gwav8or

He was assuming I didn’t plan for that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry Art but the 900 is going where I want it, not where it's convenient. But honestly, nobody but me needs to understand the why behind my decision. ;-)

Yeah, that was my original plan. To do the monitor first for the exact reasons you mention. I'm pretty solid on my decision for the GFC. I've only flown behind it one time in another aircraft but I think it's a fantastic AP. With already having other garmin gear installed, I want to keep things in the same family.

Shop quoted 30-40 hours for the EDM900 and 40-50 for the GFC500. So if that's accurate (they were right on schedule for my last avionics upgrade), not a huge difference.

My plan is to fly more IFR and that's why I'm wanting the AP. Wonder if I could get closer to LOP with the single EGT that I already have?

Yeah, with engines costing more and more to OH/rebuild that's my primary reason for wanting the monitor. But with the work that I've already done the installation cost and number of hours quoted for each aren't that far apart.

This is where I'm at too but honestly with the work on the panel that I've already done, the AP and engine monitor aren't that many AMUs different in price.

So this last year I upgraded the panel on my '67F. I did dual G5, GPS, Clock, throttle, prop, mix cables and a new panel overlay. Right now, I'm fixing a few things under the hood but once I get those taken care of I'll start saving up for the next upgrade. I'm trying to decide between an Autopilot and an Engine Monitor. For the AP I'll go with the GFC500 and for the EM I'll go with the JPI EDM900. Reason for both those specific choices is that I had the shop cut places for each in the new panel. I originally planned on doing the engine monitor first. However, as important (or nice to have) as the information from an engine monitor is, I'm afraid I'll start chasing "ghost" temperature issues. As for an AP, that would be really nice to have for IFR flying and is a great safety add on too. So, which should I do first and why? Just curious as to your thoughts.

@MikeOH IIRC the Garmin 430 COM transmits at around 8w. From what I was told (could be completely inaccurate) they had to reduce the transmit power to avoid interference. I believe the kx-155 transmits at 10w.

Absolutely. I had Ed at kx-155.com do the work. I would not hesitate to send another radio to him. Very good work. Ed specializes in the kx-155 and has decades of experience. I sent my radio to him and a couple days later he sent me videos of the issues that he found with the radio. I approved the repairs and again a couple days later he sent me a video of my repaired/overhauled radio. The radio looks and performs like it's brand new. I believe the cost was right around $2k. I knew what the cost would be going into it and felt like it was 100% worth it. To get a Garmin radio purchased and installed, the price would have been at least 3x what I paid to have the kx-155 repaired. I feel like if I even get 2-3 years use out of it, it will still be worth it.

I recently did a 355 GPS and 2xG5. I added a new panel overlay too. I already had 2 kx-155 radios so I kept one for ILS/VOR approaches and for redundancy in the event of GPS failure. I had the kx-155 overhauled/refurbished. Absolutely love the panel and it is very functional for IFR. I already had the 345 transponder so I also have ADSB In/Out. Writing the checks hurt at first but I don't regret the panel upgrade one bit.

Great idea, I'm adding that to my runup thought process. Thanks.

I sure do.

Yeah, my exhaust is about a year old so really hoping I didn't do much damage.

Thank you for the encouragement.

I will do that. Thanks.

So, I was headed out yesterday to try and finish up an IPC. During runup mag check, I accidentally switched the mags to off. When I did, I instinctively switched the mag switch back to the right mag. I know, not the best thing to do but I did it before I could even think about it. Well of course as soon as I switched the mags back on there was a loud backfire or as some call it afterfire. As I understand it, while the mags were in the off position the prop/engine still turning, some unburned fuel/air mixture was pushed out the exhaust valve and then ignited as soon as the mags were turned back on and spark provided to the plugs. So now that everybody knows I'm a moron, what should I look at, have my mechanic look at or what should I look out for? I think the most probable issue could be damaged valves or damaged exhaust? What else? What to do?

Yeah I tried having mine overhauled and the shop told me it was too far gone. I’ll holler if the other leads don’t work out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Deal! I'll send you a PM.

I’m almost to that point. I’ve got a lead on two clusters right now. Will know more in a day or two. I’ll visit my mechanic on Friday to see what his schedule is like. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I just dropped 25amu on the panel. My CFO says I'm broke now!! lol I did have the avionics shop cut a spot for an EDM-900 and put a face plate over it. I plan on doing the EDM-900 later this year. At this point, I honestly wish that I'd went ahead and had them install the EDM.

Yeah, I checked BAS website and they have some Garwin instrument clusters but they don't have the right part numbers. Lasar has the part on their site but not in stock. If I could find some original Garwin documentation I might be able to determine interoperability but I don't want to spend the $$ for something I don't know if it will work or not.

So far I'm not impressed with Texas Air Salvage. They have a Garwin engine cluster that I think will work. I've called twice, talked to someone both times. They told me they'd call me back but I've never received a call. Also, they indicate that the cluster gauges may or may not work and they aren't returnable. I contacted a seller on ebay about one they have listed, no contact back. The search continues and the frustration level increases.......

This might be the ticket. I think my searches were too specific.

No worries! I appreciate you looking!