Panel Mods?

EdFred said:
I did my check ride with only two VOR radios, no ADF, and no GPS. I passed...how is that possible? :yikes:
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Easy - one ILS (Precision), one VOR (non-precision), one LOC-BC (non-precision). Or do two VOR approaches - I don't see wording in the PTS that says the two non-precision approaches MUST be of different types.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Looks like it DOES have brakes on the right. What indicates to you that it doesn't?
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In Hennings defense, I thought the same thing when I first saw the picture and asked the question. After getting the picture on my computer and setting it as the background, I could easily see the brake lines behind the right side pedals.

Doc
 
MBDiagMan said:
My flying to date, except for my first six hours in an Aeronca Champ with NO radio, has been in a VFR 150 with a flip flop radio. That would be a nice addition.
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It looks like you have two com radios in this plane - And you can "flip flop" between them with the audio panel. Why spend the money on a flip-flop radio instead?

I can get an overhauled Narco flip flop for pretty cheap. Since the comms are narco, it might be that it would plug into the same connector. I doubt it, but it's a possibility.
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Problem is, as soon as that Narco flip-flop quits working, it's a boat anchor (/paperweight/etc). Since you'll likely need a new tray, connector, etc. you might as well get a KX-155 or something else that's well-supported.
 
Okay, as anyone has been able to tell by reading my posts, I'm a total, IFR Avionics Neophyte. In surfing after reading ASCII's post something dawned on me.

I think that MAYBE the person on another forum that said I needed flip flops had it in mind that the two radios were tuning for the indicators. The indicators I have are NAV only with an OBS and a frequency selector on the indicator face. The Coms are Com only. I don't know this to be the case, but that might be what he's getting at.

I had already thought about the audio panel allowing me to alternate between the two comms much like a flip flop. And actually these museum piece radios have something that I like and that is the bright, white, easy to see freq indications.

Also in reading more about the Audio Panel I'm getting more of an idea of what options are available to me. I saw where the audio panel can monitor my NAV only recievers. I guess this allows me to monitor the morse code identifying the nav aid.

At any rate, I am pleased to hear the general consensus being that with time, patience, practice and study, the poor boy rig I have to work with might suffice.


Again, I have to build XC time before tackling the IR training, so I will cross the bridge when I get to it AND I'll be doing some surveying of that bridge as I'm doing now, in the mean time.

Thanks for so many posts, they are helping alot.

Hope this makes sense,
Doc
 
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Fact of the matter is, you can make nearly anything work for Pt 91 IFR, and for VFR you don't need any of it. There are also people who say you need an autopilot.... All the goodies are about convenience and options, that is what you are buying. I am for the most part a VFR pilot, yet I chose to spend (notice I don't use the term"invest") more to upgrade my panel with a G-500 and a 430W than I paid for the plane because it buys me options for my type of flying which is long range traveling often into unfamiliar places. The 430W gets me vertical guidance GPS approaches which is the primary approach being certified these days, so again, it buys me options. I got spoiled by the situational awareness of an HSI in a previous plane I had and this one didn't have one, in fact it had an old panel that needed attention and the G-500 was not much more than getting an HSI and by the time I overhauled the rest of the instruments and made a new panel to mount them, the price was pretty much a wash. I could have saved a few dollars going with Aspen, but I'm not that fond of them and by the time you get the PFD and MFD, again, the price was a wash. Thing is, I don't need any of it. I used to fly my AgCat around the country with 1 nav/com and a transponder. It's all about what you want and what you can afford.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Again, I have to build XC time before tackling the IR training, so I will cross the bridge when I get to it AND I'll be doing some surveying of that bridge as I'm doing now, in the mean time.
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Use your IFR training to get the additional X/C times. I needed 15+ hours before I started my IFR training. Planning some area flights over 50nm and throwing in different phases of the training allows you to do that. You will also need to plan and fly a x/c as well.

John
 
Why would anybody with a lick of sense fly a 140 in a strong wind?

steingar said:
I bet in a 140 you could fly IFR with a single nav/com with GS. How stressful is it really going to be? You can just about hover one of those things in a strong wind.
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flyingcheesehead said:
It looks like you have two com radios in this plane - And you can "flip flop" between them with the audio panel. Why spend the money on a flip-flop radio instead?



Problem is, as soon as that Narco flip-flop quits working, it's a boat anchor (/paperweight/etc). Since you'll likely need a new tray, connector, etc. you might as well get a KX-155 or something else that's well-supported.
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If the audio panel and two radios don't work out well, I found an inexpensive solution. I don't know if TKM radios are any good, but they evidently cover a niche of providing slide in replacements for old radios. They make a 760 channel flip flop that will literally plug in place of the Narco COM 120. It costs $850. If I decide that a flip flop will be helpful, that sure is an economical solution.

Anyone have experience with TKM products?

Doc
 
I've heard decent things about TKM radios on the airport grapevine, but have no firsthand experience.
 
EdFred said:
I flew a VOR-A, LOC-BC, and an ILS. Three approaches, no GPS, no ADF.

Tim guessed it right.
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I'd be flying the same approaches most likely. The plane I do most of my instrument flying in has the same basic stuff yours did. :goofy:
 
shenanigans said:
Why LOC-BC? What's wrong with just LOC?
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Maybe that's what was available...(guessing it was the BC to the LOC of the ILS) and the examiner didn't want the GS signal/indication being a distraction or a factor....

And here I was thinking he did a radar approach.
 
MBDiagMan said:
If the audio panel and two radios don't work out well, I found an inexpensive solution. I don't know if TKM radios are any good, but they evidently cover a niche of providing slide in replacements for old radios. They make a 760 channel flip flop that will literally plug in place of the Narco COM 120. It costs $850. If I decide that a flip flop will be helpful, that sure is an economical solution.

Anyone have experience with TKM products?
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They're fairly popular because they are a cheap way to upgrade.

I don't have any experience owning them - I did get to fly for a dozen or so hours with them in Mike's airplane (though I believe he had the King-replacement ones, not the Narco-replacement ones). The only thing I didn't like about them was the horizontal flip-flop, since all the radios I normally fly with are vertical flip-flop. But, without a history of using flip-flops, you probably won't have a problem with them.
 
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