Search the Community

I have a complete Approach Systems Faststack hub and cables to make your next avionics upgrade real easy: Pro-G hub (used) GMA340 Audio with intercom leads (new) GNS430/530 (new) MD200 (new) KX155 (new) KI204 or MD200 (new) GTX327 or SL70 (new) SAE5-35 (new) I have more cables, so can do some substitutions, and of course we can get more from the factory. Don

Do the harnesses made by Aircraft Spruce or FastStack meet the warranty requirements?

It has always been our warranty requirements that if not removing a plug n play audio panel, say for example, GMA340, a harness has to be made by any one of our dealers to have warranty. A non-authorized individual who makes a harness for our products will not be covered by warranty. The audio panel performance is as good as the install, and that takes someone with experience and training. you might consider getting a harness made by Aircraft Spruce or purchase the FastStack by Approach Sysyems.

Some people have used it... Probably in their experimental planes more than their Mooneys... I think the cost was high enough, that their wiring skills were good enough to not benefit from it... https://mooneyspace.com/search/?&q=Faststack&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy More or less, it sounds better than it really is... and adds a bunch more failure points... Best regards, -a-

I bought a 1975 M20F about 10 years ago. It had 2 170 radios, old audio panel, and no gps. About 7 years ago I put in new audio panel, radios and gps. Being somewhat of a computer guy whose has dealt with a lot of cables and wiring, the fast stack intrigued and impressed me. My shop said faststack was not necessary and would never make things easier. I did it anyway. Now I am about to do another avionics upgrade and the shop I am looking at, which is not the same shop that did the first upgrade, is suggesting I remove the fastack for the same reason. I love the concept, but unless this method becomes a standard it does not appear to be a benefit. I’m disappointed it is not the std.

So I was asked where and how I’d been. Some of you may remember that I was looking at Mooneys for my first airplane and actually had an e model lined up that the guy wanted to sell half a share in. Well evidently he would rather the plane not fly. My oldest son, 18, finished up his PPL with 41.5 hours in his logbook and we fell into a Piper Cherokee 180. Low time smoh but has a history of sitting. Picked her up for 18k and immediately dropped another 15k to upgrade some avionics. Did the first annual owner assisted and got out for under $500 so we were stoked. While flying with my CFI to a fly in we lost the alternator so I got some real work experience with that. Ended up going with a Plane Power alternator and changed to their regulator for good measure. So what did that 15k get me? Well I bought a freshly serviced 430w, Avidyne AMX240 bt audio panel, Avidyne AXP340 transponder, and a G5 hsi. I also got direct wire harnesses made by Approach FastStack. All of this was sourced from Jesse Saint at Saint Aviation and I was doing the installation myself. I’ve never tackled anything like this but I have modified vehicle harnesses for LS motor swaps, built hand wired tube guitar amps, etc. What we had in the plane was a kma24, kx155 with gs, tray for at50 and a cdi. The plan was to keep the kx155 for com 2. I made sure to take the time and eliminate unneeded wires from behind the panel and with all the distractions of life it took me a little longer than I anticipated but overall I’m very happy with it. The only issue I had was the G5 not receiving rs232 data. After doing some troubleshooting I finally looked at the wiring diagram and figured out I had the 430 programmed to send that data to the wrong channel. Changed it and it works great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've been lurking for a while and read most every post on Mooneyspace it feels like. Thank you everyone for the wealth of knowledge here. In any event I figured I would post a few pictures of the new bird. This is after gutting the entire interior, redoing the seats, new one piece windshield and touch up paint, powder coating yokes, and making/fitting a new panel to get rid of the old shotgun style layout. I used the FastStack Approach system to add the avionics and rewire everything which I can't recommend enough. It was incredibly simple, plug and play technology. Future upgrades will be as simple as plugging in a new harness and mounting a tray. I plan to put a Garmin 430/650 something or other in place of the terra boat anchor when funds allow, but it works fine and will stay for now.

Just checked out the Faststack system.. Pretty cool!

I am finishing the process of an avionics upgrade in my 66 C model. Only thing I could keep was the KX155 and KI 209 glide slope head. To gain the needed panel space, I removed an old Narco MK12 and VOR head, remove the DG and installed an Ovhld Century NSD360HSI. It doesn't require a remote gyro so it saved weight and space. Added a GMA 347, GTX 327, KY197 com, and a used KLN90B. It is a good basic IFR platform, bought everything used. Got the Approach FastStack hub and harness for everything and I'm going to be at roughly $8500 when complete ( NSD360 was almost $4000 of that). So if you have panel space and can be satisfied with IFR enroute and non-WAAS approaches you can get good functionality for cheap.