alextstone

I’m curios, what questions were relevant to you? I’ve got one Aspen too and I’m considering upgrading to Max and the second Aspen MFD / backup...

I'm late to the party here but I want to first say welcome! I was in exactly your position late last summer - trying to compare and contrast equipment options on a Bravo vs Ovation ( G1000 or not, TKS etc). I opted for a '95 Bravo with TKS, an Aspen 1000 Pro, GDL-88 (ADS-B in and out), GTX 330ES (Also ADS-B out - Transmits on 1090MHz, allowing for higher altitudes, etc), and GTN 750 (WAAS, of course). It was extremely hard for me to give up on the mystique of the G1000 because my last two airplanes had it (2005 Ovation 2 GX without WAAS and 2007 Acclaim S with WAAS, Synthetic Vision, etc) and I re activated my license after 8 years hiatus in a G1000 equipped Ovation. In hindsight, I am very pleased I made the choice I did. I could not afford another Acclaim Type S and I would not go back to a non-WAAS aircraft for the simple reason that I want the safety margin as was previously mentioned. The Bravo is a great airplane if you fly it correctly. BTW: I purchased mine from Jimmy Garrison at AAA. He seemed to me to be honest and knowledgable. Please do consider having a full annual inspection prior to purchase at a MSC and let them take their time with it. I talked an MSC into squeezing me in on short notice for a pre-buy and annual and it was not a good experience for either of us (and costly for us both, too). I'm by no means an expert on this forum but I can provide you with personal ownership experiences with late model Ovations, Bravos and Acclaims if it helps. Please PM me if I can help.

It appears my previous post was deleted from this thread...may I ask why? Disregard.

That's a good PIREP! Thanks!

I am curious about this too. Mine has an ashtray but not cup holder. I guess priorities were different in '95

Wow! Thank you for sharing this. It reminds me to be more careful and to treat those annoying little cuts and scrapes more seriously.

Congrats!!! Your world just got more interesting!

Thanks for the advice! That is a very nice panel you have!

My current installation of the 700 is on the right side of the panel, no FF (I do have a Shadin however). My first priority is to get data collection of FF so that you (through my Savvy account) can help me tune my GAMI injectors for optimum LOP operation. It so happens that I could fit either an 830 or 900 in the same location as the 700 (with fabrication of one small panel). However, ultimately, I would like to move one or the closer to me as you suggested. That will have to wait though for a time when I am ready to do some other upgrades (Aspen MFD for instance) and I can do without the plane for a while. So, I what I am hoping to do in the meantime is to figure out how to get the best possible engine monitor with the least amount of effort, installation-wise. Then, over time, to connect new features and move the unit. So, I do not mind buying the new harness, holding onto it until the move of the unit on the panel (in a year or so). Any further advice is appreciated...current panel below:

Here's what I found: https://www.jpinstruments.com/FAQCategory/fuel-flow/ Does FF option require a JPI-supplied transducer? If the aircraft already has a three(3) wire type digital transducer, then the FF JPI can piggy back off that existing transducer. If this transducer is getting its power from another gage, then you would cap off the ‘red’ wire on the JPI FF harness and just use the ‘white'(signal) and ‘black'(ground) wires. Program the correct K factor into the JPI. (Shadin, Hoskins, Beech, and Piper have K factors of 84.00 to 85.00)" Follow up question: Does the JPI EDM 900 (0r 930) use the same harness / connectors as that of the JPI EDM 700? I am trying to decide whether to upgrade to the 830, 900 or 930...

Thanks!

Hi @Oldguy, (or anyone else) do you happen to know where I could find the details of the "method to split out from the fuel transducer into a JPI box" aside from calling JPI? Thanks in advance! Alex

Thanks for the great responses! @LANCECASPER, your feedback helped a lot! Did you install a JPI 900 in your plane? Do you have any photos if so? Thanks for the info on the GFC 500 / Aspen interface. My KFC 150 needs a little attention but after hearing from you, I will invest in that instead of a new autopilot.

