Before-During-After Panel Upgrade Thread

[exM20K]

@Rick Junkin It is simply amazing what transformation can be made with the new stuff.  That is a better-than-new panel IMHO.

Were you able to ditch the vacuum pump(s), and was there any weight savings (other than in your wallet)?

-dan

[Rick Junkin]

1 hour ago, exM20K said:

@Rick Junkin It is simply amazing what transformation can be made with the new stuff.  That is a better-than-new panel IMHO.

Were you able to ditch the vacuum pump(s), and was there any weight savings (other than in your wallet)?

-dan

Thanks Dan, we’re really enjoying the capabilities of the new equipment.

I had to keep the vacuum pump to drive my speed brakes, but I was able to remove the backup vacuum system.

The short answer to the weight question is my BEW INCREASED. Which really means the calculated W&B I was using was in error by about 50 pounds and I had been flying overweight for the last 10 years. There had been some significant improvements made to the airplane before my ownership (new custom paint, new interior including leather seats) with no associated W&B adjustments which may be a good portion of the discrepancy.

My current BEW as weighed after the new panel is 2405.  This was a net GAIN of about 10 pounds in BEW from the previous W&B calculated and recalculated over the years since 1989. I double-checked the scale data and new W&B calculation and it is correct.

Now, before the comments of, “See? That’s why you should NEVER weigh your airplane!” start, I’ll say this. I am extremely happy to have accurate, verified W&B data for my flight planning. I was legal to fly with the previous W&B numbers, but they apparently were wrong and allowed me to overload the airplane without knowing it. Not cool.

My calculations of the expected post-mod BEW considering only equipment removed and equipment added showed I should have seen a BEW decrease of 43 pounds (74 pounds of old equipment removed, 31 pounds of new equipment added). I was really looking forward to that increase in useful load.

So, I am working to reduce the PIC load by 25% (the self-loading ballast in the right seat has already reduced by 10%, good on her!) so I can comfortably remove the 19 pounds of Charlie weights in the tail. I removed the rear seats and gained 30 pounds of useful load, so once the Charlie weights are out we’ll be at a very respectable 1035 pounds useful load. And that’s a Bravo with TKS 

Cheers,
Rick