There are avionics jobs and there are avionics jobs. A lot of stuff can be done by any avionics shop, and maybe even much cheaper. It starts to get nasty when you know that your “other”, cheaper, avionics shop actually relies on Straubing for subcontract work and inquiries.
That happened when we had an issue with the KFC 150 autopilot, which was purpoising slowly up and down… I had to do 2 test flights with our “other”, cheaper avionics shop (at our home airport), with a lot of ying yang by the respective mechanic about what it “could” be and what not, but to zero avail, until I was finally fed up and flew to Straubing myself. The guy (Martin) connected his large keyboard-looking analytics device, we flew, he immediately knew what the problem was and repaired it. I could have spared me a lot of time and effort if I would have involved them directly.
I guess the real know how as a customer is to know with wich kind of problem you have to involve whom. That’s the key point here.
The thing which comes through time and time again in this business is how good a relationship you have with the shop. With the old established shops, this makes a difference to whether they reply to you, the speed of service, to whether they lend you units while your duff one has gone back under warranty, and very importantly to the pragmatism with which certification issues are approached and dealt with, etc. I have had so many comms with pilots which make this exceedingly clear. A lot of this is like trying to buy avgas from a Spanish or Italian aeroclub which can’t sell it to foreigners 
A native has a much better chance of getting it.
Autopilots are a specialist area. Not because they are complicated technologically, but because (a) most shops don’t understand “electronics” (and you do have to understand the signals to debug the system) and (b) you often need special fixtures to do certain operations, and only certain dealers will have these. For example, for the KFC225, I have a bus extender which allows the null pots in the side of the unit (why did they put them there???) to be accessed while it is powered up in the aircraft. This extender cost $1500; I went 50/50 with another KFC225 owner. Of course, sod’s law, it was never needed after it was bought
Straubing is a significant player in the STC development (and sale to other avionics shops) scene, along with a few other firms like Gama in the UK. A lot of shops depend on these firms, which can give rise to some interesting forum politics
Interestingly the OP, @davidfabry, has never come back. So we don’t know if this was a GNS430 into a C152, or a full TBM700 G1000 upgrade. But a good thread anyway!
Hi Peter,
Sorry for my later reply. I have been doing a little too much flying these last weeks.
The project is for a Meridian. I have received quite some help regarding the choice of avionics and where to have this done.
My usual suspects are all booked up which is a great thing for them so I was looking for other addresses as I might have missed a few.
Thank you all for your recommandations and avionics upgrade is a hot topic with new products available.
All the best,
David
Porta Air Service, mentioned above, has an interesting corporate identity which has been commented on quite a lot in the past, especially at Aero Friedrichshafen
Good God! I thought that kind of thing went out with back street garages in the 70s.
Hey guys,
I am planning to do a small upgrade on my avionics and I would like to ask some recommendations about good avionics shop installation in Europe.
I am based in Portugal so if some of you know some shops in Portugal, Spain or even France, that would be very helpful.
Also, I have another question regarding the instalation. If I buy a 2nd hand audio panel and Garmin GPS, can any avionics shop install it? I am asking this in therms of certification since my airplane originally didn’t come with GPS.
Thank you.
@miguel22, audio panel is not a problem at all. For GPS – if you want it for VFR only, then not a problem either. For IFR, you need (1) your aircraft to be certified for IFR (which can be seen in the TCDS – type cerficicate datasheet), and (2) an STC to install the chosen GPS in your type. Older Garmins (up to GNS430 inclusive) had no universal STC with an approved model list (AML), so you’ll have to locate one for your type and buy it. Garmin GTN series and Avidyne IFD series come with an approved model list.
However, in either case you don’t necessarily need an avionics shop – an itinerant engineer can install it and sign it off at your own location.
Ultranomad wrote:
@miguel22, audio panel is not a problem at all. For GPS – if you want it for VFR only, then not a problem either. For IFR, you need (1) your aircraft to be certified for IFR (which can be seen in the TCDS – type cerficicate datasheet), (2) an STC to install the chosen GPS in your type. Older Garmins (up to GNS430 inclusive) had no universal STC with an approved model list (AML), so you’ll have to locate one for your type and buy it. Garmin GTN series and Avidyne IFD series come with an approved model list.
However, in either case you don’t necessarily need an avionics shop – an itinerant engineer can install it and sign it off at your own location.
Hello Ultranomad,
Thanks a lot for your reply!
I am still learning regarding the legislation and certification. My idea would be to install a new audio panel and a Garmin 430. Ideally try to certificate the airplane IFR however from what you explained, I can see that would not be neither easy or cheap task…
If I want to to install just the new audio panel and the garmin GPS (or other) and use it only for VFR operation, does it mean that I don’t necessarly need an avionics shop to do this job?
miguel22 wrote:
If I want to to install just the new audio panel and the garmin GPS (or other) and use it only for VFR operation, does it mean that I don’t necessarly need an avionics shop to do this job?
You don’t necessarily need one even for IFR, if you have the STC or AML STC.
