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!