Here is the original panel a year earlier. How little did I know it would go from old to much worse in a hurry.
This is the panel of my M20J about 3 weeks into the new installation. A far cry from the original photo.
Here we are a few more weeks into the transformation. The center stack, from top to bottom, now contains a new Garmin audio panel, a GNS-530 WAAS, a GNS-430 WAAS and the S-TEC 55X Autopilot. We added a new transponder just above the copilot yoke. The new servos have been tested and the interior side panels are back in place.
A new panel was manufactured for the cadre of new or improved instruments to be mounted on the pilot side of the aircraft. This was a beautiful piece of work.
Here is a pre-installation photo of some of the components for the left side of the panel. Pictured is a Castleberry electric AI (backup), a new HSI and a new altimeter. Also photographed is the returning Stormscope, turn coordinator and the new companion Garmin glideslope indicator. Next stop is mating the instruments with the panel. We are getting close.
Everything is now mounted. I showed the layout to many of my friends and they really liked the equipment choice and presentation. The shop is very pleased with the work done and they should be. We are looking for a spot to mount the handheld, which is the standby GPS and are ready to flight test the avionics as soon as the new Weight & Balance is calculated and recorded.
