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OP had said "She's marginal IFR circa 1970. Have always wanted to update her with an IFR GPS." In my mind that's more than an iPad. A fully capable IFR aircraft has built in certified equipment, and while an iPad can help with situational awareness and moving map, it pales in comparison to the capabilities of a fully integrated IFR panel. We've heard plenty of Live ATC with people unsuccessfully trying to use their iPad for IFR, having trouble with their iPad that derails their flying, and trying to "roll their own" instrument procedures and crashing. My iPad is used for preflight planning (and flight logging) and my panel is used for flying. There's no denying that an iPad is a highly capable equipment at a fraction of the price, but shouldn't replace certified equipment for IFR. But in all fairness, you can get 90% of the glass panel/IFR capabilities with a G5/GI275 + GTN750/Xi (or pick your manufacturer if you'd prefer other than bigG). I think the slippery slope is that the price of entry for modern IFR capability is usually more than just a GPS Nav/Comm and this makes the initial buy-in high enough that it then turns into a "if I'm gonna spend that much money I might as well add to it and have it done my way." This makes it easy to snowball into a "I started with a WAAS GPS and i wound up getting an integrated engine monitor, went all glass, removed my vacuum system, and have an all new panel." Also to be fair on price comparisons, you can completely redo a Mooney with new avionics, new interior, new paint, resealed tanks, etc. for about a third of the cost of ANY new comparable aircraft. Best compromise is to find a flying buddy with an aircraft/panel/equipment/etc that you like and just go fly with them! Then you can see if you like it and feel that it's worth your time and money. Also to consider...a group of friends decided to go in on a Piper Pacer tail wheel. With 5 of them it made purchase and maintenance MUCH more reasonable and made sure there were enough flight hours instead of just filling a hangar space. Since it was an older aircraft and VFR only, it also took away the urge to modernize it and kept the maintenance bucks just for maintenance.

Just how much faster is a J, Missile or Ovation going to get you to your new missions' typical destinations and at what cost delta. Personal property tax, insurance, annuals and direct operating costs will all be higher, so in the end it will boil down to what puts the biggest smile on your face. Only you can determine if that's worth it. My plane was a vintage '65 when I bought it, but now has a new GMA345, GNC355, GNC255, a used GTX327 & a reorganized 6 pack with a GI275 HSI. I don't miss the Narco Mk12s at all and the GNC355 is vastly more user friendly that the GNS 430s & 530s in the rental fleets I flew before buying my Mooney. Life's too short; you worked hard for your $$$ and retirement. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and don't over-analyze it. Blue skies & happy retirement.

We’ve just had 2 Garmin 275’s installed in our M20J 201, in the AI and HSI positions. Existing avionics at the time of the install were: KAP150, GTN650 and GTX345. Since the install, the 275’s seem to perform as expected, providing nav guidance, including glide slope and all other 275 functions, including the auto-slew. However, whenever the KAP150 is engaged, and put into heading mode, it will briefly respond to the HDG bug correctly (i.e HDG bug is moved to the left and a left turn is initiated), but it quickly assumes a much greater than standard rate turn (in excess of 30 degrees) and continues past the assigned HDG bug bearing without hesitation. It also begins a rapidly increasing descent in the turn, ignoring the altitude hold function, leading to a descending spiral. Turning the HDG bug back to counteract the turn, does not seem to correct the problem once it has been initiated. To say the least, this can be a startling development, that would be catastrophic in IMC. I was wondering if anybody has experienced anything like this after 275 install. Any suggestions would be welcome, as the plane has been essentially grounded for weeks and weeks as our installer tries to troubleshoot the problem.

I have been in the market for an M20J for a little bit now. I came across a 1979 J model that is an exceptionally clean and low time airframe (just over 2,000 hours). The asking price is $119k. It still has the original engine and has never been overhauled, so that would likely be the first order of business after purchase. Assume an overhaul and other firewall forward items cost $50k. That would drive the total investment to $169k. Other than that, it has some avionics upgrades, but could use more to be a great traveling machine (good GTN 650, but older single-axis autopilot, very old comm 2). Could easily spend another $50k installing a Garmin GNC500 autopilot and other required items (GI275's or G5's, plus new comm 2). There has to be an upper limit on what a 1979 J model could be "worth". $219k all-in seems to be above that to me, but I haven't really seen any similar planes for sale with new engines and upgraded panels, low time clean airframe etc. Now, end value is not necessarily the deciding factor, but I feel like it should be considered before undertaking this. Any opinions on a top end value for a bird like this?

