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.

Oh yes....there were a few that made that exact "You spent WHAT!!" comment! Totally worth it. For what it's worth, I have it on paper from the installer that the GDL-88 WILL provide traffic/weather to the Aspen, so with a bit of luck, and given their reputation I hope that even if it does require another unlock it will not cost me extra to make it happen. (Granted it could be a pipe dream that it is really true...but I'll live in wonder for a bit yet.) The crazy part about the VOR1 & GPS only signal stuff....two of the shops I talked to first both made that comment....and then the shop I went with started out with "It will be awesome as you can have it all run through." Pretty much won the deal before I even saw the price. If I recall correctly, the reason for the 330ES was to ensure that with the combination of it & the GDL-88 I get the full benefit of ADS-B by not requiring someone else to ping the ground station so that I can receive the full notifications. (Don't quote me on that, I'd need to go find my notes from before.) It was a very interesting discussion, as yes the C will not get much past 10K really. (At least from my one time trying!)

Electrical failure prevention is all about the backup battery, and calculation of the reserve capability of the planes battery itself. So in the case of loss of charging they had to calculate the reserve battery to ensure that with all of the new goodies it would last for the required amount of time. (I think 30 minutes+) and then the Aspen has its own backup battery as well, which has to be tested each year at a minimum. My LED landing light was a big help in those calculations! The master for the Aspen as well is a separate switch from the Avionics Master.

I would love to find a solution for sun-visors for the Mooney....but I cannot seem to find anything. In some places it looks like there was a Rosen solution, but that actually doesn't seem to be the case. Anyone have any luck?

Looking at the logbooks from when the prior owner did a gear up in my Mooney it was about 3.5-4 months from the day it had the GU to the day it was signed off as ready to roll again. (Must have been really lucky on parts!)

Man, I which AVGas was that cheap in my neck of the woods!

I love my GDL-88 as well, one of the best parts of my upgrades recently! Safe flying!

This past November & December I did an extensive upgrade to my M20C and thought I'd share my experience here for those that might be curious or thinking about upgrading their aircraft. The Before Before the upgrade I had a very traditional 6-pack configuration, no HSI, and my DG didn't have a heading bug. Made for some fun IFR work getting my training done. I did have a Gamin CDI and my backup. I had a 430W, and a panel mounted Garmin 496. I also have the factory Wing Leveler, there ot help a bit. My goals were simple, I loved the mooney, but I wanted a setup that had an easier workflow for the IFR scan, Auto-Pilot for those long trips, and to comply with ADS-B so I was future proofed. The Upgrades After a lot of research, and getting quotes from 4 different avionics shops, I finally settled on the upgrades that were to be done. New Pilot Side Panel Aspen Evolution 1000 Pro Plus (With Synthetic Vision & AOA) Garmin GTX330ES Transponder Garmin GDL-88 S-Tec System 30 Auto Pilot Removal of: Wing Leveler, Narco Transponder, old DG, Old VSI, Old Turn & Bank, & GI-106A One of the biggest things that I found different when getting the quotes was how the different shops were going to tie everything together. Some had different ideas all along...and the final decision to go with the company I did was their desire to make EVERYTHING work as it should. Some of the key differences & setups that this vendor did for me. The Aspen has full support for Nav1, Nav2, and GPS. Where many shops were only going to have Nav1 & GPS. Weather & Traffic data from the GDL-88 is displayed on the 430W (Will go to the Aspen, as soon as aspen gives details on how they are to do it. at no extra cost to me, wires already ran.) Auto-pilot disconnect is in place of the old disable button for the Wing Leveler. While they were in there they fixed a bunch of oddities, and even wired up the dimmers for some of my stuff that wasn't working/lighted before. Flying Now I've only got about 6-8 hours in on the new setup due to the lovey Iowa winter....and travel schedules. But it has been amazing so far. Auto-pilot and the Traffic displays are by far the best additions. With the GDL-88 & Transponder I see all kinds of traffic, including those without ADS-B, it really helps with situational awareness at times. The Aspen is great as well, still getting used to the amazing display. Just thought I'd share. Here are a few pictures, during & after the upgrades. Anyone thinking about this, or that might have questions feel free to ask away.

I hate to jump in on the same things that everyone else is staying, but I too would go a different route here. I just finished my IFR training in November, before I did the big panel upgrade to the Mooney and the GPS stuff is invaluable. Additionally VOR's, NDB, and other equipment is being phased out by the FAA. (http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/November/24/FAA-begins-decommissioning-VORs as just one example of detail.) I did a big panel upgrade in November/December and I have to stay that ADS-B and GPS stuff is where the best long-term investment is for an aircraft. At least in my opinion. My 1968C is now just a dream to fly, and the GPS/NavCom combinations make for efficient work in the cockpit.

I am another one that sets the fuel as part of the pre-flight. I still pull the drain on both sides, but I make sure that I leave it at the proper tank before I sit down. One funny thing in the checklist that came with my plane was a warning about "Do not change fuel selector just before takeoff". I found that one interesting.

I am not sure what everyone else here will say. But my plane had a gear up landing in 2005, and I'm not at all concerned. The engine was overhauled and it got a nice new three blade prop out of the deal. Now I have a 1968 Mooney with about 500 SMOH and 500 SNEW on the prop. The key is that the repairs were done well etc. If you are looking to finance it will impact the value a bit for a few years. In my cause I bought in 2014, and the bank dinged it about $5,000 in their value ,but now, since it has been 10 years they are back to not caring about it! Just do a good pre-buy!