carqwik

Is the adapter required for the KI-300 to talk to a King KFC autopilot?

I washed my plane this afternoon. It was 76 degrees or so in Phoenix.

+1 on the O2...it's useful especially out west with high MEAs along many routes across the mountains. MEA = Minimum Enroute Altitude listed on a published airway on the low altitude IFR charts.

Just as a follow up... Plane came out of annual at Top Gun today. Neither the mechanic nor Mark Rouch (owner of Top Gun) could replicate the problem...the boost pump came on and the annunciator lit up at full throttle. They did clean it up a bit or so (tighten some things he said) but it always worked for them. Of course, that's great...a gremlin that disappears when the plane goes to the shop. OTOH - the gear failed to retract in the shop! Needed a new "up limit switch" which fixed this problem - yet I never had a problem with the gear coming up ever before!!! The gremlin jumped from the throttle microswitch to the gear limit switch!! Well if there's any blessing in the this, I got nice tailwinds of 35 to 70 knots the entire way back from Stockton today.

The mountains are as cold and dark tonight as they were 300 years ago...plan wisely! (sign on the summit trail just up from the base of Mt. Moosilauke in NH)

Move to Phoenix...

Did I miss something...? Is the G5 now capable of driving the autopilot as an Attitude Indicator? For some reason, I thought the G5 could be installed as an HSI but not as a sole AI (thus requiring the vacuum system and the KI256 to remain in the plane)? Did something change? I have the KFC150 A/P with the altitude preselect/hold...

Spray electrical contact cleaner on it first...let it sit for a few minutes, then try to see if it works. Knock on wood...this has always solved my issues with the yoke trim switch not working at times.

When did BK announce this KFC 230 digital a/p? Looks like a slide in replacement for the KFC 150...of course, it's probably vaporware for now. http://www.bendixking.com/V4/KFC-230-AeroCruze

So the CB solution is to get a KI-300 for the AI and a G5 for the HSI...then it's all good and I get rid of the vacuum system with much greater reliability...and my BK KFC-150 A/P is still usable...? Or replace the BK A/P altogether and get the Garmin A/P? Will that work with two G5s? This is getting expensive...since I also need ADS-B and a WAAS GPS too...jesus, the new avionics alone are worth half the value of the airplane at that point!

What Bryan said...BK is taking forever on the KI300...why is it that the G5 can't be used a certified AI with an interface to drive the legacy King A/P's? I'd do a dual installation of G5's in a heartbeat to replace the AI/HSI gyros and get rid of the vacuum system. Hello Garmin...!???

From Garrett (now Honeywell) that makes turbochargers: https://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/faq Q. Do I really need the cool down procedure on my turbo? A. The need for a cool down procedure depends on how hard the turbo and engine is used, and whether or not the turbo is water-cooled. All Garrett turbochargers must pass a heat soak test and the introduction of water-cooling has virtually eliminated the need for a cool down procedure. Garrett is one of the few turbocharger manufactures that subjects their turbos to several OE qualification tests. When you buy a Garrett turbo you can be sure it's a reliable one! Q. Should I run a Turbo Timer? A. A turbo timer enables the engine to run at idle for a specified time after the ignition has been turned off. The purpose is to allow the turbo to cool down thus avoiding "coking" ("coking" is burned oil that deposits on surfaces and can lead to blocked passages). The need for a turbo timer depends on how hard the turbo and engine is used. Running at full speed and full load then immediately shutting down (heat soak) can be extremely hard on a turbo. Water-cooling of the turbocharger's center housing has essentially eliminated the need for turbo timers or extended idling periods.

I'm in...

The turbocharger cool down is for cooling the bearings in the turbocharger via oil flow, not the turbocharger housing which is air cooled. This cool down is applicable to all kinds of turbochargers, not just those for aviation, especially those that have been rapidly spinning for a period of time.

Big pelicans around Tampa Bay. My theory...

Puerto Rico 2,600 gallons of 100LL...That's about 130 hours of flying in a Bravo...

Extra room in the back doesn't mean you can actually use the 4th seat in the Bravo unless you have kids in seats #3 and #4! And it's noisy in the front and back...headsets required!

Not holding my breath...

Hate to show ignorance, but where is the micro switch? Do I have to remove a panel to get to it? I bet mine is similarly worn as yours...perhaps simply rotating the roller will make a difference. And yes, I manually turned on the boost pump...did that right before rotating after not seeing the idiot light illuminate. Thankfully, the boost pump still works! (It should..it got overhauled last year!)

It's the cowl flap microswitch. I tried to fix it but the tiny allen wrench socket nut is stripped...won't tighten.

Boost pump light didn't come on with full throttle on takeoff today. Manually turned on the boost pump and got the light. Does that mean the microswitch in the throttle is inop? (And that's a second little switch that needs work...the cowl flap indicator micro switch (or potentiometer?) is dead too. Died right after annual last year.)

EricJ - Thanks for that post on the Stanfield VOR procedures...I knew about the "stack" but didn't realize there was a published document! Now I have to rethink flight routing to AVQ/RYN on breakfast runs as I typically flight right near that area!

I would not recommend going into Sky Harbor...unless you're a turbine driver. All the other airports are probably about the same distance (more or less) from downtown Phoenix. I'd suggest coming IFR if you're not familiar with the area. If you can't do IFR, then GYR is a logical choice to avoid some of the airspace issues....

" Would this work logging a good amount of hours in each of the following before transitioning- Trainer Pipers > Mooney M20J > 36 Bonanza > 58 Baron > TBM or Meridian > King Air 90 " Sounds like a good plan...as long as you get competent in each stepping stone along the way. I might skip the Baron though...and you know the KA90 is kind of slow (unless you get the F90 version)...speed is very addicting!!

The M20M takes the sealed battery from Concorde or Gill. It is only this Gill battery that I'd say is "deficient." I have no experience with the normal lead acid battery from Gill. Batteryminder is a brand name of charger...seems to work pretty well. Yes you can charge two batteries from the tender but the instructions basically say that both batteries need to be fully charged at first if you try to hook up two batteries (I can't figure that out...what's the point then?). I just switch batteries week to week or so as to which gets some electrical feeding.