M20K 231-New Panel Pictures

[jlunseth]

Am starting a new thread so as not to extend the one on turbos.

Here are the pictures of my panel work.  The first two are the old panel, the remainder are the new panel.

In the old panel, pilot side, going left to right, were first the factory strip gauges for the engine, next row the OAT, calib. airspeed, AI, alt., MP and RPM.  The MP and RPM had been moved from the co-pilot side before I acquired the plane.  Next row, l-r, was an EI Super Clock, TC, King HSI, VSI, an annunciator for the Appolo GX 60 GPS, and a JPI 700.

In the center stack way up at the top and barely visible were an indicator light and breaker for the speedbrakes, a Sigtronics Intercom, a KMA audio panel, King 155, MX20 moving map, and the Apollo GX 60.  At the top of the radio stack was the annunciator panel for the aircraft, below that the annunciator for the autopilot (KFC 200), the gauge for the hot prop, a KNS 80,  an ADF, and the transponder.

On the right side were the suction gauge, slaving indicator for the HSI, and the ADF indicator, then the breaker panel.

There were lots of problems with the old layout.  The lights on the factory gauges were bad or out, and the gauges were hard to see up underneath the glareshield.  The Appollo GX 60 was not IFR and blew out shortly after I got the plane anyway.  The JPI 700 was the only TIT gauge, and was not STC'd as primary, so was not legal.  The 700 did not work well either.  I liked the location of the MP and RPM though.  The old location on the far right would have been a pain with a 231, which needs some gentle throttle work during the takeoff roll. 

Some of the stuff in the center just did not work, or did not work well.  The speedbrake light would come on when it felt like it.  The diff. temp. gauge would light up, but most of the time would freeze at 0 degrees, and when it froze it was hyper bright.  Having the annunciator for the AP over on the right was a bad thing.  It was not in the pilot's normal scan.  Had the AP simply quit - go black - a couple of times and with the annunciator where it was I never saw the lights go out, I only determined it from the sensation that the plane was drifting.  Not good in IFR.

In the new panel we made conscious choices about bringing many things into the pilot's scan.  All the factory engine gauges (except suction) we removed. The MP and RPM were also removed, and the diff. temp. gauge was removed.  All of these were replaced with a JPI 930.  The speedbrake indicator light was moved over in front of the pilot. 

Although it is difficult to see in this picture, an Icarus SAM was installed.  The panel indicator is the button at the top of the pilot side to the right of the orange speedbrake light.  That indicator is a button that allows switching between HDG mode (normal operation of the AP) and roll steering mode, in which the SAM overrides the heading bug and supplies course steering to the AP from the GPS.  The SAM also provides audio alerts for a wide variety of things, including gear up at low altitude, reaching a target altitude, reaching DA, etc.  It also provides two lines of readout, your choice of the readout.  So for example, it can display next waypoint and minutes to next waypoint, or course and speed, or any of several other items.

The AP indicator is also directly in front of the pilot.  This makes the AP much safer and easier to use in IMC.

Under the gear switch is a small, mandatory, secondary readout for the 930.  Unless there is an alert, it displays RPM and MP.

The 930 is extremely cool.  It has graphic displays for MP, RPM, the EGT and CHT for each cyl., TIT, Oil Press., Oil Temp., Fuel Pressure, volts, amps, Compressor Discharge Temp. (CDT), fuel flow, and the two fuel tank gauges.  In addition, a number of other readouts can be accessed.  Fuel flow and usage (the usage is extremely accurate), Induction Air Temp (IAT), fuel remaining, quite alot of stuff.   

The center stack starts with the aircraft annunciator at the top, then a new 8000B audio panel.  Below that is the old moving map, which I kept.  Then the new 430AW.  I have sat. weather that displays on the moving map.  I leave the map in weather mode most of the time, because it displays a great deal of info.  The ground points are all there (airports and fixes), plus NEXRAD, winds aloft, course line. 

I retained some of the old radio stack.  I kept the old KNS 80, which is no longer connected to the AP, but now has a new indicator on the pilot side with GS.  This allows me to set up two Navs for an ILS, the one on the 430 and the KNS 80, just in case one fails during an approach.  I also kept the ADF, the old King 155, and the old transponder. 

We were able to save and use all of the old panel metal, but the coating was pretty grubby, and was going to have to come completely off on the pilot side, so I had the whole thing powerdercoated.  The circuit breakers were pretty much indecipherable in the old panel.  We found a really good and inexpensive decal kit, and alot of time was spent relettering the breakers so I can find them if I need them.

Works good.  Very nice in IMC.  Way lower task load.  I can now basically load an approach and let the AP fly it with roll steering, all I have to do is manage the airspeed, descent, and make sure the gear is down for landing. 

[M016576]

Beautiful work!  did you do it all yourself w/ an A&P or did you have a shop help? 

[scottfromiowa]

Fantastic!  Love everything you did.  The pilot side is one of the nicest I have ever seen.  Well done!

