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However, we use it just about every flight, even when flying VFR, by creat- ing a point along the path, assigning
it an altitude, and engaging VNAV.
It alerts us one minute prior then
flies the descent to meet the crossing restriction. Magic.
The safety features, under/over speed protection, the LVL button, and electronic stability protection are nice to have, even though we hope to never use them. We did learn that in our aircraft, the GFC 600 has no way of knowing the aircraft configura- tion, so we only get one under-speed protection speed. What that means
is that it will not protect us from a clean stall since it is set to the slower dirty stall speed.
All-in-all, we could not be happier with the GFC 600. If the GTN 750Xi is the brains, the GFC 600 is the heart of our integrated flight deck.
Dianne: Talk about any lessons learned. What advice would you offer a PA46 owner who was undertaking such a project?
Dean & Tammie Jo: Here are a few thoughts and lessons learned:
A full panel replacement is a big undertaking and it will take longer than you, or the avionics shop, thinks. I have yet to meet the aircraft owner who said his major avionics project
was finished early, or even on time for that matter. Quality work takes time, but with that said, that time should not be extended by having your plane pushed to the back burner. Being around the shop can go a long way toward preventing this. Think squeaky wheel adage.
Being involved with the design is critical but being available and around the shop periodically during instal- lation is just as important. Questions will inevitably arise and being there may mean the difference in having
a say in the solution or not, or hav-
ing your plane pushed aside waiting for an answer.
Doing some homework on the capabilities of the equipment being installed can result in a better product. Initially we were told that the GI275 could not be used as an MFD since
it was our backup AI. After doing
a little homework and pressing the point with the shop, it was determined that with the addition of a switch,
we could get the full functionality of that instrument.
One of the beautiful things about Garmin is that their equipment is full of incredible capabilities, and they continue to innovate. However, just because the equipment manual says that it can do something doesn’t
mean that it is STC’d to do it in your airplane. It is worth asking questions so you aren’t disappointed when a feature you want isn’t available on your aircraft.
Give some serious consideration
to panel lighting. We now have a combination of incandescent lights (in our switches) and LED post lighting and a ring light on our pressurization gauge. Incandescent and LED light- ing are different colors. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of. Getting the LEDs to dim properly has also been tricky. We are still working panel lighting issues, but to Ace’s credit, he is just as concerned as we are about getting it right.
We opted for a single-piece panel. It came out beautifully, but it came at an expense of both money and time. If something isn’t working, which will inevitably be the case during the installation process, it is far less time consuming to remove a portion of the panel rather than the entire panel. I suspect we could have shaved off a couple of weeks if we had opted for a multi-piece panel.
Over the course of its life, our Malibu had, at one time or another,
a cassette player, a TV, a SAT phone, LORAN, NDB, Stormscope, etc. While all of that equipment had been
18 MMOPA MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2021