The existing panel—perfectly functional and increasingly antiquated.
THE NEW OWNER: THE CALCULUS BEHIND THE ULTIMATE PANEL MODERNIZATION The classifieds are not the only place to find your next airplane. Just like in the business world, it could be about who you know.
BY JASON McDOWELL
THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL and college, I had a bit of an obses- sion with high-end bicycles. I was starstruck by handcrafted titanium frames, precision-machined components, and fully tunable suspen- sion. I dedicated the majority of class time to studying the intricacies of custom bike builds. Faced with the budget of a typical high school student, I worked hard to get a job at one of the best bicycle shops in town, almost exclusively for the significant employee discounts that would enable me to feed my expensive habit. At no point could I even begin to justify the Olympic-caliber race setups I then proceeded to build. With a physique and athleticism that bore a stronger resemblance to Bobby Hill than to any notable athlete, the discrepancy between bicycle quality and actual physical capabil- ity was both stark and embarrassing. But I was fueled by enthusiasm, and my love for evaluating beautiful engineering more than made up for the humiliation that occurred on every hill climb. Thirty years later, the bicycle situation and general fitness level have remained unchanged, and the disease has now spread to aviation. One by one, I’ve been strategically upgrading various parts on my Cessna 170, from the propeller to lighting to wheels and tires. Now, thanks to a social media sponsorship unrelated to my work with FLYING , I’ve finally decided to take a major step and upgrade the instrument panel.
Despite being part of a sponsorship, the upgrade will still involve a substantial price tag to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. The sum is massive in my world, and it took much calculation to determine what benefits would justify such an expenditure. I ultimately identi- fied four that, when combined, do so handily. 1. Vacuum-ectomy Sometime in the 1960s, a previous owner of my airplane opted to re- move the venturi system that originally powered the gyro instruments and replace it with an engine-driven vacuum system. The vacuum sys- tem was so massive and cumbersome, a larger engine cowl had to be installed for it to fit. The resulting setup presents a few frustrations. It adds weight at the far end of the airplane. It positions the pump pulley millimeters away from the back face of the propeller. It provides relatively little benefit for the VFR flying I do. It introduces multiple points of mechanical failure. And although appearance is low on my list of concerns, it’s ugly. Upgrading to a modern panel enables this entire assembly of the pump, gyros, and hoses to be removed from the airplane like a prob- lematic appendix. New solid-state avionics will save weight and provide far better reliability and functionality.
10
4
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting