Hi,
I fly a 6A finished in 2006. As you can see in the picture the panel is dated and its time for an upgrade. I started pricing out a full Garmin EFIS compliment and quit when I got past 18K and that was with my old comm and TX. Not that I'm after a budget panel but the plane is used strictly for VFR and I would be afraid of the downtime of ripping out the entire panel and starting over. It took nearly a year during COVID to get my engine back due to parts availability so downtime is a thing with me.
I would like to first replace the vintage 496 with a Garmin 660. Unfortunately this takes up some valuable real estate . I the last picture is the paper template for an Air Gismo mount for the 660 which obviously covers a lot more territory of the 496 . I figure I can replace the airspeed, altimeter, and VSI with a Garmin G5 and free up some room but that leaves the control head for the Tru Track AP. The AP is driven in roll only off of the 496. I don't use this feature much but it is nice to have on long XC flights. I could possibly move the Tru Track to where the VSI is currently or possibly upgrade to a 2 axis AP with a smaller controller. In the records that came with the airplane were receipts for every nut and bolt including the True Track and I was a bit surprised how expensive it was for 20 years ago. I understand some autopilots can be operated straight from the instruments like the G5. Right now everything works well and I'm hoping to minimize downtime and move into this decade. Is there anything else I should consider before attempting this upgrade?
Thanks,
Kirk
I fly a 6A finished in 2006. As you can see in the picture the panel is dated and its time for an upgrade. I started pricing out a full Garmin EFIS compliment and quit when I got past 18K and that was with my old comm and TX. Not that I'm after a budget panel but the plane is used strictly for VFR and I would be afraid of the downtime of ripping out the entire panel and starting over. It took nearly a year during COVID to get my engine back due to parts availability so downtime is a thing with me.
I would like to first replace the vintage 496 with a Garmin 660. Unfortunately this takes up some valuable real estate . I the last picture is the paper template for an Air Gismo mount for the 660 which obviously covers a lot more territory of the 496 . I figure I can replace the airspeed, altimeter, and VSI with a Garmin G5 and free up some room but that leaves the control head for the Tru Track AP. The AP is driven in roll only off of the 496. I don't use this feature much but it is nice to have on long XC flights. I could possibly move the Tru Track to where the VSI is currently or possibly upgrade to a 2 axis AP with a smaller controller. In the records that came with the airplane were receipts for every nut and bolt including the True Track and I was a bit surprised how expensive it was for 20 years ago. I understand some autopilots can be operated straight from the instruments like the G5. Right now everything works well and I'm hoping to minimize downtime and move into this decade. Is there anything else I should consider before attempting this upgrade?
Thanks,
Kirk