Avionics Work Finally Completed

[gwav8or]

Finally got my F back from the Avionics shop!  Aero Valley in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma did the work.  I would definitely recommend these guys.  The list of things I had done are:

1. 355 GPS

2. Dual G5

3. USB Clock

4. New Metal Panel

5. New throttle, prop, mixture cables

6. New switches

 

I love the new panel and avionics, but I have a laundry list of things to address now. yay

1. Airspeed indicator needs overlhauled.  Sending to Rudy's next week.

2. Brand new clock quit working on the way home, so I will be making another trip to PV.

3. A little smell of exhaust into the cockpit while on the ground and during taxi.

4. Yoke is sticking.  Talking to mechanic this morning.  Will also check this morning to make sure nothing is binding it behind the panel.

5. TC/PC head displays "Elec Off" flag at all times.  It still works though and mechanic checked it and said there's power to the unit.  So IDK what do do about that one.  May see if Rudy's can work on it too.

6.  Case bolt leaking oil.  I'll address this one at annual or sooner if the leak gets worse.  Really don't want to split the case, so hopefully the mech can follow the Lycoming procedure for fixing it.

[Jsno]

Nice!!!

[TheAv8r]

Congrats! That panel is very cleanly laid out and love-love that you went with a 1-piece panel, really gives it a modern look.

[AndreiC]

Looks very nice! Out of curiosity, how much does such a job set you back? (If you don’t mind me asking…)

[pirate]

 Looks awesome! 

[gwav8or]

1 hour ago, pirate said:

 Looks awesome! 

A Mooney and an RV???  Nice!  Talk about life goals!!! lol

[gwav8or]

5 hours ago, AndreiC said:

Looks very nice! Out of curiosity, how much does such a job set you back? (If you don’t mind me asking…)

Avionics was about 14 AMU, basically list price.

Cables were almost 2 AMU.

Labor was 80 hours

Shop materials was just over 1 AMU.

[Aerodon]

Do you have any before and during pictures,  I like the horizontal G5 layout.

I'd prefer to switch the clock and EGT positions, keep all engine stuff together.

Aerodon 

 

 

[hammdo]

Finally! That looks great! I need a ride now…

-Don

[hammdo]

10 minutes ago, Aerodon said:

Do you have any before and during pictures,  I like the horizontal G5 layout.

I'd prefer to switch the clock and EGT positions, keep all engine stuff together.

Aerodon 

 

 

I believe Grant is going to put the engine monitor where the EGT is in the future…

-Don

[gwav8or]

I believe Grant is going to put the engine monitor where the EGT is in the future…
-Don

Beat me too it! Yep that’s the plan!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DCarlton]

On 12/29/2023 at 4:10 PM, gwav8or said:

Avionics was about 14 AMU, basically list price.

Cables were almost 2 AMU.

Labor was 80 hours

Shop materials was just over 1 AMU.

I was wondering what it cost to remove all the cables and reinstall them.  That seems to be the biggest deterrent to a once piece panel design.  

[gwav8or]

I was wondering what it cost to remove all the cables and reinstall them.  That seems to be the biggest deterrent to a once piece panel design.  

Totally worth it though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheAv8r]

On 12/31/2023 at 6:07 PM, gwav8or said:

Totally worth it though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1 . I also used it as the chance to put in all new cables, as my plane had the original cables. If you're doing that, then it's basically the same cost either way.

[Aerodon]

Once you start installing a new audio panel and / or a GTN you are redoing more than half the avionics wiring. It is worth updating the audio panel wiring all the way to the jacks (stereo, shielded, separate audio and mike, and not grounded on the one end).

And it is entirely practical to beg/borrow/steal a full set of trays so that you avionics shop can completely wire up your new panel before you even start disassembling.

Mooney was too smart for their own good.  They made up nice cable harnesses with CPC and AMP connectors all over the place.  I'm sure it helped a little bit in manufacturing and assembly, but there are just too many.   

The M20J's and K's onwards had a separate circuit breaker panel and it has a shelf with electrical components mounted on it.  I thought of discarding this and going with a 1 piece, but it will help reassembly to have the circuit breaker panel in place before installing the rest of the panel.  It was pretty easy to take out the panel and the circuit breaker panel and separate the avionics wiring from the electrical system wiring.  The electrical system has a CPC connector, these are high quality 15A pins.  The avionics are all on a rectangular AMP connector, also high quality 15A pins.  The standard Mooney ground bus is a bit old fashioned - terminal strips with screws.  I like these AMP grounding blocks, see image.  But you do need the proper crimper and it is pretty expensive.  But the more you make your panel plug and play, the less time the avionics technician needs to spend sitting in the airplane terminating one wire at a time.

On an older Mooney I would do a single piece panel but with an insert for all the circuit breakers.  I have a design that allows the insert to be installed from the back, but also removed from the front.  So you can install circuit breaker panel first, then put the full with panel on top.  And if you ever need to change or update circuit breakers, you can take the sub panel out from the front.

Aerodon

Edit: Added a picture of the TE Connectivity CPC (circular plastic connector).  Gold plated stamped pins are about $1.50 each, machined pins are about $2-6 each depending how good you are at bottom feeding.  Proper crimpers are $4-700 for these.