New aircraft to me. Removing a Loran system, factory engine gauges, installing LED Nulites behind instruments, and installing a JPI930 engine monitor. I am Owner assisting install. I have a few questions. Some of my gauges are “cloudy”. How hard is it to get the glass replaced with new non reflective glass. How hard is replacing a GI106A with a Garmin GI275 CDI? I have a little money left and trying to get the most bang for my $$ while it is apart. Also, any good replacements for the dash pad lights under the brim?

The issue with the new GI275 installation and KAP150 integration suggests a compatibility or configuration problem. To resolve this, first check the user manual and online documentation for both units to ensure that all necessary settings are configured correctly. Next, attempt to troubleshoot the issue by testing individual components and functions to isolate the problem area. If still unresolved, you may reach out to the manufacturer's support team or consider a software update to resolve the integration issue. We, ToXSL Technologies, a top mobile app development company in Saudi Arabia with more than 12 years of experience. Our experienced developers are expert in android/iOS mobile app development, flutter app development, and react native app development, etc. Contact us for more information at +971 542007788

@Q The Engineer I have the aerospace logic MP/FF gauge we removed to install our GI275 engine monitor. I believe we still have the sensors themselves. worked perfectly when removed, acts as a fuel totalizer as well. PM if you’re interested in it.

Currently looking to install a new engine monitor. Trying to decide whether to go with GI275 or JPI EDM 900. I want the gi275 as Ive currently got dual gi275s already and love that they sit behind/within the panel as opposed to on top. The only thing Ive heard for a negative pertaining to the gi275 is that the info isnt as easily accessible as it is on the EDM 900. Supposedly you have to scroll through some pages to get to certain info. The static images on Garmin look like the display is pretty complete but maybe thats just some photoshop trickery on G's part. Any insight or user experience/feedback on either model would be greatly appreciated. Best, TR

+1 for battery life...I never was too impressed with Mini 6 on this. Not sure they increase size or efficiency on Mini 7? ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

For the same money, the GI275 EIS is better.

Hi Everyone, I finally got around to purchasing a High Boost Switch as my "plastic" came back with broken tabs after a service (still works but its very clunky). Anyway, wanted to ask if people found these easy to switch out or whether they were knuckle busters and better left to the shop to do. Did some searches and turned up nothing so I thought I'd ask. Thoughts? Thank you Freddy ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

I'm probably going to go ahead and upgrade...my 6 is a bit short on storage! Thank for the legwork Skip! ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

Do you guys know for a fact that the 7 will fit in the 6 Yoke mount? It took forever to get my mount for the 6... ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

Still not clear as file posted above has expired...Anyone know where the board is that supports Low Boost for M20R? I've learned to live w/o it but still do not like broken things and my annual is coming up fast! Freddy ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

All I can say is WOW! What I could do with an extra 250 lbs...:) ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

I am wondering what the typical useful loads are of the M20S? I'm sitting at 958 and have air conditioning and O2.... ——————————————— Airplane: 1997 Ovation, 280HP, Garmin GTN750, GI275, factory air Aviation Reviews: https://www.toointeresting.com/wordpress/?page_id=174

Hey Folks, We've got a Century 31 in our Rocket and the Up/Down rocker switch is now stuck in the UP position. You can feel it on the rocker switch that it doesn't have any 'bounce' and it's permanently stuck there. We're toying with the idea of biting the bullet on a GFC500 (we already put dual GI275's in a few years ago) but would like a way to at least get the existing AP into a neutral state with that rocker switch so we can at least use it in cruise until we decide what the next steps are going to be. Right now as soon as you engage the AP it wants to climb. Our local avionics shop won't work on anything that's not digital anymore and they recommended a shop (I believe it's somewhere in TX as are we...but IIRC, it's $1000 to get them to even look at it). Our A&P has given us the green light to see if we can either 1) replace that rocker switch or 2) get it into some kind of neutral configuration and then INOP that rocker switch until we can find a replacement part or do an avionics upgrade. So, anyone 1) know where to find a replacement part for this thing? It's not the actual black plastic on the outside that's broken - it's the spring or likely plastic mechanism inside that's no longer working or any help/insight on what/how else to go about getting this old ass thing back to where at least it'll do an ALT hold. I'm having absolutely zero luck finding a PDF or online version of a service manual for this unit to see what the actual part is - if anyone has an old one of these in a box somewhere or knows someone that does, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Hi all, Just installed two GI275s for ADI and HSI, along with the GFC500. While I am absolutely loving the upgrade from steam gauges, I do have a few issues I'm hoping someone can help with. 1) The ADI is very cluttered. At the bottom it has the heading ribbon, GPS / ENR annunciation, heading deviation indicator, etc. However, my HSI has all of that same information right below. While I appreciate the redundancy, I really want to get rid of the heading / course info from the ADI. A friend who has the same model installed had this done by the shop. See attached for his 275 ADI vs. mine. He also has wind vectors, temps and groundspeed. I want all of that to show in mine without the heading. Is there some way I can setup mine like his without having to go back to the shop? 2) The ADI is super bright at night. I thought maybe they wired it into my panel dimmer, but turning that makes no difference. The photocell seems to not do anything. I did manually reduce the brightness for my night flight. Then when I went to fly during the day, I had to manually turn the brightness back up. Is there something I'm doing wrong that the photocell seems to not be working? Thanks for any insights you can provide! Adam

