Steve W

I feel bad now that I got my instrument rating 15 years ago... Had 2 of the funny things with the lines that go left and right, one of them had the thing that went up and down and there was a third instrument had a pointy bit that just went in circles. It's a wonder I survived.

The difference is you always have a G5(in the certified version, I believe Experimentals can use the G3x Touch as the autopilot computer) so Marauder wanting integration without having to install a G5 isn't going to happen on the GFC500. For the GFC500 the 'autopilot computer' that talks to the servos is the G5.

One thing to note is that the G5 is the GFC500 controller. Sure it has a control panel but all the brains. AHRS, Air Data, etc are all the G5. If you want a GFC500 with the G500Txi you'll still have to install at least one G5. I suspect if there were Aspen integration that it would be the same. The GFC600 is more of the STEC stand-alone autopilot competitor.

Hmm, guess I should have thought of that, my incident crushed part of my exhaust, might have been able to cover part of the upgrade cost. Oh well, already doing too many upgrades.

Looks like the flight I did in my M20J to test up to 17,500 I was doing about 200FPM at 0C, 30.15. Garmin was saying a DA of 19240ft and 128 KTAS once I was level. I did it as a step climb so I didn't really keep track of how long to get up there. I was solo with about 3/4 tanks of fuel.

Well, yea, just get small one the size of an RS-232 cable and you'll be fine. The bigger problem is even the cheap tablets are USB-C now so you need a tiny adapter for that as well. Oh, hey, they do make a direct USB-C to RS-232, that doesn't look too horrible.

You could get a tiny cheap Windows tablet. I had one for Garmin Database updates, but it would work just as well for other things. I finally switched to a cheap 10" Laptop instead so I can use it for other things, the tablet didn't have much other use.

Since this is the thread I've been posting progress pictures to, instead of cluttering up some other thread. I may not know what state(s) my engine is in right now, but my attitude has improved. And yes, that is the only place in the panel I could find to put that battery where it wasn't in the way of controls or inaccessible for routine maintenance.

After shipping it'll probably end up much closer.

I usually buy my totally-not-used-on-aircraft Aluminium from McMaster Carr, good selection, fast shipping.

I'm pretty sure if they had totaled my plane it would have been auctioned right from the tie-down spot that the wrecker dropped it off in.

This might be a start: https://lasar.com/prebuy-check-list/

As part of the repairs to my M20J I'm choosing to move from a 3 blade to a modern 2 blade. Some weight savings and maybe better efficiency. Would have gone with the MT 3 blade but the lead time seemed long. Although now it doesn't look like that would have been a problem.

It's a nice idea, but depending on what you have it may increase the install costs quite a bit. For instance if I just did one G5 HSI with my KAP 150, then I have to have that integrated... and then de-integrated once the GFC500 comes along. If you have nothing at all now then it might make sense since the only added costs would be to get started on each additional piece, and presumably they could pre-wire the stuff for the next phase to reduce the install as they do the previous ones.

I have to expect we'll be seeing more partnerships or maybe even acquisitions in the space. Right now the only provider of what we in IT would call a "full stack solution" is Garmin(full panel solution?) Avidyne has a GPS Navigator, used to have a glass panel, and definitely has the tech for an autopilot, even if they never did ship servos. Aspen has glass but no GPS Navigator. Dynon has glass and an autopilot but also no GPS Navigator. And King, well, whatever. I'm still leaning towards a dual G5 and GFC500... maybe...

I think my EDM 900 will be about 100 hours, or so it seems, 80 for me and 10-20 for my mechanic. I'm running all the wires I can safely do and a few other bits and then handing it off to him for the actual sensor connections and important bits, like touching fuel or oil lines. To me it seems the newer your plane is or the more avionics it has the harder it will be, 80% of the work seems to be figuring out where the safe spots are for the wires and apparently all the empty space behind my panel is already filled with wires. At this time I'm not removing all the wires for the existing cluster gauge or fuel flow, it took me nearly 4 hours just to extract the harness for the old Insight monitor, I'll have that done as part of a full panel change out next year when there's more access since a bunch of other wires will be leaving at the same time. Luckily the old fuel flow has the GPS connections so I can re-use those without needing to access the GPS tray.

Only the cheap ones...

I have a Tern Link P24h, not sold anymore, but there are similar ones. 8 speed rear derailleur, 3 speed hub(and a 12lb front ebike hub+battery on order), but mostly I like that it has full racks so I can load my luggage onto it. Longest I've done was 10 miles, on flat roads. And yes, the photo was taken at one of those fancy FBOs with carpet and toilets that flush.

60lbs, both look like a handful to try and hoist into a plane. The small wheeled folders(like my Tern) do have a little less stability but can be a whole lot smaller folded or at least smaller without pulling wheels and stuff. Of course, if money was no object I'd go get a Bike Friday, stupendously expensive but fully customizable.

Also, in almost all(maybe all?) King autopilot planes the yoke disconnect button also removes power from the trim servo, so the process is press and hold the red button, retrim manually, then turn off the trim switch on the panel and/or pull the AP breaker.

I enjoy the KAP-150(and others) with the yoke disconnect pushbutton that you should never actually use because it's not designed for the current they run through it.

Also realize that California is beginning its fire season, which even if you don't hit any TFRs can cause wide spread smoke and general abysmal conditions, so although the coast is nice, I think I'd also choose the more northern route. Last year I did Denver to the Oregon coast, I found the most useful part of the airplane was a full tank of fuel, which meant when I did need to dodge the thunderstorms that had popped up I could divert as far as I could possibly need.

IFR is an interesting question. Can you actually get an IFR clearance today(or for that matter flight following) without a Mode-C transponder outside of Mode-C rule airspace?

Aspen, G500(TXi), Mythical KI-300, wait for the GFC 500(or other Autopilots) for Mooney. I'm not sure where the "Remove the Vacuum pump and lose the ILS" came from. Without the Attitude indicator the KFC 150 is totally inoperative. I'm waiting for the GFC 500.

There are 2 codes. The call-sign which can be changed by you(depending on the unit) but usually defaults to your tail number. And a 24 bit (6 hex digit) code that is programmed in at install time. For the US the 24 bit code maps 1 to 1 with tail numbers(Enter: your_tail_number mode-s into google to see it). The only way to get rid of that transmission is to turn off your transponder or use a UAT unit with anonymous mode.