Category: Avionics

I’ve been refining my instrument panel concept over the last week. One of my goals was to fit the Garmin G5 at top center, but its size disrupts placement of other components in the center between the two G3X screens. I’ve moved the G5 to the left edge of...

My Garmin GTN 650xi arrived this week, very fresh from the factory — all the paperwork was dated 8/25/2020! Great service from Steve and Adam at Midwest Panel Builders. They are an authorized Garmin dealer, and I highly recommend them for anything avionics related. As I discussed in a...

My current favorite layout of the instrument panel is what I call ‘Variant 1B’. I settled on using a GTN 650xi as my IFR navigator, per my recent post comparing it with the GNX 375. This panel is the result of feedback that I solicited from two Facebook groups,...

The avionics are one of the more costly parts of a kit airplane build. It is easy to spec out an equipment list that totals more than the cost of the airplane itself. One costly option I discovered is deciding to equip your plane for IFR flight. For a...

I purchased a few G3X components from Sling-focused supplier Midwest Panel Builders. Garmin ran a rebate promotion through the summer that I decided to take advantage of. I purchased two screens, a 10.6” GDU 460 and a 7” GDU 470, as well as a GEA 24 engine analyzer. These...

I’ve been working on a 3D model of my instrument panel. Although I’m still several months away from needing to buy avionics, there are some good rebates right now from Garmin, so I think I’m going to start buying some components, even if it means it will sit on...

I received quite a few parts recently – the big ones being the interior upholstery kit and the undercarriage kit. I ordered the upholstery kit mid-September 2019 and it arrived March 2020, so for anyone else planning to buy one, plan for 6 months lead time. It’s made to...

I ordered an Artex 345 ELT in December and received it in January, so I figured it was time to install it. It’s a pretty straightforward install, attached with just 4 bolts to a floor rib. For the electrical, I ran a shielded 3-conductor wire out to the ELT...

One of my first new year’s resolutions is to complete the fuselage wiring so that I can start tacking on the fuselage skins. So, I spent most of New Year’s Day working on wiring and a few other small tasks. First, I finished off the install of the roll...

My special-order fuel selector valve from Andair arrived yesterday. I’m pretty impressed with the build quality, it certainly seems worth the price. I opted for a remote install version due to the solid fuel lines I’m running. The remote version comes with an extension bar and a u-joint. Now...