I recently completed an IPC during which we did some partial panel work. After this I decided it was time to replace my turn coordinator with a second AI. I have a KFC 150 installed in my M20J and the main AI, a KI 256, is the only vacuum instrument in the panel. I have both an engine mounted and a backup electric vacuum pump. I simply do not like the look of most modern electronic instruments. I want my AI to be an AI not a multifunction display. Electric mechanical gyro AI are expensive and require a hole to be drilled in the panel for the erecting knob. If possible I did not want to install another mechanical gyro. I discovered the RC Allen 2610-3 which is simply an electronic AI. They are available with several different combinations of options including a rate of turn display, pitch sync, an electronic or physical slip/skid indicator, and a battery backup. The cost is approximately $2600 new depending on the options selected. Installation requires two wires, power and ground, plus the correct size breaker. I believe it was on Mooneyspace that I saw that RC Allen occasionally has reconditioned units for sale. I called them expecting to hear that none were available and instead was told "Why yes we have two! Our complete model with pitch sync, electronic slip/skid, and rate display is $1500 with a two year warranty." I purchased one immediately. Battery backups are listed as an option but I was told they were having difficulty getting the parts for them. This was not critical for my installation as I would now have an electronic AI and a mechanical gyro AI with two vacuum sources. The 2610-3 requires a one amp breaker and the existing turn coordinator had a two amp installed. The new breaker was $25 from Aircraft Spruce. Unfortunately the breaker is mounted in the middle of the breaker panel, the least accessible possible place. It was VERY tempting to cheat and simply put a one amp breaker in line behind the panel. However, I decided to have it done properly and there was significant labor involved in removing the breaker panel and swapping the breaker. It is interesting how the simplest modifications can have unexpected complications particularly instrument / avionic mods. Take a look at your breaker panel, it was not designed for easy maintenance and modification. The final cost for purchase and installation of the 2610 including the $350 I made selling the old turn coordinator on eBay was $2300. This is less than a new 2610 alone so I am quite happy. The instrument works perfectly and does nothing but provide an AI, turn rate indicator, and slip/skid ball which is what I desired. The display is a bit washed out in direct sunlight but direct sunlight is not when it is going to be most needed. From a failure analysis perspective I now felt I had a great system. The only critical single point failure was of the KI256 itself which would disable the autopilot. Two weeks later an hour into a three hour flight home in perfect weather the KI256 decided the plane was flying at 10 degree pitch up while it was straight and level. This made me sad but not nearly as much as if it had occurred in IMC with only my turn coordinator as a backup. There are a lot of posts that say at this point I have the perfect opportunity to install a GI 275 and rip out my vacuum system completely. I discovered it IS possible to make the GI275 simply act as an AI with flight director and drive the KFC 150. At retail a GI275 with autopilot option is $5215 and a KI256 adapter plate is $119. That is $5334 for parts alone. Further, I actually like my KI256 display and prefer it to the look of the GI275. In addition installation of the 275 means having the avionics folks spelunking deep into my panel and autopilot which currently works perfectly aside from the KI256 failure. Bob Bramble of Aerolab Aviation Services specializes in the repair of KFC autopilot systems. I am apparently not the only owner in the world that simply wants to fix their existing system instead of replacing it with the latest Garmin equipment. Bob replaced the rotor and bearings in my KI256 in two days for $1750 with a two year warranty. Removal of the KI256 involves disconnecting one electrical connector and two vacuum hoses then removing it from the panel. I admit we did have to cut one of the 23 year old vacuum hoses to get it out. However that is nothing compared to the complication of replacing it with a 275. The total cost of the repair including two day round trip UPS shipment and installation was $2400. The point of this post is that I now have an electronic backup AI and an overhauled KI256 for a total installed cost of $4700. This is less than the cost of a GI 275 without installation and provides an independent backup AI. I also avoided, from my perspective, the inevitable aggravation of having to troubleshoot the installation of an electronic replacement for the KI256 which I wished to keep. The KI256 will not last forever, but I will not either. The air driven gyro has a backup pump and can be overhauled twice for less than the cost of a GI 275. I admit to a strong preference for the look and function of my existing panel and also a dread born of experience of letting the avionics folks into it. I was honestly surprised however both how much less expensive it was NOT to install a GI 275 and how rapidly the work I had done could be accomplished. As a final note, Bob Bramble has repaired a bazillion KI256 and states that it is almost never required to align a repaired one on the bench to the KC192 computer. He also stated that bench alignment normally is required if the KI256 is used in the older KFC200 system. This might explain the diversity of experience with replacement KI256 found when you search for posts on the subject.

