drjcustis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2016
- Messages
- 129
- Reaction score
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I bought a 1978 Cherokee 6 300 about a year and a half ago and so far have flown about 250 hours. I love the plane. The family loves the plane. It is a low time airframe and a low time engine. It has great exterior and interior. It has passable avionics.
Last year I did the ADS-B upgrade. I'm glad that I did. I have three separate incidences that I believe having ADS-B traffic saved me from certain disaster. I went with the Garmin GTX 345.
I upgraded the JPI 700 to a JPI 830 with wiring for MAP, RPM, OAT, CHT and EGTs giving great ability to monitor and control the engine.
This year I restuffed and recovered the front seats. I just bought a new Garmin GMA 350c audio panel and will have the wiring to all of the jacks redone. I will also have a Garmin Aera 660 installed along with a GDL 51R for Sirius information and entertainment.
We could argue about the timing and the selection of equipment to that point, but that is what I have chosen so far.
I am curious what everyone thinks is the next best step in upgrade. I have a legacy set of round gauges including a back up vacuum pump. At least one partner would like to go to all glass and eliminate the need for a vacuum pump. I have a Garmin 430 WAAS that is used exclusively and an old DME that is used never. I have a legacy autopilot (Century 3B) that lacks altitude control and GPSS but will follow the magenta line from the Garmin very well.
My flying is about 100-150 hours per year with a bit more this past year. 50-60% are trips of about 1-2 hours, 30-40% are 2-4 hour long trips to see family and such and about 10% are longer trips. I just completed a trip from Alabama to Denver and back for a family vacation. Over the summer, I made several trips to the Keys to help out with the hurricane relief efforts. I am comfortable IFR and will regularly fly to 1000 foot ceilings with a few approaches to 400feet.
I feel that the three areas for improvement are 1. Autopilot, 2. Instruments, 3. Avionics.
I've been following very closely the threads on the new autopilots and am looking forward to the new Garmin 500. I have some concerns about the Dynon and TruTrak offerings.
I am an advocate for the Dynon series of glass instruments but am also interested to see Garmin's new 500 TXI series.
Finally, I'd like to get rid of the DME, swap out the 430 for a GTN 750 (or possibly and Avidyne product) and swap the second Comm for a NavComm.
What would you do? Would you continue to piecemeal the approach to upgrades or pull the finance trigger and get the bank to foot the bill for the whole suite? Where would you start?
I'll throw in my thoughts as the discussion proceeds. I've been doing a tremendous amount of reading and have my own preferences.
Thanks.
Last year I did the ADS-B upgrade. I'm glad that I did. I have three separate incidences that I believe having ADS-B traffic saved me from certain disaster. I went with the Garmin GTX 345.
I upgraded the JPI 700 to a JPI 830 with wiring for MAP, RPM, OAT, CHT and EGTs giving great ability to monitor and control the engine.
This year I restuffed and recovered the front seats. I just bought a new Garmin GMA 350c audio panel and will have the wiring to all of the jacks redone. I will also have a Garmin Aera 660 installed along with a GDL 51R for Sirius information and entertainment.
We could argue about the timing and the selection of equipment to that point, but that is what I have chosen so far.
I am curious what everyone thinks is the next best step in upgrade. I have a legacy set of round gauges including a back up vacuum pump. At least one partner would like to go to all glass and eliminate the need for a vacuum pump. I have a Garmin 430 WAAS that is used exclusively and an old DME that is used never. I have a legacy autopilot (Century 3B) that lacks altitude control and GPSS but will follow the magenta line from the Garmin very well.
My flying is about 100-150 hours per year with a bit more this past year. 50-60% are trips of about 1-2 hours, 30-40% are 2-4 hour long trips to see family and such and about 10% are longer trips. I just completed a trip from Alabama to Denver and back for a family vacation. Over the summer, I made several trips to the Keys to help out with the hurricane relief efforts. I am comfortable IFR and will regularly fly to 1000 foot ceilings with a few approaches to 400feet.
I feel that the three areas for improvement are 1. Autopilot, 2. Instruments, 3. Avionics.
I've been following very closely the threads on the new autopilots and am looking forward to the new Garmin 500. I have some concerns about the Dynon and TruTrak offerings.
I am an advocate for the Dynon series of glass instruments but am also interested to see Garmin's new 500 TXI series.
Finally, I'd like to get rid of the DME, swap out the 430 for a GTN 750 (or possibly and Avidyne product) and swap the second Comm for a NavComm.
What would you do? Would you continue to piecemeal the approach to upgrades or pull the finance trigger and get the bank to foot the bill for the whole suite? Where would you start?
I'll throw in my thoughts as the discussion proceeds. I've been doing a tremendous amount of reading and have my own preferences.
Thanks.
