mshafer
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- Jan 8, 2013
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Just went thru an almost 2 month avionics upgrade on my 1984 PA32R-301T (N4328B). The plane was equipped with a King 525 compass system, vacuum attitude meter, 2 Garmin 430W GPS units, Garmin audio panel, Garmin MX-20 with old type (not working) WSI weather, second glide slope indicator, old RYAN passive TCAD, a JPI 700 engine monitor and a STEC 60-2 autopilot (3 axis) with altitude pre-selector.
I put in the avionics shop at TRM Avionics. They fabricated a new aluminum instrument panel and we installed a new Aspen Avionics 2500 deck which is the three tube unit with 2 PFD's and 1 MFD and I opted for synthetic vision. This unit included the external lithium ion battery for the second PFD which allows me to eliminate all the old steam gauges except a backup attitude. We re-installed the vacuum attitude meter as a standby to the right of the Aspen deck. We re-installed the Garmin 430W units and the Garmin audio panel. We upgraded the old RYAN passive TCAD to the Avidyne 600 active TCAS, installed the Aspen XM weather link and installed a WX-500 stromscope. We upgraded the JPI700 engine monitor to the new JPI EDM-830 with fuel flow, 6 EGT, 6 CHT, oil pressure, oil temperature, TIT, OAT, % horsepower, etc. They re-installed the altimeter, VSI, and turn & bank on the co-pilots side and re-installed the STEC 60-2 and Altitude pre-select to the left of the Aspen deck in perfect reach.
I had some initial issues with the Autopilot and the Aspen units. The Autopilot would not hold altitude at all nor would the vertical speed work. Also, the Aspens would not display the XM weather correctly. The Autopilot issue was a hidden broken wire to the pressure transducer. The Aspen issue was software related and was fixed.
The learning curve on the Aspen's is VERY steep. I bought a ground power unit and spent almost 10 hours in the plane on the ground teaching myself the Aspen operation. The reason for this steep curve is the complexity and features of the Aspen units. There was also a learning curve on the JPI EDM-830 engine instrument and required horsepower and fuel flow calibrations to be done by the pilot.
The Aspens are a work of art. Once I got past the complexity, they became intuitive to use, it is obvious they spent alot of money designing the software and it was written from a pilots perspective. The terrain feature is easy to read and you can set the level of warnings. The weather (XM) is very good and I can get TAF, Echo tops, METARS, SIGMETS, AIRMETS, etc. The traffic display is extremely well written. You can set it up to display the targets on any of the display screens including the synthetic vision on the main PFD. When a targets get within 1 mile and within 500 feet, you get an audio traffic alert on the headsets and speaker telling you traffic, bearing and altitude. The Aspen link to the Autopilot is done by placing the Autopilot in heading mode and placing the Aspen in GPSS mode. The aspen handles the GPSS steering. You can switch it to bug mode and fly from the heading bug on the Aspens. The NAV, APR, REV, etc works as before driven from the Garmin 430W, either GPS or VOR-Localizer depending on what you select on the Garmin unit.
The Aspen's include geo-referenced airport charts including taxi-ways. You can use Jeppesen or Seattle Avions for the chart service.
Observations after 30 or so hours flying this deck in VFR and IFR conditions:
The Aspens give you more information than you can process. I have dumbed down my Aspens to de-clutter the displays and have them where I want them. Once you get it like you like, there isn't much workload during flight to make the Aspens function.
The Avidyne TCAS is VERY, VERY accurate. It shows you a target, that plane is there. Once you use one of these, you quickly realize how many airplanes that had got close to you that you never saw. I have yet to get a false target. Flying IFR, I know about the traffic long before ATC tells me about it. What a safety feature.
The XM weather on the Aspens is for strategic planning ONLY. The data age varies widely and the Aspens currently do NOT put the radar images in motion. Leaves you to guess the direction the weather is moving. You try to pick thru convective with the XM images, you WILL DIE. The Stormscope lightning images are more reliable for convective activity positions than the XM. I am hopeful Aspen adds motion and the ADS-B weather gets going in more areas.
The Chartview function is very nice. If you are at an unfamiliar airport and taxi-ing, it will show you exactly where you are and you can see where to go. On an approach, especially a non vectored GPS approach, it shows you exactly your position on the procedure..
The EDM-830 is a nice addition. The displays are graphic and numerical in color and you can quickly get a picture of your engines condition, leaning assistance, etc. Oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel flow, TiT, voltage, shock cooling and OAT are displayed on the right side, fulltime. Also it shows fuel remaining, fuel to waypoint, MPG.
