Friday, April 13, 2012

Facelift

During the week of April 9, Warrior 481 went into the shop for annual inspection and upgrades.  Initially, I wondered if we were going to make it at all.  At 7:30 am Monday morning, we trudged westward to Batavia at 2500' against a 40 knot headwind.  By midday, the large hangar housing Boshart Enterprises and Aircraft Services groaned in surface winds running at 30 knots, gusting to 40.  I spent Monday and Tuesday assisting with the annual, which is always a great, educational, experience.

The primary focus for 2012 was upgrading the panel.  In the 21st century, a KX-170B navcom is the aeronautical equivalent of crow's feet: a sure sign of aging.  With Garmin's venerable GNS-430 recently replaced by the whiz-bang touch screen GTN-650, I was able to get a good deal on a like-new 430W (built this century, no less!).

The annual inspection was complete by midday on Tuesday.  Everything was in good shape and compressions were all (76-78)/80.  The avionics upgrade occurred over a longer timeframe.  When I departed the shop Tuesday afternoon, the panel was still completely gutted right of the primary flight instruments.

"Before" - The panel as it was configured prior to the panel remodel.
When I returned on Friday (Friday the 13th mind you - a rather auspicious day to pick up an airplane from maintenance), it seemed to me as though I had a brand new panel.

"After" - The remodeled panel.

A close up of the radio stack and new CDI.
From the outside, the differences are subtle.  The old communications antenna once mounted over the cockpit is gone, replaced by the GPS/WAAS antenna.  Missing entirely is the superfluous ADF antenna mounting right over the center of the cabin.  A new communications antenna is installed on the belly, occupying the exact footprint of an old Northstar LORAN antenna that hadn't been attached to anything since 1999 (three cheers for no new holes in the airframe!).

Inside, the most obvious change is the replacement of a KX-170B navcom (an early 1970's vintage box several years older than the airplane itself) with a Garmin GNS-430W moving map GPS / navcom.  This gives Warrior 481 and I significantly more navigational capability, including IFR approaches for when I am qualified to perform such things.  The non-functional Piper OEM clock was replaced by a digital Davtron M800 clock and timer.  All avionics were consolidated into the center radio stack where having the transponder within convenient reach is a definite plus.  The GNS-430 is mated to a Garmin GI-106A course deviation indicator (CDI) that bumped the previous #1 CDI, a King KI-209, to the #2 position.  My previous #2 CDI, a sluggish old KI-208, is now relegated to desk ornament status.  The displaced KX-170B is available to me as a backup navcom if the other one dies.  With a static leak repaired under the panel, Warrior 481 traded in her VFR altimeter / transponder certification for an IFR certification.

We are now ready for instrument training.

I flew that evening, acclimating to the new equipment.  The first thing I noticed: after flying with dual KX-170Bs for so long, the bright display of the 430 in the middle of the instrument panel was a little distracting.  A little voice inside my head kept piping up with, "I wonder what it's doing now?".  And, of course, I just had to look.  My only prior flight experience with a 430 was in the Archer I rented while flying in the Rockies, but in that case, NOTHING could distract from the view outside.  I am certain that I will get used to it, but I also know that I have a learning curve ahead of me.  Thank goodness for Garmin's PC-based simulation software - a far less costly way to learn!

13 comments:

  1. Ooohhhhh......I like it! I'm excited for you! You made the best choice possible. I love how the W versions of the 430/530 will notify you when you forget to set something. Good luck with the traing and have fun!

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  2. Very nice upgrade, Chris. Dual Glide Slopes is an added bonus. Well done. Soon to start the IFR training?

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    1. Great question, Ed. As of a couple of hours ago, I have an instructor. I met with him today and I like him a lot. I had slackened off on my studying for the written owing to some uncertainties around (1) actually finding an instructor (everyone wanted me to fly to other airports) and (2) some medical stuff (another story for later). With both issues resolved, I plan to start back at it in earnest with a plan to begin flying around the May/June time frame.

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  3. Panel upgrade looks great! The garmin products are really nice to fly behind, once you learn the chug and plug methods required. There are a few good links for helpful tips and tricks for the 430/530 series equipment, they are worth the time to watch them.

    Best advice, know your 430 inside and out. They can really help with your work load. I hope to get my 530 upgraded to WAAS by the end of the year. Had to put that on hold but now that the Brides health problems are settling down I'll be looking to update that, the transponder and maybe get the radio upgrade.

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    1. I remember you posting your upgrade plan right around the same time I committed with the shop to do this work. It seems like there's always something to do with an old airplane, doesn't it?

      I'm glad to hear that Mary is on the mend - I'm looking forward to reading about more flying adventures from the two of you!

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  4. Though I read this on vacation, I had to wait until I got home to comment...

    LOOKS AWESOME! :)

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    1. Dude! You shouldn't have been reading my blog while on vacation, you should be updating yours with all the awesome pictures I know you took from that 172!

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    2. I know, I know... lots of aviation in a short span. Flying in Hawaii (have video to edit and photos to sort through) and then we've had the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid here in Dayton with 20 B-25s buzzing around the sky this week, then Cubbin' with my friend last night.

      Much to edit and post, little time. Working on it, though!

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    3. I'd say that you've more than made up for your dry spell earlier this year! I saw your pics and the AOPA video on the B-25 gathering and starting kicking myself - I wanted to go to that and completely lost track of it.

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  5. Wow! That looks great with its new panel. What a facelift! The upgraded parts of your aircraft's panel maybe distracting at first or second flight but as time goes on, you will get used to it and you'll enjoy your flight more. Thanks for sharing your new experience with your brand new panel.

    James David teaches people how to buy single engine airplanes & has a passion for the Cessna 170

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