Now that I have repaired all known deferred mechanical maintenance in my Bravo, I am starting to plan a three phase panel upgrade ( Phase 1: engine monitor (most probably a JPI 900 or 930) and rearrange/eliminate existing instruments Phase 2: second Aspen 1000 Pro and upgrade to MAX Phase 3: possible upgrade to GFC 500 autopilot Here's what how my panel is arranged now: I found a mention in the Mooney Bravo parts catalog for both a blank instrument panel: Does anyone have experience with this generic panel? What are your thoughts as to cost, etc? Also, there is a mention of a REDUCED PANEL CONFIGURATION (see below). What is this? Is it possible to somehow lower the height of the panel and gain better visibility as is case in GX models?

I am both amazed and somewhat jealous of the experience you speak of, @kpaul !

I do but it's just a JPI 700... No MP, FF or RPM Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

I should clarify...by "off scale" I meant above 2575...I did not take note of exactly how far above unfortunately though. I should have been more clear in my description. I read the SB...ominous stuff. I will think about what to do next and I will call Jewell also. Thanks for all of the good advice.

The overspeed was off the scale but I reduced RPM within a couple of seconds. It was unstable intermittently after that.

I had a prop overspeed condition last week that was difficult to manage. My mechanic removed the governor and sent it off for inspection and possible overhaul. I just learned that the casing is condemned so no overhaul for this part. Does anyone know of a shop that might keep one on hand already built up?

Is a good idea in my view of you set it up BEFORE the commencement of the approach :-) Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Oh, and I prefer to “fling” my approaches

You mentioned the display being cluttered. When fling an approach, i like to switch from the HSI 360 degree Mode to the arc (120 degree) mode and I change the items displayed to eliminate data I do not want to see. Have you experimented with these options?

Hi Rick, Yes, the nuts needed to be re torqued...so I think you are right about the source of the leak. This was the first oil change I did, at 20.2 hours since the last one. I am doing them every 25 hrs or less as recommended. Alex

I'm new to Bravos, too so take my info with that in mind. Around 60K should get you a good overhaul from what I understand. As was mentioned, the Lycomings have a reputation for more durability than Continentals. In my case, although I had a pre-purchase and annual inspection before delivery, I discovered a cylinder that was losing compression due to a failing exhaust valve. That cost about $3.5K parts/labor to overhaul. Turbos in general seem to be good for about 1000 hours. My turbo overhaul cost was about 3K plus labor. The exhaust system also seems to need IRAN / overhaul at about 1000 hours and there are some components that can be expensive, but this is not necessarily a Bravo-specific problem. There are other AD's and SB's to consider of course. Others on this forum are more knowledgable so keep asking questions!

Welcome to Mooneyspace!, Last September, I purchased a FIKI 95 Bravo with lots of avionics upgrades, long range tanks (7 hour endurance!) and almost new paint for a number that is very close to your budget (2400 hr TT, NDH, 1100 HR SMOH). I have invested another 20K since purchase in handling some "deferred maintenance" issues. I've owned a 93 J Mooney, an '05 Ovation 2 and an '07 Acclaim Type S. For what it's worth, here's what I have learned: 1) I do not enjoy turbulence for extended periods of time so a turbo really comes in handy. 2) I want to safely dispatch in most weather conditions so FIKI is a must (and turbo). 3) Airplane maintenance is expensive in general and the Bravo has some peculiarities that raise its maintenance costs somewhat higher (25 hr oil changes, expensive engine and components). Someone else wisely pointed out that although these airplanes are in the 200K range, a comparable new aircraft is 750K so you can reasonably expect the maintenance costs to be reflective of an airplane worth 750K. 4) They all go reasonably fast, some faster, higher and farther than others. Pick one that fits 85% of your mission profile, is within your purchase AND operating budget. Fly commercial the other 15% of the time. Have fun researching and as my wife says, "Sometimes it comes down to not making the right choice but making your choice right".