avionics upgrade

duckguyduckguy
in General Discussion
mini_01102012-1217_photo.JPGHey guys, just bought my first plane, a 68 180. I am a vfr pilot and plan to get my instrument ticket in her. The auto pilot is a Century 2000 and it has manual trim. Thinking of upgrading to a 430w or? or is it a waste given whats there?

Comments

  • flyguydonflyguydon
    It would be a good idea.
  • duckguyduckguy
    I figured, anyone have a line on a nice preowned 430w perhaps?
  • flyguydonflyguydon
    You can get good used ones from reliable sources on eBay.
  • duckguyduckguy
    And excuse my ignorance but with a 430 and the current auto pilot what will I be able to do or not that I may need to further upgrade?
  • Avionics-techAvionics-tech
    There's nothing wrong with your stack.
    Get your IFR with what you have. Fly, get some hours and then you will know what to get.
  • duckguyduckguy
    Can someone really tell me what I have, What I can do and what I could do with a 430?
  • flyguydonflyguydon
    Your picture is not of such a resolution that I can get a real good look at it... but it looks like you have basically dual NAV/COMs and as such can do precision and non-precision approaches, follow VOR signals and airways... and that is it.

    All a WAAS GPS would do for you is allow you to have better situational awareness, do GPS and LNAV approaches, and go "direct to". Many smaller airports do not have an ILS so a GPS approach is a nice tool to have in your pocket. Otherwise, you can get a nice 396, 496 or whatever portable GPS and have the situational awareness part for 1000 bucks or less.
  • duckguyduckguy
    It does have a Garmin 155 TSO but not a CDI linked to it.
  • kentshawkentshaw
    Try http://avionicslist.com/ for a list of used avionics from multiple sources including Ebay. I did not find sufficient savings by going with a used 430w plus installion over a new one. You can save a little by getting a used Garmin indicator. Also consider adding a GPSS converter to your autopilot especially if you will be flying IFR in the future. I have an STEC-20 and the STEC GPSS but the Century should work just as well with a GPSS.
  • Martin HMartin H
    Since you are asking and I get to design without using my money, or in this case, what I would do for the most bang for the buck....

    1 - You do have the minimum and a little more for your IFR training. You have a Average panel and a VERY good Autopilot. If you intend to move on to another plane soon (read 1-2 years), you want to spend minimum to no money.

    2 - If you insist or want to upgrade, Piper magazine a few months back had a VERY good article on most bang for the buck. Read that immediately.

    3 - If you plan to keep this plane longer than 1-2 years, invest in a very good WAAS GPS with screen and add the 696 or 796, as a panal mount. This allows you to have weather, a larger screen to view, and up to date info. Which panel mounted WAAS GPS??? You really have a nice choice of three - the 430W (but is slowly being phased out), the Avidene 430W replacement (which costs about the same but is better and designed to replace the 430W), or the new, kinda bigger and much more expensive 650 from Garmin.

    In either case, you want the Panel mount to talk to and allow you to view the terrain and weather and other planes on your BIG screen 696 or 796.

    4 - Last thing..... IF you can, get an ASPEN as the primary system to use all the GPS, AUTOpilot, and GPSS capabilities..... . The nice thing about an Aspen is, it has its own GPS and battery to assist in case of emergency and fits in the holes for the AH and DG.

    5 - cost? 696 with panel mount / gizmo - $2500 - ish, Panel GPS - $6k - $10K, Aspen installed (if you shop - around $12,000) and I would probably buy them in this order.

    IMHO

    Martin
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