Will they all play nicely together? Looking at finishing out instrument and trying to decide on best panel upgrades for ifr flying. Really like the ifd540 along with ease of replacing the g530w with it. That may be fine to get me where I want with the existing kap 150 and associated AI and hsi. I spoiled myself though and flew with g1000 for a while and going to ne hard to go back.

You might want to provide a panel picture of the current layout. Inter-connectivity is huge when trying to plan a panel upgrade. Some devices only take certain signals from navigators like ARINC 429 or RS 232 (example G5 to GNS430W). Others can take analog signals from legacy navigators (example GI275 to KX155). Some manufactures play better with legacy equipment vs others. If you have a legacy autopilot you defiantly want to make sure the new equipment can provide all the signals the legacy autopilot system needs. To be completely honest, we are mostly a Garmin shop. We have done several installs of G5's, GI275's and G3X's in Mooney's. Some customers have got Aspen's as an alternative. We rarely put in the AV-30C due to the units limitations. However, if it fits the scope of the job it is a viable alternative. Using the 1:1 ratio of equipment to labor is pretty good to get you in the ball park of installation cost. We tend to be about 65-80% of equipment cost for labor/parts depending on the complexity of the job. If you have questions about the inter-connectivity of the ship give me a call or a PM and I will help as much as I can.

Right, we also have electrical trim but not auto-trim. So, the answer is: we need THREE servos Next question: We have 2 GI275 installed; do we ONLY need Servos (3) and a mode controller, or do we need another G5 or GI275?

I have very little - but not zero - time behind a GI275 set up as an HSI. It's a beautiful display, has moving map features, etc. I didn't have any trouble with the menu logic, though I'm a nerd and worry slightly that less nerdy pilots may get the thing scrolled onto a data-dense page they have trouble recovering from in IMC. To me, the primary drawback vs. the G5 is the round vs. square format. I appreciate that the round format is one of the primary selling points of the 275, but the square-format G5 has corners into which additional information can be packed without giving up screen real estate traditionally dedicated to the HSI itself. As the pics below show, the round format requires things like distance/ETE/HDG/CRS to sit on top of compass numbers, the course pointer, etc. Garmin did a perfectly reasonable job of this, but there's just no getting around the fact that some of the displayed data covers up stuff that doesn't have to be covered in a square format. That said, everything's a trade-off. If you'd never seen a square-format HSI you wouldn't care about the "packing" of information. And the higher display resolution of the 275 is going to be favored vs. the lower-res but physically larger G5, by lots of pilots with good near-distance vision. I'm pretty sure no one has installed a 275, hated it, and gone back to a G5. They're both great instruments. I'd be curious to know if Garmin relocated the control knob from lower right to lower left because there are so many airplanes with the yoke shaft close to the lower right corner of the DG/HSI.

I've trained a few folks in their aircraft with GI275, I didn't love them.

Hey Everyone, Wondering what minimum equipment I need to upgrade my panel to be able to fly gps approaches. I am not worried about easy vs hard, just want the ability to do so at the cheapest entry cost. One avionics installer is saying I need to install an HSI and one is saying I don’t. I’m curious what you all think and if you have any insight on my panel. If possible, I would install the gps 175 and use it with a switch for my CDI or install a second instrument, but would prefer to keep it something low cost. My avionics guy is suggesting a g5 or gi275 but I’d rather not shell out the money for that if I don’t have to. Or - can I just use my existing equipment with the gps 175? any ideas to keep my entry costs low and still able to fly RNAV and all other approaches? still training ground for instrument rating but want to get this upgraded for training. Please bare with me if my terminology is incorrect… My home airport only has gps approaches that bring you below 1000’ so that is the biggest reason I want the gps approach systems. Thanks for your help in advance. -Mellow