Who repairs King HSI’s?

[N9405V]

Ok, my HSI appears to have developed a case of the course select knob no longer functioning. Who would you recommend I send it to for repair?

 

I’d love to do the dual G5 route, but my daughter is stating college in the fall and funds are already committed there.

 

 

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[Rwsavory]

Bob Bramble has been recommended by several folks on this forum.  https://www.aerolabaviation.com/index.htm  

 

[RLCarter]

Give Don Wiles a call, he might be able to help out Gulf Avionics 

[moontownMooney]

Bevan Rabell does excellent, reasonably priced, component level repair work on older Bendix King equipment. Maybe they are a good fit.

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[Oldguy]

On 6/8/2019 at 11:41 AM, Rwsavory said:

Bob Bramble has been recommended by several folks on this forum.  https://www.aerolabaviation.com/index.htm  

 

+1 for Bob.

[glbtrottr]

atlas instruments in long beach

[Cruiser]

The best repair possible for the King HSI is the purchase of an Aspen PFD. 

[Schinderhannes]

2 hours ago, Cruiser said:

The best repair possible for the King HSI is the purchase of an Aspen PFD. 

And the second best option might be to buy a used one from somebody who had a perfect working HSI and did an Aspen upgrade...

[Tony Armour]

On 6/10/2019 at 10:35 AM, Oldguy said:

+1 for Bob.

Bob worked for King back in the day. He took care of me. He was in Florida.

[flyboy0681]

On 6/8/2019 at 12:41 PM, Rwsavory said:

Bob Bramble has been recommended by several folks on this forum.  https://www.aerolabaviation.com/index.htm  

 

++1 Not only does Bob know what he is doing, he's honest and his pricing is fair.

[Bolter]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:26 AM, N9405V said:

Ok, my HSI appears to have developed a case of the course select knob no longer functioning. Who would you recommend I send it to for repair?

I’d love to do the dual G5 route, but my daughter is stating college in the fall and funds are already committed there.

What about a single G5?  When my HSI flaked, that is what I did.  There is no technical reason to think in terms of "pair".  Leaves money for college tuition and upgrades your panel.  

-dan

[carusoam]

13 hours ago, Dan at S43 said:

What about a single G5?  When my HSI flaked, that is what I did.  There is no technical reason to think in terms of "pair".  Leaves money for college tuition and upgrades your panel.  

-dan

-dan,

Do you have that hooked up to a BK autopilot as well?

I’m starting to plan my next steps for my BK HSI... with a full functioning KAP150.

Best regards,

-a-

[Bolter]

10 hours ago, carusoam said:

-dan,

Do you have that hooked up to a BK autopilot as well?

I’m starting to plan my next steps for my BK HSI... with a full functioning KAP150.

Best regards,

-a-

@carusoam I am very happy with the G5 install.  I also have the KAP150, original spec for this 1983 J.  The old King HSI was replaced with the G5, including a new magnetometer in the wing, and a box that permits the G5 to talk to the KAP150 for heading and glideslope.  Summary: I lost no autopilot function and gained GPSS.  In case you are curious, I also have a 430W which talks to the G5.

G5 function is great, and only adds to what the original HSI did.  I like that the MFD is there too, in case of AI failure.  Partial panel is much easier this way.  One thing to watch for, if you tune in the ILS but you have not activated the approach, the needle has to be moved manually to runway heading.  Yes, I know it does not change the signal, but I consider it good practice to point the needle to match your target heading.

Unfortunately, you cannot replace the AI with a G5 and still use the KAP150.  At least not directly.  I have seen a J sold here (N7677V) where they installed a single G5 for the AI and looks like the old vacuum AI was moved to the co-pilot side in order to feed the autopilot.  

I want to ditch the AI so I can be vacuum-free.  But for now, that means planning an autopilot change at the same time, and that makes the job pricey. 

[Davidv]

We can only hope that the rumors of Garmin announcing the G5 to work with BK autopilots at Oshkosh are true...

I get the potential strategy of selling more GFC500s, but with all of the BK systems aging and the cost of repairs high, it would seem they have more to gain by selling a ton of G5’s and then letting people switch out the AP as their BK start to fail.  The G5 is also required as a backup option for a G3X or TXI so purchasing the G5 could be the “gateway” drug for a future upgrade to a larger Garmin unit.  

[j3gq]

Your problems may have been fixed long ago, but this article provides some insight

https://www.avweb.com/ownership/autopilot-repairs-worth-a-try-2/

[RobertGary1]

My avionics shop says that King is slowing pulling shop's authorization to repair King equipment. They want you to send it to King ala Garmin but they're pricing it so as to discourage repair. King wants out of the GA market badly.

-Robert