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N6030X(at)DaveMorris.com
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 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 4:32 pm Post subject: What upgrades are possible on a certified plane? |
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I am buying a 1960 Mooney M20A with a Lycoming O-360-A1A engine which
of course includes a vacuum pump and the usual vacuum
instruments. The familiar T-arrangement on the instrument panel had
not been conceived of yet in 1960.
My last 13 years have been spent in the experimental world doing
pretty much whatever I pleased, so I'm new to the whole certified
world of 337s and PMAs and STCs and the like.
I would dearly love to hire an A&P mechanic to pull out the vacuum
pump and vacuum instruments, put a B&C backup alternator on the
vacuum pad, mount a Flight Cheetah with XM Weather and solid state
Artificial Horizon at the center of a high-tech T-arrangement, re-do
the instrument panel so the instruments are more logically laid out,
put the critical engine monitoring instruments on the left side where
I can see them, etc.
What latitudes does one have to do that sort of thing? Can you put a
B&C backup alternator on any airplane?
For reference, here's the "shotgun" instrument panel of the 60's:
Left side: http://www.davemorris.com/Photos/Mooney%20N6030X/IMG_1639.jpg
Right side: http://www.davemorris.com/Photos/Mooney%20N6030X/IMG_1641.jpg
This is the coolest breakthrough in glass: Flight Cheetah:
http://www.aviationsafety.com/products.htm
By the way, this is a shot of one of the brand new engines going into
a Mooney Ovation about to roll off the production line (I believe
it's a Continental IO-540 or 550). You can't see it in the photo, but
it sports a B&C backup alternator because of the Garmin G1000 glass
cockpit and lack of need for vacuum instruments:
http://www.davemorris.com/Photos/Mooney%20Factory%20Tour/IMG_1611.jpg
Dave Morris
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brian
Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:19 am Post subject: What upgrades are possible on a certified plane? |
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On Jul 29, 2006, at 8:23 PM, Dave N6030X wrote:
| Quote: | I would dearly love to hire an A&P mechanic to pull out the vacuum
pump and vacuum instruments, put a B&C backup alternator on the
vacuum pad, mount a Flight Cheetah with XM Weather and solid state
Artificial Horizon at the center of a high-tech T-arrangement, re-
do the instrument panel so the instruments are more logically laid
out, put the critical engine monitoring instruments on the left
side where I can see them, etc.
What latitudes does one have to do that sort of thing? Can you put
a B&C backup alternator on any airplane?
|
I have done some of this with certified aircraft in the past but not
as completely as you are suggesting. I have done it for a Piper
Comanche and a Piper Clipper.
What you are after is a one-time STC on a form 337 for alternations.
Fabricating a new panel and rearranging the locations of instruments
does not require a 337 so long as the it does not require
modification of any load-bearing structure. In my Comanche the panels
are on vibration isolators and are not structural. I was able to move
instruments to construct a "modern" 6-pack layout and center stack
for my radios without any problem.
In my Comanche I also constructed an e-bus out of what was the
avionics bus and added a second battery charged by the main battery
through a diode. The second battery could be directly switched to the
e-bus to power selected radios and TC. That did require a 337 but it
did not seem to give the FSDO heartburn. The only problem is, I did
that in 1985 and they seem to have been more flexible then than they
are now.
As for adding a B&C dynamo, you can probably forget it. The FAA tried
to put Bill Bainbridge out of business on the basis that he was
intentionally selling his stuff to people for their certified
aircraft (it was another Bob Hoover deal). They eventually backed
down under pressure from the community but it had to go all the way
up to the Administrator before it got fixed.
I also kept the vacuum instruments and added a Precise Flight standby
vacuum system. It requires me to reduce throttle to generate vacuum
in the intake manifold but it works just fine and will get you back
on the ground.
It would make so much sense to build an all-electric panel but the
FAA is risk-averse and probably won't buy into that idea. I am going
to try to talk the FSDO into signing off on adding a Dynon to the
panel without removing any of the existing instruments. If all the
certified stuff remains they shouldn't have a problem. The only worry
I have is that I will have to tap into the pitot-static system and
that may bother them. We'll see.
Good luck!
Brian Lloyd 361 Catterline Way
brian-yak AT lloyd DOT com Folsom, CA 95630
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.270.912.0788 (fax)
I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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_________________
Brian Lloyd
brian-yak at lloyd dot com
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.270.912.0788 (fax)
I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
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