Avionics Uncategorized

Panel Planner 101: Modern Utilitarian

For fair-weather flying and practicing approaches, drop-in uAvionix instruments and a Garmin GPS add just enough utility without breaking the budget.

Larry Anglisano
Verified

Edited By:

Omar Filipovic

The plastic panel overlay on this Skyhawk was in good shape, making the decision to drop in a couple of uAvionix AV-30 flight displays even easier. No need to modify the plastic to make them fit.

This month’s panel for planning comes from an active flying club that’s lucky enough to operate in a region where it’s hardly ever IFR conditions. But when it was time to inject some modern capabilities to one of its older Cessna Skyhawks (a 1968 L model), the club wanted the ability to at least practice GPS approaches, while getting a taste of electronic flight instruments.

Of course, the airplane sported original round-gauge instruments mostly left over from when it was new, but the radio stack had been incrementally upgraded over the years. That meant retaining some of the existing gear in hopes of saving some work and money.

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.