Marauder

Stefan - I just picked up something from your quote. What CDI or HSI would the 750 drive? It looks like the note on the second item is saying that you don't have a glide slope capable CDI. Can you list out the hardware you have in your plane or post a picture of your panel? The 750 will need to drive something. I am assuming your later model Mooney has an King HSI in it. Trying to figure out what the shop is doing with the Nav switch.

I decided not to take my mother-in-law with us on a trip. That was the smartest Mooney trip decision I ever made.

Speaking of fast Mooneys, you ever figure out why your's is not? I saw Brett's videos and he has a quick bird. I don't know what year his is, but it is on par with the later model Js. Wassup with your's?

I think it is a little of everything. The markets are up and people are probably feeling there is a chance for higher resale value. Summer is here, so some folks realize this is the best time of the year to sell as well (like home sales).

I just looked at some quotes I received for installed prices for the GTN. As Bob mentioned, the prices especially for the hardware are high. The price I was quoted for the GTN 750 was $14,200. When I did my JPI installation, I looked at the 930 and if I recall, the price was $5500 just for the unit. Another thing to consider, with Oshkosh just around the corner, I would expect to see some discounts and rebates coming out. I got a $750 rebate on my GTN 650 which brought it down to $8,700. The installation amount I was quoted for the GTN was $2,600. The $4,900, well, sounds pretty high, almost double mine. I went with the PS Engineering PMA8000BT. That unit was just under $1,800. The audio panel is a lot of wiring and that was $1,580 for labor. Another thing to consider is the GPSS converter for your autopilot. If you don't have one already, that should be something you will want. That was by far the best feature I had installed. Gave my AP a whole new capability. Imagine flying holding patterns -- who you have thunk... It was also the reason I went with the Aspens. They provided GPSS as well as replacing the second VOR head. With the Aspen HSI capability you can overlay your primary Nav CDI on top of a secondary or third source. So essentially you can fly an ILS with an RNAV overlay on the same display. You can then add the third RMI indicator on top for crossing radials if needed. Also, Bennett is correct about the location of the remote audio panel. It can be stashed on top of the 750. Let me know if you have any questions.

Keep in mind that unless they put the GMA35 in the avionics bay, it will still reside behind the panel on a tray. Also, what is your other radio? If you lose the 750, you lose the panel control. I believe they default it to the second radio, but you want to make sure.

Want another crazy? The O rings for my O&N bladder caps are $50 each...

Good question. I have been flying with Aeroshell 15W50 for 22 years and it works for me. There are a lot of claims but very few actual studies to prove it. I would love to see a survey of engine rebuilders who can speak to the quality of the engines they rebuild just based on the oils/additives used. It is easy to gauge wear against hours. Harder to say if one oil protects longer unless you do time studies using various oils in different environmental conditions like the AC folks did.

Not to mention he probably spilled beer all over everything when he crashed it...

And that is Busch's point. If you don't fly frequently by his definition (at least once a week) then the multi viscosity stuff is less likely to coat and protect the cam and other internal hardware. I flew for years in northern NY where it would stay cold for extended periods of time. Like the January where it never got above 32F. Even with a good pre-heat, by the time you refueled after a flight, even the 15W50 oil was getting thick.

Tim -- being that we own similiar F models, I share your pain. When I got my F I spent 6 months chasing an intermittent gear breaker popping. I had the gear breaker replaced, the gear position switches replaced, the gear lever replaced, the gear tore apart looking for wear and the wiring traced. Once all that was eliminated, the voltage regulator replaced and the alternator checked (it was fine). It was only after we remounted the alternator did we conclude that the belt was slipping. 22 years later, it still is working fine... knock on wood...

Not offended. My wife is a DBE for a large bank and gets to deal with users on a regular basis. She has much more choice words for them! Most that would make a sailor proud.

Yep, at $32k list, you get that with the G600. You will still need the GAD43e on the G500, emphasis on the "e" if you have any older technology you want to interface with the unit. This was Garmin's competitive response to the Aspen offering which was designed for retrofits. That was the final selling point for me on the Aspens. I knew that I could not update my transponder & Narco Mark 12D+ at the same time as I did the GTN - without being tossed out of the house by my wife (it was bad enough that I had to live in the dog house for what I did upgrade). The Aspen open hierachy gave that to me without additional cost. They include an ACU or ACU2 with each unit. And if you purchase the second MFD as a 1000 series, you get a second AHRS. If I was dead set on upgrading to the Garmin offering, I would pursue the G600. It comes with the GAD43e and has other features like the altitude preselect and boot strapping for radar.

Well, OHT sounds much better than being called a USER...

Exactly why as consumers you need to know the support strategy of the product you buy. I remember one company, heck, I have this one company's products in my panel (Narco) that decided to lock out field repairs of units and require return to their facility for repair. That didn't work out for them too well did it? The avionics shop that installed mine decided to stop selling them because they were losing out on service revenues. The change in support strategy by Narco came after I bought it. Had I known, I would most likely not bought them. In my line of work service strategies are called "cost of ownership". There is a fine line sometimes between an acceptable service price point and the cost of the product. Ever have an Apple Mac repaired? Your value proposition needs to balance cost of ownership versus initial investment versus what your competitors are doing. If you can make a product with features that blows away the competition and has a low cost of ownership -- you win in the market.

Unfortunately, considering the factors that drive pricing (engine time, avionics, etc.), it probably is priced in the ballpark.

I always thought layer 1 was me, the user of the application!

Wouldn't surprise me. When he started his trip he forgot his passport and got stuck in Canada until they could ship it to him...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b39_1265536174&comments=1

And another $5k for a GAD-43e if you need it.

And you of course don't have any association with Minimax -- we appreciate full disclosure here...

Your situation is exactly what I warned Seth about. If it is a minor issue, you will pay dearly for it. That is the whole theory behind STREP (STandardREPair) charges. Offset costly repairs you incur as a manufacturer by doing cheap repairs and charging a lot for it.

Hi Seth! Or should I call you "the traveler"? If you have any other nagging issues with the unit (like buttons sticking, knobs falling off, etc), using Garmin's flat rate service will get those fixed as well (I believe that is how Garmin works -- but checked the fine print). These STREP charge strategies can be good for us as the consumer or they can be a lot of money for nothing. Usually when flat rates are offered, they have taken into consideration the annual failure rate of the product and the average cost to repair it (internal cost). They then layer a profit on top of it and it gets wrapped up in a pretty bow and called a "flat charge". The problem for the consumer is exactly what you are dealing with. Is it a major item like a bad NAV board (i.e. big $ item) that will need to be replaced or is it a loose connector? These flat rates work on averages. So... if you have a product that has a bunch of nagging issues or hasn't been updated in a while, the flat rate is a nice way to have the unit refurbished to current standards. But if you have a busted knob, you are paying through the teeth. What you need to be careful is whether or not they have built in a limiting clause to the service. Sometimes to protect themselves, they will say "only repair components related to the original problem". In that approach, if you have other issues, they may say the flat rate doesn't apply and you will become a time & material customer to them. Or they may have a higher flat rate for "multiple" problems. Best check Garmin's T&Cs'.

LOL!

And mine too!