Author: "jaybrinkmeyer" <jaybrinkmeyer@...> Time: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:57 am PST Link
I've been listening to the chatter regarding installing autopilot
servos and pitot ports for a while. Since installing giblets before
final assembly/integration is desired, it's never too early to be
thinking ahead...
Avionics seem to be close to the top of the trickiest part of home-
building as there are so many choices. For my purposes, I'll never
fly "hard" IFR on purpose. However, it might not be unusual to start
off IFR and and then fly VFR on top (or vice versa).
1) What do the experienced folks have to say about glass vs. "steam"
guages? Glass must be redundant or it's not an option.
2) What's a reasonable balance between glass and traditional
instruments? I'm thinking that one would want at least traditional
air speed, ALT, VSI, compass and Transponder/Comm.
3) Budget is always a concern. If one goes by the 1/3 airframe, 1/3
engine, 1/3 avionics theory then total instrument budget in a
perfect world is (gulp) around $30K. That seems high...
4) What have others seen and/or have opinions on regarding glass
vendors? Blue Mountain has to be close to the top of the "cool" list
(although there may be others). Garmin may be good, but are they
affordable?
5) One bubbling concern I have around any company is the long-term
viability. Will they be around in 10 years to offer service and
support?
6) Any idea what Van's spent on their -10 proto avionics? What all
did they include? Was the proto rigged for lite IFR or VFR only?
Author: "Dan Checkoway" <dan@...> Time: Tue Jan 13, 2004 3:24 am PST Link
> Avionics seem to be close to the top of the trickiest part of home-
> building as there are so many choices. For my purposes, I'll never
> fly "hard" IFR on purpose. However, it might not be unusual to start
> off IFR and and then fly VFR on top (or vice versa).
I would think that in a high-performance 4-seater like the RV-10 you'd
almost *have* to think about resale value. More so than with the 2-place
RVs.
A buddy of mine is in the market for a used 2-place RV with IFR
instrumentation and avionics, and he's hard pressed to find a decent one.
So many VFR-only RVs out there. I tell him it's not that big a deal to gut
the panel, but you know, he's not a builder and wants nothing of it. His
loss, I guess, but people like him do complicate the used RV market.
> 2) What's a reasonable balance between glass and traditional
> instruments? I'm thinking that one would want at least traditional
> air speed, ALT, VSI, compass and Transponder/Comm.
You've already begun to answer your own question with your comfort level and
degree of conservatism. Good thinking in my opinion.
> 3) Budget is always a concern. If one goes by the 1/3 airframe, 1/3
> engine, 1/3 avionics theory then total instrument budget in a
> perfect world is (gulp) around $30K. That seems high...
Don't stick to any formulas, they'll just discourage you. On my RV-7 I've
got:
24% airframe (including finish kit)
46% powerplant (engine/prop/fwf kit)
20% avionics/instruments
10% "other"
You can tell what my priorities are. Or can you? Looks like avionics is in
the minority here, but that's not necessarily the case functionality-wise.
Even at 20% I still have an all-electric (no vacuum) IFR panel with all
glass primary instrumentation, plus conventional backup flight instruments,
*and* an IFR approach TSO'd GPS and the best nav/com on the market. Brand
new. (http://www.starkavionics.com)
http://rvproject.com/images/panel/panel_1280x419.jpg
http://rvproject.com/images/panel/panel_640x210.jpg (for the bandwidth
impaired)
Now you can see my real priorities...powerplant, and powerplant monitoring.
The ACS2002 (http://www.advanced-control-systems.com), as if I have to plug
it, since Van has it in the factory -10, is an absolutely amazing unit.
Every parameter is on-screen, color coded, and vocal warnings to boot. It's
awesome. Price up the steam gauges that serve all of its functions and you
won't save any money unless you become a thief.
Anyway, don't stick to a formula, just design your own ideal setup.
> 4) What have others seen and/or have opinions on regarding glass
> vendors? Blue Mountain has to be close to the top of the "cool" list
> (although there may be others). Garmin may be good, but are they
> affordable?
It's all great stuff. I went with the Dynon (http://www.dynonavionics.com)
because the price was right for the functionality. I started out thinking
I'd have a vacuum system. I quickly wisened up after reading AeroElectric
Connection (http://www.aeroelectric.com for the uninitiated, it's a MUST
HAVE), and decided to go all electric. Well, the cost of an electric AI +
DG is outrageous...and at $1995 for the Dynon you get a lot of bang for the
buck. Essentially, for $2k, give or take, you get either:
- vac pump + filter + regulator + vac AI + vac DG
- electric AI + electric DG
- Dynon EFIS-D10
Is there any question? If your budget supports more, then the Blue Mountain
EFIS-One or EFIS-Lite look excellent. Forget about the G1000, you can't get
it.
I hope this perspective is helpful. And I hope you guys don't mind me
lurking and popping my head in here...I'll most likely be building a -10 at
some point in the future. I'm getting a lot of great info from the folks
who are posting about their experience. Thanks!
)_( Dan
RV-7 N714D
http://www.rvproject.com