In summary, this has been a trying and learning experience. After flying behind steam gauges for years, I can tell you that these Aspens (and the Garmins I suspect) give a superior level of awareness and become intutive to use and read. Worth the dollars... Never get it back out of the plane if ever sold but my Life is worth something, depending on who you ask.
I put in the avionics shop at TRM Avionics. They fabricated a new aluminum instrument panel and we installed a new Aspen Avionics 2500 deck which is the three tube unit with 2 PFD's and 1 MFD and I opted for synthetic vision. This unit included the external lithium ion battery for the second PFD which allows me to eliminate all the old steam gauges except a backup attitude. We re-installed the vacuum attitude meter as a standby to the right of the Aspen deck. We re-installed the Garmin 430W units and the Garmin audio panel. We upgraded the old RYAN passive TCAD to the Avidyne 600 active TCAS, installed the Aspen XM weather link and installed a WX-500 stromscope. We upgraded the JPI700 engine monitor to the new JPI EDM-830 with fuel flow, 6 EGT, 6 CHT, oil pressure, oil temperature, TIT, OAT, % horsepower, etc. They re-installed the altimeter, VSI, and turn & bank on the co-pilots side and re-installed the STEC 60-2 and Altitude pre-select to the left of the Aspen deck in perfect reach.
I had some initial issues with the Autopilot and the Aspen units. The Autopilot would not hold altitude at all nor would the vertical speed work. Also, the Aspens would not display the XM weather correctly. The Autopilot issue was a hidden broken wire to the pressure transducer. The Aspen issue was software related and was fixed.
The learning curve on the Aspen's is VERY steep. I bought a ground power unit and spent almost 10 hours in the plane on the ground teaching myself the Aspen operation. The reason for this steep curve is the complexity and features of the Aspen units. There was also a learning curve on the JPI EDM-830 engine instrument and required horsepower and fuel flow calibrations to be done by the pilot.
The Aspens are a work of art. Once I got past the complexity, they became intuitive to use, it is obvious they spent alot of money designing the software and it was written from a pilots perspective. The terrain feature is easy to read and you can set the level of warnings. The weather (XM) is very good and I can get TAF, Echo tops, METARS, SIGMETS, AIRMETS, etc. The traffic display is extremely well written. You can set it up to display the targets on any of the display screens including the synthetic vision on the main PFD. When a targets get within 1 mile and within 500 feet, you get an audio traffic alert on the headsets and speaker telling you traffic, bearing and altitude. The Aspen link to the Autopilot is done by placing the Autopilot in heading mode and placing the Aspen in GPSS mode. The aspen handles the GPSS steering. You can switch it to bug mode and fly from the heading bug on the Aspens. The NAV, APR, REV, etc works as before driven from the Garmin 430W, either GPS or VOR-Localizer depending on what you select on the Garmin unit.
The Aspen's include geo-referenced airport charts including taxi-ways. You can use Jeppesen or Seattle Avions for the chart service.
Observations after 30 or so hours flying this deck in VFR and IFR conditions:
The Aspens give you more information than you can process. I have dumbed down my Aspens to de-clutter the displays and have them where I want them. Once you get it like you like, there isn't much workload during flight to make the Aspens function.
The Avidyne TCAS is VERY, VERY accurate. It shows you a target, that plane is there. Once you use one of these, you quickly realize how many airplanes that had got close to you that you never saw. I have yet to get a false target. Flying IFR, I know about the traffic long before ATC tells me about it. What a safety feature.
The XM weather on the Aspens is for strategic planning ONLY. The data age varies widely and the Aspens currently do NOT put the radar images in motion. Leaves you to guess the direction the weather is moving. You try to pick thru convective with the XM images, you WILL DIE. The Stormscope lightning images are more reliable for convective activity positions than the XM. I am hopeful Aspen adds motion and the ADS-B weather gets going in more areas.
The Chartview function is very nice. If you are at an unfamiliar airport and taxi-ing, it will show you exactly where you are and you can see where to go. On an approach, especially a non vectored GPS approach, it shows you exactly your position on the procedure..
The EDM-830 is a nice addition. The displays are graphic and numerical in color and you can quickly get a picture of your engines condition, leaning assistance, etc. Oil pressure, oil temperature, fuel flow, TiT, voltage, shock cooling and OAT are displayed on the right side, fulltime. Also it shows fuel remaining, fuel to waypoint, MPG.
In summary, this has been a trying and learning experience. After flying behind steam gauges for years, I can tell you that these Aspens (and the Garmins I suspect) give a superior level of awareness and become intutive to use and read. Worth the dollars... Never get it back out of the plane if ever sold but my Life is worth something, depending on who you ask.
