N4947J: A 1968 Piper Arrow
This is my airplane. I bought it in September of 2000, flew it a bit, then put it in
the shop for avionics upgrades. It’s been there ever since.
It’s truly amazing how long things in aviation take to accomplish. Getting all
the parties involved to work together has been difficult. Then, shortly before we were ready to
make real progress on this project, the principal installer was evicted.
So, we moved the airplane to a new location (much more difficult than it sounds),
and tried again (with much more success).
The original story serves as an introduction to the
whole saga, and the following links will expand on that.
When I bought this airplane last year I had the crazy notion to put in a new
instrument panel. Despite my best efforts, this took about nine months to complete
(hmm…babies take about nine months).
This is a shot of the original panel. Click on the photo to get an introduction.
The process of making the new panel began in December of 2000, and wasn’t
complete until July, 2001. Much of this time was spent waiting to determine if the FAA would approve
the new panel, as it required a structural change to the aircraft.
Here’s the new panel after painting and silkscreening. Click on the photo to
see the process of making a panel.
As it turned out, approval was not difficult to obtain. Towards the end of July,
the panel was mounted, circuit breakers and switches installed, and the old mass of wires
pulled out of the way awaiting their connection.
At this point we took a break while I took vacation in Oshkosh, WI, at
AirVenture 2001.
On the right is a picture of the panel after it was initially installed. Click on it
to see what was involved in pulling out the old panel and putting this one in.
Well, things are coming along. All of the switches have been wired, although the
dimming system still needs to be added. All of the instruments (except the EGT guage) need to be
connected, but at least they're installed. The connections should go quickly.
Basic instruments left to connect: clock, JPI Fuel Scan 450, Airspeed, Turn
Coordinator, Attitude, Sandel SN3308, Altitude, Vertical Speed, Manifold Pressure/Fuel Flow,
Tachometer, Suction. Also, an alternate static source needs to be plumbed.
The avionics racks need to be installed, then the avionics cans. After that, the
avionics wiring (power and system interconnections). Also to be installed is the
avionics cooling fan, which will come on with avionics master power and provide cooling air to
the Garmin GNS 530 GPS, Garmin GXT-327 transponder, and King KX-155 Nav/Comm.
We also decided at this point to perform an annual inspection, since it’s due
in October and the plane is already partially disassembled. It will save time and money to do it now.
It’s really getting close now. A great deal of work has been accomplished.
While there are probably a couple of weeks left before I can take the plane home, there is a light
peeking from the end of the tunnel.
Note the most significant addition at right: the control yokes are back in!