Cessna’s mechanically tuned ARC series are still repairable, but barely.

by Larry Anglisano

In a perfect avionics upgrade, it’s out with all of the old and in with the new. For some owners at the top of the economic food chain, this is the case every five years, sometimes sooner. For the rest of us, avionics upgrades are few and far between and the key to saving a grand here and a grand there might require retaining equipment that’s getting, well, ancient.

In many cases, there’s nothing wrong with mixing old stuff with the cutting edge, if you understand the shortcomings and can accept the operational and aesthetic limitations. In this article, we’ll sort through which of the most common older avionics…