I still need the vaccum as otherwise I can’t retract the passenger step.
But I was wondering with what to replace the ADI if it proves to be broken. By the looks of it, I might as well go vaccum again, as the electric ones let alone the electronic ones have the price of a small car…Will have to see what is left in the rumage box of the avionic store.
@Peter taking out the vacuum system and replacing with two G5s and keeping a turn co-ordinator is OK? – both G5 have plenty of internal battery capacity?
Presumably this logic also applies for a G5 and an Aspen?
The thing is, AIUI from the OP, that this is just a backup for an Aspen.
I don’t think I would spend 5-10k on doing a fancy job of it.
And while mechanical instruments are going out of fashion fast, the fact remains that
Can a G5 be a legal backup in this scenario? There are all sorts of STC restrictions in these cases.
However, if you have only one power source and the primary AI is electronic, then a backup would have to be either vacuum (which one doesn’t want to do unless the vac pump is already there) or electronic+battery.
There are a few threads on G5 vs GI 275, I have not seen either for real but my desktop research I like the G5 more.
Desktop research suggests a cleaner display, no recurring data updates and somewhat cheaper.
Having flown in a gyro free aircraft for many years I like the idea of a vacuum/pressure pump free light aircraft.
On a related note my ideal modern panel would be G5 times 2, IFD550, Lynx 9000 and GFC500 – but would these boxes work happily together?
MattL wrote:
My Grob fleet is just retrofitting these
Hmm, you can get a G5 for this price probably with installation….
My Grob fleet is just retrofitting these
If I was looking for an electric AI I would just pick up a Castleberry unit. I’ve had one on the RHS for about 10 years. They make various AIs and their products are high quality. The one I have is a high-end one which emulates the KI256 but there is no way to legally use it with the KFC225 because it isn’t on the KFC225 STC, hey…
Those are the original Aspens. They do have an upgraded version now which won’t do that. I wish I could update mine, but it’s way too expensive for now.
Basically I will wait and see what the avionics guy will say once he receives it. With the options I’ve seen now, most probably repair or replacement with a similar model will be the most economical solution, as I still need the vaccum pump anyhow.
Not an electrical failure, but here’s what 2x Aspens look like when the pitot blocks … just after 11:00 into the video: Dual Aspens dropping offline over the Atlantic:
