The sobering reality of major avionics upgrades is the financial hit you’ll take when the aircraft gets into the hands of a professional appraiser. It sure is tempting to simply tack on the avionics shop’s total invoice to the average retail price of the aircraft. Sorry for the buzzkill, but it doesn’t work that way. That’s because an appraisal doesn’t factor in labor costs when considering the value of the upgraded avionics. And that labor will likely be substantial. It used to be that the list price of an avionics component might represent the installed price, but not so much these days given the teardown and interface that’s required.
Avionics Upgrades: Throwaway Labor
