toto

The only things the Piper has on the Mooney are rudder trim and a nice big accessible baggage door. Everything else on the Mooney is better.

Well, it's driven by a 430, but that radio is also the source for the LOC/GS/VOR. So if I pull the power from the 430, I'd lose the GPS but also the stuff I'm expecting to track.

Yeah I know, but replacing the whole cabin with a single piece of composite must have been a non-trivial engineering effort.

Mooney doesn't ask my advice, but if they had, I'd have told them the weight savings from the new composite fuselage components should have been used to add a BRS option instead of a second door. Whether anyone actually bought the BRS option or not is immaterial - it's about staying in the conversation with people who equate a chute with safety and lack of a chute with danger.

Yeah, they don't have a G5 simulator like they have for the navigators. I'd be happy with an offline app that could be used just to become familiar with the indications (an app that includes a "kill GPS" button).

I was pretty frustrated with the GPS limitation for ground-based navigation sources, but it's worth noting that the GFC500 does revert to pitch mode (if you're tracking an ILS) or heading mode (if you're on something without vertical guidance). So you get a big scary indication in the G5 that you've lost GPS, and the AP remains engaged in pitch mode. (I have a plane that just came out of the shop getting 2xG5+GFC500 installed - I've done a grand total of one flight with the new setup, but the performance of the GFC500 is impressive. I'm still trying to figure out a way to simulate GPS failure without having to physically disconnect something.)

I'm so tired of archaic spinning gyros and PoS circuitry that costs a fortune to keep running. If my Century 2000 shoots craps any time in the near future, I'm going to hand-fly until there's a GFC500 or an approach-approved TruTrak for the M20. The thought of throwing money at repairing 1950's technology makes my skin crawl. Even if the repair is cheaper than installing new, it always feels like kicking the can down the road to the inevitable upgrade.

This topic gets kicked around pretty regularly on MS, and usually comes to the same conclusion. Given the passion for the brand, it sorta makes me wonder whether there is a profitable approach to spending factory time on a build-assist program. Mooney sells a set of plans for a J model, certified X-AB, and everyone who is fantasizing about a brand-new mid-body Mooney can have one. The builder dedicates a few thousand hours of his/her time, the Kerrville plant stays active assisting, and we're seeing many more new M20s join the ranks than we would see otherwise. We could have brand new aircraft and all the cheap experimental avionics we like

They do periodic inspections. My sense is that this isn't more than once or twice a year. I was in this hangar for about 18 years without a single write-up, and about two years ago I started having to do lots of remediation to stay in compliance. I suspect that this has more to do with aggressive enforcement than it has to do with policy change, but I dunno. I've talked several times to the fire chief, and he's been super helpful and knowledgeable. And when I read the policy, there's no doubt that I'm wrong and he's right. Whether I agree with the policy is a separate question

Yep, not even an extension cord for an engine-mounted heater can be plugged in when unattended. And they won't allow anything that *could* be plugged in to remain permanently near the wall outlet. So unplugging the cabinet wasn't enough - I had to physically move it.

I had (have) a small metal insulated cabinet for storing paint, cleaning products, glues, solvents, etc, that don't take kindly to freezing. The cabinet has an electronic timer switch in it, with a cable that runs to the wall outlet. That little switch gave off enough heat continuously to keep the box above freezing (on the coldest days of the winter it might get down to mid-30s in there). Very low-tech solution that was built by my predecessor in the hangar, but very effective (and cheap). The county FD put a stop to all this about two years ago by saying that nothing can ever be plugged continuously into a wall outlet. So I had to physically move the cabinet away from the outlet. And now my Simple Green is frozen inside the unplugged cabinet. But it's a great setup.

The theory is that TruTrak really is taking a different, simpler approach. They are installing all servos in space accessible from the cabin ("under the seats" is how I've heard it described). Which is meant to cut the install time in half. It may end up being that removing legacy AP stuff is the bulk of the work.