[jlunseth]

I would like to claim I did it all myself.  I worked with the avionics shop to get the design right, they had good ideas, I had good ideas, and I was the guy with the budget.  Modern Avionics at Flying Cloud.  They were very good people to work with.  Basically, they left no stone unturned to give me the panel I wanted.

The beauty of it is that all the critical gauges with the exception of the suction are right in front of the pilot.  Also, having had instruments fail in flight, I have alot of backups in that panel.  I can do any kind of approach with the GPS.  I can monitor the GPS on the moving map in case something goes wrong.  If that fails, I have the KNS80 with GS, so I can do any kind of VOR/LOC/ILS - DME, and if that fails I still have the ADF, and I did have to use the ADF once in the old panel to get home. Heck with the ADF I can even pick up weather at the NDB only airports, of which we seem to have alot in the midwest.

[FlyDave]

Wow, It's Beautiful! NICE JOB!!!!!

What made you go with a white/lighter color on the panel metal instead of a darker color?

[scottfromiowa]

You know you could put the suction where the temp is...and upgrade the EI Clock to the one that includes temperature  See the perfect panel is never done...just kidding, I wouldn't change a thing.

[jlunseth]

Heh, heh.  You are thinking like me.  What's next.  I really like the clock though, I tried several timers, portable and various built-ins in rental aircraft, and for working in IMC that Superclock is the best.  My pet peeve was timers where you had to hold a button down for three to five seconds to reset the stop watch.  Under pressure in IMC there is not time to fiddle with something like that.  The reset on the Superclock is simple and does not fail.  It also has a Zulu display, so if you are like me and get tired of the mental math you can just look at the clock.  I could take out the old OAT because I have it on the 930.  That would be a really good idea, moving the suction over there.  It is not available on the 930 unfortunately. 

I had it done in off white cause I liked the color, but also because it made the gauges really stand out.  A little easier to find things under pressure and in IMC.  Also helps the lighting a little.  I had light rings and some new lighting installed under the glareshield.  Took out the old standoff lights that were most dead anyway.  So I have all the light on the panel that I want, or as little.

[DaV8or]

Good looking panel! Did you consider the EI MVP-50? If so, what made you choose the 930? Just curious because I'm wrestling with these issues now.

[N9937c]

 True work of Art              or Bill                or Sam.  Whoever did it.       But YOU thought it up!

Fabulous!     Gathering the courage to do mine. How many AMU for the engine monitor sys? You had to make a new pilot panel?

larry

[flyguy241]

Just curious, why did you keep the ADF?

[jlunseth]

Yes, Modern fabricated a new pilot side metal panel, too many holes in the old one.  The rest were saved and powder coated.

The 930 was about $8,500 installed.  It replaced a JPI 711 which was recently installed, and we were going to be able to use some of the installed components of the 711, which would save money.  So I did look at the EI product, but from the standpoint of whether it was so much better than the 930 that I should have the installation completely redone.  The installation is about as much as the unit itself, lots of probes and an elaborate harness to be installed.  It was a close call because the EI does have suction, but I went with the 930.  The other reason I went with the 930 was that Willmar is a JPI dealer and I wanted Willmar to do the 930 installation, because they are the people I trust to work on my engine.

Ah, the ADF.  First, we have lots of NDB's still in commission in the upper Midwest where I live.  Quite a number of the small airports broadcast their weather only over an NDB channel.  The sat wx displays METARS, but most of these small airports are not in the system.  The only way to get their current wx is over the NDB.  Second, my ADF has an auto flight timer, so my timer gets started for IFR flight whether I remember to manually start it or not.  I am only going to need it if something goes wrong with the GPS and I am in a lost comm situation, but it does happen.

The real reason is that it saved my bacon.  The 430 had to go in because the Apollo blew a resistor during a flight one day, and it happened that the King 155 was also out of the plane for service.  Well, when the GPS goes the radio goes with it.  That left me NORDO, needing to get back to KFCM on a day when they happened to be having an air expo, and there happened to be probably 15 planes in the pattern at any given time, including a squadron of warbirds doing formation flying.  7600 and an unannounced approach was not going to cut it.  I needed a Plan B, and there is a small airport about 20 miles from FCM at Glencoe.  Glencoe has no VOR, the only way to find it without a GPS was the ADF.  The ADF took me to Glencoe, where it dawned on me, once safely on the ground with time to think, that during a tower tour at FCM we had asked about their light gun and were told no one comes in on light signals alone, they call the tower on their cell and get a clearance.  So I refueled at Glencoe, called the tower, got a clearance and a squawk code, came in NORDO with all the planes on the ground watching to see if I could botch the landing (it was a greaser), got the light gun signals for clearance to land, and lived to put a new GPS in the plane.

As a result, I have bonded with my ADF and no you can't have it, we belong together. 

Some decisions are not rational.

[flyguy241]

Ok Good answer, the last time I used mine was to listen to a football game on a.m. radio.

