 sending GPSS to my Autocontrol IIIB); all my shops here in NorCal have all basically advised this would be the first installation like this that they've done, and they have lots of questions about the...
I'm in Northern California. Your estimates (~$40k) are about right. As the day has worn on, I'm pretty sure I'm going to just add a GNX375 and the GI275 CDI; I'll keep my mechanical CDI as an indicator for NAV2 and remove the VOR indicator. I'll keep my gyro AI and DG and leave the autopilot...
I had a talk with another shop nearby today, and it's clear they don't really want to take on this kind of work; they'd all rather just sell and install the new Garmin stuff (which I get). I'm leaning towards just leaving the autopilot alone, and installing a GNX375 and GI275 as CDI/MFD.
Autocontrol IIIB is what I meant, which yes is the Century II one-axis autopilot. A friend had two G5s, GPS175, and a GFC550 installed for around $31k, so that's definitely a consideration. I really prefer the GI275s but at these prices...I'd rather install a GPS175, connect it to the existing...
So I got one quote back from a local shop here in NorCal; to install 2x GI-275s, and a GNX-375, and the necessary relays to connect it to my existing Autoflite IIIB they've quoted me $39,000, before tax. About half of that is labor; full retail pricing on the hardware. This seems high but I'd...
Interesting -- I bet future software updates will fix the "glitch" of not being able to see the heading reciprocal on the HSI. I'm not a fan of how much information they've crammed into the displays (my main goal is to have a GPS navigator talk to my existing autopilot) and I imagine there will...
So it turns out Garmin GI-275's will drive the legacy 2-axis Century/Piper autopilot in my Archer; so I'm getting a local shop to quote me on installing two GI-275's to replace my DG and AI, along with a GNX-375 navigator; that combination will command the autopilot to fly RNAV and LPV...
Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated. I got some time recently in a Stationair with this setup (DG instead of HSI, Garmin 530) and was really impressed with how it flew.
So first off, I'm very aware of the GPS175+G5+G5+GFC500 dream combo; I occasionally get to fly a company Saratoga that has this setup, but with the Garmin 750, and it is awesome; I'm just not ready to drop that kind of money on my personal 1978 Archer II.
I'm looking at taking a slightly less...