Radio Replacement

"Jonathan Goodish" wrote:

To me, it doesn't make sense to agonize over buying (or selling) a plane
based on whether it has a 430 in it or not. In my case, even if I had
the 430, there would be folks who wouldn't look at the plane because it
doesn't have leather, or it doesn't have a newer audio panel, or it
doesn't have an autopilot, or it doesn't have one thing or another that
they're looking for.

Wait 'til you're actually trying to sell and you might feel differently.
When
I first tried to sell the plane a couple of years ago, I talked to a dealer
about trading up. His first question about my airplane? "Does it have a
430?"

So, do you plan to now go put a 430 in your airplane so that it will
sell?

Nope. I made a mistake 6 years ago by going cheap and putting in a factory
refurb'd B/K KLN-90B. Installing already obsolete technology was the wrong
thing to do then, but it's too late to correct it now. If I planned on
keeping the airplane for a few more years and would get some use from a WAAS
430, it would be different. I will just have to live with the consequences of
being "penny wise and pound foolish."

If you do not think you need GPS approaches, I certainly would not advise you
to install a 430 if you don't plan on selling for a long time. It only makes
sense for you if you are going to use it AND you are contemplating selling
within a couple of years or so, which is the only reason I mentioned it.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

In article ,
"Dan Luke" wrote:
So, do you plan to now go put a 430 in your airplane so that it will
sell?

Nope. I made a mistake 6 years ago by going cheap and putting in a factory
refurb'd B/K KLN-90B. Installing already obsolete technology was the wrong
thing to do then, but it's too late to correct it now. If I planned on
keeping the airplane for a few more years and would get some use from a WAAS
430, it would be different. I will just have to live with the consequences
of
being "penny wise and pound foolish."

What practical capability does a 430 give you that the 90B does not? As
far as I know, nothing. Now, if you're saying that folks want WAAS
units now, I just can't believe that's the majority of the market.

For my aircraft, I doubt that many potential buyers would walk away over
the lack of GPS. Someone who can't afford a week downtime to install a
430 isn't going to be looking for an Archer.



If you do not think you need GPS approaches, I certainly would not advise you
to install a 430 if you don't plan on selling for a long time. It only makes
sense for you if you are going to use it AND you are contemplating selling
within a couple of years or so, which is the only reason I mentioned it.

Well, obviously GPS is the navigation technology of the future. I don't
think that the investment would necessarily be wasted, but who knows how
the comm situation is going to shake down, or what GPS units may be on
the market in 5 years or so. I don't plan to sell my airplane in the
next couple of years. Could I benefit from the 430W or 480 now? Maybe.
But probably not enough to justify the cost. I will probably abandon my
thoughts of installing a non-WAAS GPS unit, though.

I think I've narrowed down my choices for now to two options:

1 -- Replace the failed 170B with a KX155, eliminate the KN75 GS
receiver on my instrument shelf, and have the KX155 drive the KI209
indicator. If I go this route and then put a 430 or 480 in the panel in
a year or two, I will end up with two fairly new radios with two decent
indicators.

2 -- Have the KX170B repaired and forget about the KX155. The risk with
this option is that one of the 170B radios could fail again, or have a
catastrophic failure and be unrepairable, in which case I'd be forced to
either upgrade or search for a used KX170B. This is the short-term
cheapest solution that doesn't require ripping my plane apart (to run
the GS antenna, etc.) but does it make longer-term sense? I'm not so
sure.



JKG

"Jonathan Goodish" wrote:


What practical capability does a 430 give you that the 90B does not?

None; that's why I saved $5,000 and put in the 90B. That decision is probably
going to cost me more than that now.


Now, if you're saying that folks want WAAS
units now, I just can't believe that's the majority of the market.

Since Angel Flight often takes me to small airports, I very much would like to
have WAAS now. I could have had it relatively cheaply if I'd bought a 430 six
years ago.

For my aircraft, I doubt that many potential buyers would walk away over
the lack of GPS. Someone who can't afford a week downtime to install a
430 isn't going to be looking for an Archer.

I think you'd be surprised.


--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

In article ,
"Dan Luke" wrote:
For my aircraft, I doubt that many potential buyers would walk away over
the lack of GPS. Someone who can't afford a week downtime to install a
430 isn't going to be looking for an Archer.

I think you'd be surprised.

As I previously pointed out, if the buyer is that particular, they're
probably going to walk away due to the lack of autopilot, or the lack of
leather interior, or the lack of some other high-end item that they want
but don't want to wait for. I can't spend more than the plane is worth
just to capture the interest of an extra few percent of the market.

I will say that Garmin has done an incredible job at marketing the
430/530 platform. I would guess that most of the folks who put them in
don't need them and rarely use them for anything that a much cheaper
alternative wouldn't deliver. Now, tell me again how light airplane
owners aren't wealthy?

Then again, this is all rather moot for me right now, because I have no
plans to sell the airplane anytime soon.



JKG