[Bob]

NICE!  I don't have much to add.  I keep looking at the pics and it is hard to say anything while drooling!

[fantom]

ADF is still a useful tool, both for flying...it points to things, and for listening to the radio. You GPS only guys will be sorry you took them out when the government shuts down satellite navigation for "security" reasons

Oh, great looking panel, and the light background makes it look bigger, more modern, and much better.

[KSMooniac]

Very nice work!  I have similar dreams rattling around in my brain but will continue to resist the urge for the near term. 

[jlunseth]

I did resist some things.  Modern suggested a nav computer which would provide fuel information and an actual winds aloft arrow on the moving map.  It was 5k, and I get winds aloft on the sat wx. Sat wx is not actual winds aloft, it is predicted winds, but I didn't think the computer was worth the $$ in addition to what I was putting in.  EFIS would have been nice, but was beyond the mission I have for this aircraft, which is to use it as a learning platform.  Maybe my next one will be glass.  The existing transponder is not Mode S, but works fine and who knows what the FAA will reallly want by 2014, or 2020, whenever ADSB is going to be required.  Gotta make some choices.

While there are a number of things I like about this installation, the best is the sat wx.  I actually feel safer once aloft and looking at the display, than I do with any of the weather reporting services. 

[carusoam]

JL,

Very nice updates.  I think the winds aloft computer comes with the Aspen upgrade....

-a-

[jlunseth]

It may come with the Aspen.  The one that Modern was suggesting was not an Aspen though.  Don't remember the name.

[KSMooniac]

I believe there is a separate box that can interface with a Garmin to calculate the winds aloft/TAS, but it is not worth the coin IMO.  The Aspen sure looks like a great deal in the single package since it has that, HSI, GPSS, battery backup, etc.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Quote: KSMooniac

I believe there is a separate box that can interface with a Garmin to calculate the winds aloft/TAS, but it is not worth the coin IMO.

[Carl S]

The Aspen will show current winds at your altitude. In the Pilot's Guide see page 2-26 para 2.3.2 and fig. 2-34,  page 3-17, para 3.2.3 and fig. 3-31, page 4-15, and page 4-17, para 4.2.4 "Wind Speed Direction and Arrow." 

One interesting note is the description that says the wind speed has a range of 10-999 knots or mph.  Anyone know what the display shows if the winds are less than 10? 

 

[jlunseth]

The 430 has an aux page for calculating actual winds aloft.  You have to manually put in a number of variables including altitude, CAS, don't remember all of it.  I was just doing it the other night on a flight back from Peoria and the MAPA PPP.  The unit Modern recommended did the calculation automatically, and would put up the display arrow.  It also did fuel and some other things.  I will look up the name and post it.

That reminds me, one of the things the Icarus does is report encoder alt., so you know what your encoder is telling ATC.  The Icarus also provides quite a few alerts, including "Gear, Gear!" (which I have not heard yet thankfully).  I did not find all of its alert features in any other unit.

I agree on the Aspen though, it provides a great deal of functionality for the price. 

Frankly, I don't see how you can get along without roll steering in a GPS + AP equipped aircraft.  Well, I do, because I did before this panel, but GPSS makes navigation seamless and easy and really offloads alot of pressure from the one pilot IFR operation.  I can load and activate an RNAV direct to an IAF waypoint and let the aircraft fly right to the MAP on its own.  All I do is slow it down and drop the gear on time.  It worries about turn anticipation, intercepting course, allowing for the wind, everything.  ILS's are even easier because it does all that and even loads the ILS frequency and automatically switches over to VLOC.  I put the KFC 200 in APPCH mode and it couples to a glide slope and flies right down to the DH.

The biggest issue for me is going out and hand flying some approaches for practice so I don't lose the skill.  But I find that even in this situation, my hand flying improves, because the GPSS/AP models how it feels when an approach is really flown well.  Sort of like having a CFII fly one to show you how its done.

[KSMooniac]

Quote: Parker_Woodruff

Garmin 430 or G500?

It's included on both I do believe.  I know for a fact it's on the G500, and I'm sure it's in an Aux page on the 430W.

*edit* you probably meant automatically calculate*.  you have to put in the current heading into the 430W to figure, whereas the G500 will have the heading info internally.

[jlunseth]

Looked back at the emails.  There must have been 50 emails back and forth designing this thing.  Found references to the nav computer, but not the name of the unit.  I remember it was a few thousand though.  Maybe a DAC?  Don't know for sure.

PS Shadin.  Either the 200 or the 2000, don't remember which.  But the 930 already has fuel flows so I skipped it.

[peter]

Quote: N223MM

The Aspen will show current winds at your altitude. In the Pilot's Guide see page 2-26 para 2.3.2 and fig. 2-34,  page 3-17, para 3.2.3 and fig. 3-31, page 4-15, and page 4-17, para 4.2.4 "Wind Speed Direction and Arrow." 

One interesting note is the description that says the wind speed has a range of 10-999 knots or mph.  Anyone know what the display shows if the winds are less than 10?