And she's changing to glass

[rhurt]

The windshield center post is removed from my '66. Taking it out may save some time in the install.

We put a JPI 450 in for $1,300 and it talks to the 530 perfectly. The Aspen will not drive the Navomatic 400 though. We're going to try upgrading it to a 400A (about $1,000).

[Ernie Martin]

Do not take out the center post without the structural-strengthening STC from RT Aerospace ( www.rtaerospace.com/prices.htm ). Aside from being illegal, my recollection is that removal of the center post can result in structural failure, loss of the windshield and an increase in drag of such magnitude that the aircraft cannot maintain altitude.

Ernie

[gkey]

This is a picture of the panel structure. Most of the braces and brackets are either corroded or broken. Also, the previous install did not go too well, and they had to cut away some of the supporting structure to make the centre stack fit (a big no-no!).

My mechanic did not want to remove and rebuild the panel structure, as this would imply tampering with the airframe structure. Instead, he found a "radio rack" with a STC specifically for Skymasters that can be installed without tampering with the existing structure. The beauty is that it will not only correct things, but also make the panel sturdier than ever before.

[gkey]

During the "clean-up" phase, they removed just over 27 lbs of wire that was just left behind with the previous avionics install. I flew around with 27 lbs of dead weight!!
This picture shows the heap of wire that was left over AFTER they already filled an apple box with wires, connectors etc.

[gkey]

Just got word back on my S-Tec 55. The good news is that I do not need to buy a new A/P; they could fix mine. (Yahoo!!).

But they did find about half a dozen problems. I still have to find out what these problems were exactly, but one was that I fried the resistors on the ALT and pitch during a very turbulent flight (will NEVER do that again!). I understand they loaded it with a newer version software as well. Oh, and they cleaned up the LCD display.

Cost? $600. What a relief...

[rmorris]

Originally Posted by rhurt

The windshield center post is removed from my '66. Taking it out may save some time in the install.

We put a JPI 450 in for $1,300 and it talks to the 530 perfectly. The Aspen will not drive the Navomatic 400 though. We're going to try upgrading it to a 400A (about $1,000).

In my T337C, I am also interested in upgrading from a Navomatic 400 to a 400A (or B), but haven't had any luck finding info on it (cost or process)....where did you find out it's a $1K and how do you do it?

On the windshield post being removed...what STC did you use. I want to replace my windshield soon, and would love to remove the post (legally and safely of course).

-Robert
rmorris@agsi.us
________
Penny Stocks To Watch

[rhurt]

The autopilot is not changed out yet, but is scheduled for next week. Supposedly the head and computer can be changed and maybe an electric trim added to complete the install. The electric trim will be the problem.

Chad at Cumberland Avionics in Nashville is doing the install. I believe he got technical help from Autopilots Central. He had some old 400A parts hanging around and sent them to A. C. for inspection and tagging.

I'm planning to take it to Naples, FL at the end of next week, and I'm hoping the thing will shoot hands off approaches with the 530w, Aspen GPSS and 400A, just like my dad's plane does with the s-tec. I'm not holding my breath, but I think the thing can be sorted out eventually. We'll see.

The windshield was done before I bought into the plane, so I'll have to check the STC, but it was probably RT aerospace.

[gkey]

I got some pics today from the shop, as they started with the dry fitting of avionics and instruments. The CAD program was a little optimistic with real estate on the panel, so they cut a plywood panel and did it the old way.

In this picture the ADF and attitude gyro were in the wrong positions - they should be positioned vice versa. Left of the Aspen comes the ASI, and to the right of the Aspen comes the ALT. They will be removed as soon as the Aspen MFD's become available, which will then be installed in their places.

For back-up instruments we will place 2" miniature ALT and ASI in the far left corner, one above the other. The big attitude indicator will remain. The syncophaser needle will be placed in its usual spot, in the left upper corner of the panel.

[gkey]

This is what the panel is going to look like so far. Again, the ADF and attitude instruments should be reversed.

[WebMaster]

I know that the Aspen is the latest, coolest thing out there, but in your considerations, did you consider the Bendix King PFD??

I like that it is larger, and very cool looking

https://www.bendixking.com/apexedgeseries/index.html

[gkey]

Very valid question. Short answer: no. I did not even occur to me. I guess this one went past me because I do not regard myself as a B/K fan.

