Which aircraft Part III (help me design IFR panel)

Richard

Richard

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So far, it's 2-0 in favor of the Beech. Help me design my perfect IFR panel. What factors should be considered before attempting to establish a budget?

Ron mentioned ease of use. That's one.

Familiarity with specific instruments. That's two.

Reliability of supporting systems. That's three.

Practical installation requirements. Would the airframe/cockpit layout limit or prohibit certain instuments? EX: is it cost prohibitive to plumb the Beech for IFR? That's four.

Am I making this too hard? I'm thinking I could have MY exact panel and within budget too.
 
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Richard said:
Am I making this too hard? I'm thinking I could have MY exact panel and within budget too.
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I don't know what your exact panel and budget would be, but after flying behind Garmin 430's and King KLN94, and both S-tec and King AP's, I'd like as my minumim dream panel setup:

Standard six pack instrumentation, but with the King 55 slaved HSI replacing the DG. For several reasons, HSI rocks.

As for my minimum dream stack:
  • Modern audio panel: PS or Garmin
  • Garmin IFR GPS/NAVCOM piped to the HSI (480 if I could swing it, 430 at the minimum)
  • King KX155 NAVCOM with loc/gs indicator head (nice to have cross check and redundancy on ILS)
  • King or Garmin digital transponder, I like both equally well.
  • King KAP140 autopilot with altitude hold and pre-select. This AP, like S-Tec, is turn coordinator based, so a dying vac/gyro won't have you banking off.
  • Garmin 396 with charged batteries for in-cockpit mexrad, GPS backup, and power failure navigation.
  • Charged handheld with access to connection to external comm antenna.
Lastly, standby vacuum or dual vacuum pumps.
 
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Beech Musketeer? You could easily sink the equivalent to the purchase price in the plane with new avionics. I'd go with a Garmin 430 and a refurb KX-155 Navcom. An S-Tec 30 autopilot would be nice also. Your up to about $15K - $17K already, although I forget what the S-Tec costs, but it ain't cheap.
 
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Anthony said:
Beech Musketeer? You could easily sink the equivalent to the purchase price in the plane with new avionics.
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In about a year, I'll be ready to decide if I want to continue to club fly, or buy my own, and then what? I've become spoiled by flying behind panels like I described above, so what do I do? Continue to rent these nice planes, although avaiability is not great? Buy something like a $65k Tiger, and then dump a bunch of money into the panel? Or buy a used DA40 with the panel already exactly what I want, but drop $160k+?

Ugh.
 
Anthony said:
Beech Musketeer? You could easily sink the equivalent to the purchase price in the plane with new avionics. I'd go with a Garmin 430 and a refurb KX-155 Navcom. An S-Tec 30 autopilot would be nice also. Your up to about $15K - $17K already, although I forget what the S-Tec costs, but it ain't cheap.
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The STec 30 seems to be decently priced. The STec 50 has a pretty big jump though!
 
Bill Jennings said:
In about a year, I'll be ready to decide if I want to continue to club fly, or buy my own, and then what? I've become spoiled by flying behind panels like I described above, so what do I do? Continue to rent these nice planes, although avaiability is not great? Buy something like a $65k Tiger, and then dump a bunch of money into the panel? Or buy a used DA40 with the panel already exactly what I want, but drop $160k+?

Ugh.
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I would buy the plane already equipped as closely to what you want. In the long run it less expensive than adding all the boxes after you buy. A well equipped late 70's Tiger should be in the $75K - $80K range with updated IFR avionics.
 
Two brand new Michel radios @ $1500 each. These are usually used as slide in replacements, but there's no reason you can't use 'em new. You should be able to find any parts you need to install them used, and cheap. Lots of KX-170s being removed out there! Or you could go with the KX-125s.

A used KLN-89 (they can be found very cheaply) or KLN-94 (much better), or a used GX-60 if you can find one.

A used King KT76A

STEC 30 autopilot, my favorite of the ones I've used.
 
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Anthony said:
I A well equipped late 70's Tiger should be in the $75K - $80K range with updated IFR avionics.
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One with the equipment above? I've seen fairly close, and maybe close is good enough. Then, updrade the last few things as they expire.
 
Bill Jennings said:
One with the equipment above? I've seen fairly close, and maybe close is good enough. Then, updrade the last few things as they expire.
Click to expand...

Darn close, probably not an S-Tec 50 or 396 though.
 
Thanks everyone and Bruce, thanks for the links.

I guess what I'd really like is the standard 6 pack and the 'basic' IFR panel on which I orignally trained. But with upgrades...doesn't have to be a moving map.

While I did say my mission would be Part 91 long x/c keep in mind that I want the biggest bang for my buck WRT the fact I will be using this to build hours towards a Part 135 job. To that end I'd like to be able to demonstrate competency on the type of equipment they use.

Oh, hell...I guess I'll just spill the beans in a new thread....
 
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