Making a VFR C152 IFR

wrote:

I think that this would be a pretty good plan. Your situation isn't all that
different from ours in our Cherokee a year or so ago. We got a good deal (local) on a
KLX-135 (King VFR GPS/COM), and ebay'd up a KY-197 and KN-53 (no GS)... basically a
KX-155 in two separate boxes. So, we needed the ILS to make it IFR trainable/flyable,
so we found a deal on a KNS-80. I'd assume panel space is a bit of an issue in a 152
so it might be a bit big, but I still maintain that a KNS-80 is great
bang-for-the-buck in used avionics now. Digital VOR/LOC/GS/DME/RNAV... GREAT for ifr

Agreed, used KNS-80s offer a high bang/buck ratio.

training. If the 300XL weren't also a COM, I might agree with the handheld GPS crowd,
but it's a lot of functionality, and it's more reliable in the panel. My GPS isn't
moving map, but aside from airspace visualizations, I don't miss it.

I'm still debating whether or not to install it or sell it. I need to
find out the install price difference - how much I'd save with just
having the 155/indicator/audio panel installed. I'd have to guess it's
not much.

The trouble with the KX-155 is that it's very popular... thus overly
expensive. Maybe a KN-53 with GS for a stand-alone NAV to go with the GPS/COM.

I picked up a yellow-tagged 155 with glidescope AND a 209 indicator for
$2K.

Sorry for rambling, but it's difficult to find any sort of deal in avionics. My
experience is a bit skewed from most since my installation expenses were very
minimal...

Wish I had that advantage.

Why spend the money to install a panel-mount VFR GPS? A used
portable/battery GPS on Ebay would be much cheaper and would additionally
serve as a battery backup in case you lost your electrical system while IFR.
A used Garmin 196 would be an excellent choice since it has a "partial
panel" page that is a good backup in case of gyro failure; it can even help
you to monitor your IFR approaches via its moving map and thus is more
helpful under IFR than many panel-mount GPS units.

--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com