1966 M20E Copilot Panel Upgrade Ideas

[Matt Ward]

Hey guys,

Looking for some advice as I embark on upgrading the copilot panel on my E.  My first priority is a new audio panel and second is a primary engine monitor - assuming my first annual goes ok and I don't have to reverse course.  I'm thinking of breaking this up into two phases.  First phase, remove the old loran, the old CP136, and install the new audio panel.  When I do that, I'll have a lot of temporary panel covers everywhere.  Any tips on how to improve the looks of this until phase two starts?  Is there anything a little better than a bunch of plastic covers?  In phase two, I'm going to install the EDM 900 or CGR Combo, remove the Garwin cluster, the tach, the MP/FP, the Hoskins, and the 700.  I think I am going to have Hendricks fabricate a new panel and get it powder-coated locally.  Right now my plan is not to touch the breaker strips or anything else - maybe that's phase three.  However when I do phase two, I'll have a couple gaps in the breaker strip where the Garwin cluster was, as well as in the bottom metal strip where the Hoskins was.  Any ideas on how to clean that up with a short-term type solution?

Other than that, does this approach seem reasonable to you guys?  It's my first upgrade, first plane, all that, so any advice is welcome!

Thanks.

[MIm20c]

If the audio panel is working I’d leave it untouched until you’re ready to dig in deeper. 

[Matt Ward]

Do you mean do everything at once as opposed to phasing it @MIm20c? The reason I want to do the audio panel is comfort. The existing one works but is noisy with four pax all generating their own hiss, the lack of modern features, etc. If that’s what you are saying is it because of labor savings, going in twice and all?

[carusoam]

If you go JPI900 first... it frees up a lot of space immediately...

See if you can get it to fit in front of you...  depending on your preferred main displays...

Speaking of main displays... AIs are coming in threes lately... lower reliance on TCs.... in bumpy IMC...

PP thoughts only...

Best regards,

-a-

[MIm20c]

11 hours ago, Matt Ward said:

Do you mean do everything at once as opposed to phasing it @MIm20c? The reason I want to do the audio panel is comfort. The existing one works but is noisy with four pax all generating their own hiss, the lack of modern features, etc. If that’s what you are saying is it because of labor savings, going in twice and all?

I don’t mind phases and spreading out the financial outlay. However, the audio panel requires a lot of labor to do correctly.  Replacing all the wires and interfacing with everything take a lot of time. You’ll probably find a lot of old wires etc that you want to clean up at the same time.  Planning on replacing the auto pilot or getting rid of the dme?  If so you might be able to move the 335 and audio panel to the center stack. Your glare shield fits best to a 231/201 style panel. You could have a complete new panel made to fit those dimensions. Just things to think about...

[Matt Ward]

9 hours ago, carusoam said:

If you go JPI900 first... it frees up a lot of space immediately...

See if you can get it to fit in front of you...  depending on your preferred main displays...

Speaking of main displays... AIs are coming in threes lately... lower reliance on TCs.... in bumpy IMC...

PP thoughts only...

Best regards,

-a-

Right now I’m ok with the six pack. Maybe one day but that’s not a near term project. Primarily I fly VFR. 

[Matt Ward]

3 minutes ago, Matt Ward said:

If you go JPI900 first... it frees up a lot of space immediately...

 

It’s a fair point. I guess my calculus is more about utility. Doing the JPI first does clean things up as well as derisk the legacy primary instruments sooner. But it doesn’t functionally change the comfort of flying. There is a marginal benefit to engine TLC above the 700 I already have I suppose but that seems slight. My real preference would be to put a new panel in with the new audio panel and do the engine monitor as things start to fail. The problem is that approach obsoletes itself as soon as the engine monitor comes in. Even if I went CGR combos I’d still have a huge hole where the Garwin cluster was. I’m trying not to do things twice. 
 

Regarding the center stack, I actually use the DME on every flight. I find it super handy for position reporting when I have a flight plan loaded or something like that. Plus it’s kinda fun to fly a VOR or ILS on it every once in a while.