TruTrak also seems to have backed away from their earlier claimed 18-hour install time. "There are many factors that go into determining how long an installation will take. Plus, labor rates vary significantly across the country / world. However, in general, an autopilot install in aircraft that hasn’t ever had an autopilot will usually take somewhere between 20 and 30 hours. At 20 to 30 hours that will usually cost between $2000 and $3000." https://trutrakflightsystems.com/pages/faq vs "According to TruTrak, the average install time runs about 18 hours." https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/article/trutrak-expands-vizion-stc/

Did you do the AV-20S or the base AV-20? What was the install time? Any pushback from your shop?

Right. I'm certainly not saying that Garmin can't make money on a certified G3X (hell, I *want* them to sell a certified G3X, now, if not sooner!). I'm just saying that they invested a lot in the TXi series, and unless the market forces them to adapt to a lower-profit-per-unit environment, they're going to sell their flagship display. I really really want Dynon to play the disruptor role effectively, and get some price pressure on Garmin. But until that happens, I'm afraid that Garmin is going to sell as many TXi units as they can (albeit to a different market than Dynon is targeting). And that means we spend $60k on an HDX-equivalent solution (assuming that there's a GFC-500 approval in our future), or we wait for the HDX and see how Garmin responds. I'm just getting to the point where my confidence in that competitive non-TSO glass-panel future is waning.

That may be true. But Garmin spent a lot of time and money on the TSO device, and they charge TSO prices for it. I suspect they want to recoup their investment, and prematurely selling a bunch of G3X units to people who might otherwise have bought TXi toys is leaving money on the table. But if there was a real competitive threat from Dynon, then it would make a lot of sense for Garmin to step into the non-TSO arena. And I suspect that once Dynon is at the gate, Garmin will react with a first-to-market alternative. Probably not called G3X, but something based on the G3X (a la the G5 and GTC500). Anyway, the longer Dynon takes, the longer Garmin has limited incentive to introduce a cheaper alternative to their own TXi stuff.

I keep hoping this is going to happen too. But I'm getting a little discouraged. I was thinking that a certified Skyview HDX for Mooneys would force Garmin's hand, but now it's anyone's guess when there will be a Skyview STC, and Garmin is presumably selling a few TXi units. I'm getting to the point where I'd rather have a G500TXi today than a Skyview in five years. I serious hope it's not that bad - but I'm also getting a little nervous about what will actually be available with the Skyview when it achieves STC. E.g., no AP on day one.

Less functionality at twice the price.

+1 I'll do the AV-20 about 20 seconds after it's certified to replace my factory clock.

I have a PF "standby vacuum system," and it's just a quirky relic from a bygone era. I don't intend ever to use it for anything other than entertainment purposes. (See, kids, we used to have to walk to school, uphill both ways..) Today, you can spend 0.8 AMUs for a Dynon D3 with SV, battery backup, and no install costs. And it actually decreases your workload in an unexpected partial-panel situation, rather than increase it.

I can't possibly imagine that the navdata cards are anything more than commodity CF cards with a commodity CF writer, which you could buy on eBay for about 25 bucks in 1998. But a $200 CF writer is a drop in the bucket compared to the $15k you just spent on the installed box. And having the thing stamped "Jeppesen" or "Garmin" will eliminate annoying insurance or warranty disagreements down the road.

Nope. You had to buy the card writer separately.

These look great! Mooney legal has a terms and conditions page at https://www.mooney.com/legal. I don't see a perfect address for licensing inquiries, but I suspect that emailing privacy@mooney.com would get you to the right people.

Cool, thanks for the clarification. I wrote that without consulting [anything]

To raise another common theme ... It probably depends on your typical mission. The Garmin GFC500 seems likely to receive approval for several M20 models within the calendar year. A GFC500 install with two G5's will likely set you back 25-30k, but offers considerable functionality beyond the factory panel. If you do a lot of IFR, the ability to fly full coupled approaches to minimums is not something you'll have initially with the TruTrak. That said, the TruTrak might be a great alternative if you do primarily VFR flying. Allegedly $7500ish all-in, but with no coupled approaches on day one. (This could change with future amendments to the as-yet nonexistent STC.) As always, think about your typical mission, and whether this is a stepping-stone plane or your "forever" plane.