But at quick glance the B/K MFD looks very cool, I agree. I'll have to read up about it first though. For starters, if I have to give advice so far to others planning a similar venture with their panel, I would caution on available estate on the panel. These panels are a lot smaller than we think. The B/K is 8.5" wide x 7" tall. It actually works out better (read:smaller) than the 3-piece Aspen glass, which is (per unit) 3.5" wide x 7" tall. Something to consider indeed. With my setup I do not have enough panel space to install all three 2" mini instrumetns in a cluster together, hence the mini-ASI and mini ALT on the left side and the normal attitude indicator on the right side (it would just look funny if it was a mini too).

Another winning ingredient is the cheaper price for the B/K vs. the full set of 3 Aspens.
OTOH, the Aspen can direct the MFD to take over PFD duties in case of failure, which the B/K can't do. It is very unlikely that all three or even two Aspen screens will die simultaneously.

Make no mistake, I am still very smitten with the Aspen setup. But I do know of at least 2 problems it has (defaulting to HDG mode during landing and attitude problems in certain conditions), but Aspen is working on a software solution to be released (hopefully) soon. I would like to study the B/K unit as well and see if it has similar quirks.

[gkey]

Update - The shop dry-fitted everything (left panel and centre stack) over the last few days. They completed the harnesses and connected everything, and then bench-checked the system. The Aspen, 530W, S-Tec 55 and SL-30 work seemlessly together with no glitches. Everyone is happy. Over the next day or two they will cut the new aluminum panels and dry-fit them to the panel frame to check for accuracy. Then they will send them off to be powder coated.

There are four 2" holes in the panel that will be plugged for the time being. Mid-Continent takes about 120 days to deliver the 2" ASI and Altimeter, and the other two 2" holes are for the cooling fans of the soon-to-be installed Aspens 1000 EFD and 500 EFD.

[GJ Humphrey]

Hi All,

Had the Aspen Pro istalled about two months ago. Fabulous piece of equipment. Everything worked as advertised right from the first flight. Best aviation invention since the wing!

I made one error. Notice in the mock-up panel in the photo submitted by Jakes Dekkers, that the Aspen is offset about 1.5" to the left of the control wheel shaft. This is because the Aspen fits into the hole left by removal of the attitude indicator, and on my ship and, apparently, Mr. Dekkers', the AI is not centered. over the shaft. Once the Aspen is installed, it's such a Christmas tree, with all the glowing colors and wealth of information beautifully and compactly displayed, the off-center position of the unit seems really assymetrical and weird.

I had an aluminum panel overlay made up and could have changed the layout slightly to achieve symmetry, had I noticed the problem beforehand. If you're going to spend the money, you want a nice-appearing panel, not one that's lop-sided. I plan to have mine redone at some point in the future.

Got rid of the super-junky, brittle and cracked plastic Cessna overlay in the process.

Next dream project: getting rid of the rectangular 1948 Studebaker engine instrument and fuel gauge cluster. Worst thing in the airplane in appearance and function.

GJ Humphrey
Concord, NH
N3CU, 1973 T337G, SN P3370063

[hharney]

Gordon
How about a photo. I am curious about the placement and the view.

[gkey]

Originally Posted by GJ Humphrey

Notice in the mock-up panel in the photo submitted by Jakes Dekker, that the Aspen is offset about 1.5" to the left of the control wheel shaft. This is because the Aspen fits into the hole left by removal of the attitude indicator, and on my ship and, apparently, Dr. Dekkers', the AI is not centered over the shaft. Once the Aspen is installed, it's such a Christmas tree, with all the glowing colors and wealth of information beautifully and compactly displayed, the off-center position of the unit seems really assymetrical and weird.

It is a very valid point. Actually, we were paying a lot of attention to that. We were torn over the two choices we had: (a) centre the PFD over the steering column, or (b) centre it over the amber warning light directly beneath it. Option (b) made more sense for 2 reasons: (i) the basic structure of the panel support allowed for it very easily, and (ii) visually it looked better when centred over the yellow warning light. We also pasted real-life size pictures of the MFD's either side of the PFD, and when the area covered by Aspens is bigger, the little offset is almost not noticeble.

It's weird, but in the "old" steam gauge configuration everything was also 1,5" off to the left - I did not even notice it then.