MitchS

@co2bruce very true! Granted it was busy for those of us in the middle of cornfields!

I personally would be on the lookout for a new shop. I'm sadly not nearby where I could give you a pointer on a shop, but that level of increase seems nuts. Best of luck!

Looks like you might be a local guy here....I'd echo the comments by Carusoam in a lot of ways...The usage will really be the decider.

I have a 430W with the GDL-88 providing traffic information to it, and I have to say I'm quite happy with it. And LPV approaches for the win! Traffic display on the 430W is pretty nice too....it was busy here on Saturday since it was nice out! (Here's a nap of the display)

I'll have to get a bit creative...the darn curved Mooney windows

I'm going to have to give that a shot! Would be great to have something. (I have no clue of the prior owner removed mine, or what....but there is nothing resembling a mount for a visor at all....)

That looks awesome! I see you opted to do the full panel metal, it looks so much cleaner that way. I also like how you have the engine monitor stuff nice and close! You are correct, that darn metal rail got in the way for both the Attitude Indicator as well as the Turn Coordinator, thus their lower position.

Its weird, I don't have any mounts or anything that would make it look like there was a place for them....

You actually bring up a very valid point....your thought process was EXACTLY what I went through in my mind! Something that could be very important to add to this discussion. A bit of a back story, my Mooney is a 1968 with just under 3,800 TTAF, and 510 SMOH and 510 SNEW on the 3 Blade Prop. She flies like a champ and burns about 9.5 Gal/hour as we all know. I picked it up for a decent price just under 2 year ago, and so far *knock on wood* it hasn't been too bad. Worst expense so far was a failed DG that needed replaced and the poor Vaccum regulator from 1968 gave out on me last summer. (Less than $1600 combined) As I started working on my IFR training a few thoughts crossed my mind. I loved the Mooney, from the first day I flew it. But the long-haul trips got hard to manage without auto-pilot. No heading bug etc also made it fun to remember proper paths. (Granted I learned a LOT doing my IFR training BEFORE the panel upgrades.) But I started to look at options and there were two decisions. 1.) Upgrade my Mooney, make it mine, and know that I'm never going to get it back. 2.) Find something new and ditch the mooney. So I set out, looking at #2 first. The used market, for a M20C, without auto-pilot etc was horrible. I don't necessarily have the resources to "keep it" while I buy a new plane. So I talked with a few people that take trades and DAMN did they low-ball me. Then I started to compile the list of what I wanted. At a minimum I set myself to need, Auto Pilot, Glass Panel, ADS-In/Out with Traffic/Weather displays, XM Radio/Weather. (Love it from my 496), and less than 750 SMOH. I didn't want to jump up huge in fuel consumption either as then my per-hour costs go through the roof as all of my local places are quite high with 100LL. The SMOH limit was to help "plan" for an overhaul of the engine if needed. All of this put me into the $145,000+ range, with "trade" offers of less than $36k for my Mooney. That's a lot of Money. I do fly about 100 hours a year or so, but not much more. I then turned to insurance, and some of the birds I was looking at would have doubled or tripled my insurance due to the costs etc. I also started to look at the annual costs. My M20C with the Johnson Bar Gear and Hydraulic flaps gets the job done, and my annual was a very tidy little process. Looking at a new plane that would have gone up. Compare that to option #1 Well, if I do the upgrades, I know the history of my plane. I've learned its quirks, I know what it likes and what sounds normal. I also know the history of it and how much the prior owner cared for it. With a low time Engine I'm already well on my way of saving for the future overhauls etc. Putting in the panel, was ~ $50K out the door, putting my total "buy price" for the Mooney to around $100k. Is it worth 100k? Nope, never will be. But every aircraft is going to have to get ADS-B eventually and if you take care of your plane it will still go there. For me, financially it was easier to swing an add to the current plane in cash, rather than making a sizable increase in airplane payment. I know the upcoming things, the AD's that have been complied with, etc. In the end, yup, I have more money into my Mooney than I ever will get back out of it. But, just like boats and other things its the other value that you get out of it. Now...seriously this weather needs to cooperate so I can fly it! (50+ kts winds today )

PM Sent

Mine is a 1968 I'll keep digging!

Yup, waiting for a reply! Looks to be $795 for the unlock card!

Just heard from Aspen....software update slated for end of March with GDL-88 support

here is a night shot, it looks way more "distracting" than it is. Readable, without causing too much distraction with extra light at night. I have found it is better at night to NOT use Synthetic Vision though as the background color is darker on the other screens.

I played with one at the avionics shop, I think I'm pretty safe. I'd love it...but I like the fact that I have the 496 & the 430W...and still not sure about my thoughts with touchscreen... Oh, and I'm out of airplane upgrade budget for the next....well long time! Yes, I've played with it a bit. The calibration flight was fun, not sure how I would have done it without Auto-Pilot. The indications seem to be spot on, with a good bit of warning before as well.