This month’s panel for planning comes from the owner of a nice Grumman Tiger who is ready to make some modest upgrades to its instrument panel. His mission with this aircraft is flying short trips—no longer than four hours—and he’s ready to start his instrument training with the goal of flying light IFR.
As with many VFR panels, the aircraft has a federated arrangement, which is a variety of avionics from different manufacturers, including a Narco Nav825 VOR/ILS radio with ID825 indicator, which is long discontinued and unsupported. Still, it’s a good platform to build upon because it has what I call essentials: a basic graphic engine monitor (an Insight G1), a Shadin FS 450 fuel computer, Mitchell engine gauges, a PS Engineering PMA7000 audio panel with built-in four-place intercom, a uAvionix tailBeacon ADS-B Out transceiver with strobe lighting, a Becker transponder and two Icom A-210 standalone comm transceivers—one of which doesn’t work. It could be a problem with the radio, the wiring, the antenna system or all of the above. It also has a turn coordinator-based S-TEC 30 dual-axis autopilot.