Someone in a Cessna cut me off....

[Darren S]

yesterday and this was the final straw to push me to buy a Zaon TCAS. I made all my usual radio calls, scanning the horizon etc..... but I didn't see this guy till he was what seemed like 300 feet in front of me crossing my path.

Anyways, I have been wanting an TCAS for sometime as well as a couple of other upgrades for my -7. I would like some opinions on the best route.

Currently the panel has : 6 pack of steam, VOR and Navaid wing leveller on pilot side. Bendix King KMD 150 GPS, radio and intercom in center section and an Advanced Engine Monitor 2002 on the PAX side.

I want a Traffic Collision monitor, G-meter and a proper 2 axis autopilot.

OPTION #1:
I have been looking into upgrading to an Advanced 3500 with EFIS and Engine monitor. I have to buy a TCAS from Zaon and I have to buy a Trio A/P controller head. The G-meter is built in.


OPTION #2:
I have a credit with MGL so alternately I could get a G-meter from them as well as the Trio A/P head. I plan to remove the VOR so there is the space for the G-meter and the Navaid wing leveler hole can hold the Trio head. The TCAS would just sit on the glare shied I guess.

Advantages of switching to an EFIS are weight savings, no mechanical Gyro to deal with.

Disadvantage is cost, labour, flying down time.

Which option would you chose ?

Does anyone know how much weight savings there would be by going with an EFIS ?

It's a slider canopy so I know it will be a little more difficult to access the back of the panel vs. a tip up. Also, I thought about going with an MGL Voyager but I don't think many of the sensors and probes will work.

Thanks,

Darren

[Sid Lambert]

Cannons .

[pazmanyflyer]

Originally Posted by Sid Lambert

Cannons .

I was going to say "to close for missiles, switching to guns!"

[bkthomps]

what were the circumstances? was he VFR in pattern and you doing practice approach or something?

[David Paule]

Can't directly address your questions, but I do have a Zaon XRX on the (non-RV) glareshield.

It's a mixed blessing, with a lot of warnings around the airport, so many that it's difficult to determine what's critical. I no longer use the audible warning because of that.

I guess I'd say that it tells me too much; I'd like their warning algorithm to improve. I don't really care about someone 1,300 feet above me if neither of us are changing altitude or if someone's half a mile away and not closing on me.

It would sure be nice if, out of all the contacts, it figures out which ones might actually be a collision hazard and only alerts me to those.

However, out in the open, away from airports, it's pretty handy, letting me know when someone's in my area.

With my distance glasses on it's a bit hard to read.

[hevansrv7a]

My XRX is feeding serial data to the GRT and the Garmin 496. You can configure, to some extent, the parameters for warnings. The visual display is more precise for the direction of the target than the instrument's own display.

You don't have to buy their cable, just ask them the pins and wire it yourself. Easy. The hardest part was configuring between the 496 and the XRX.

Yes, there are worthless alerts, but darn few false positives. I'll take it.

[jetjok]

Originally Posted by Darren S

yesterday and this was the final straw to push me to buy a Zaon TCAS. I made all my usual radio calls, scanning the horizon etc..... but I didn't see this guy till he was what seemed like 300 feet in front of me crossing my path.
Thanks,
Darren

I understand your frustration, but the fact is even if you had TCAS, he likely still would have cut you off.
There is no doubt though, that safety would have been increased as at least you would have been able to know where he was. It is just one of those things that happens, and keeping your head on a swivel even with TCAS is a must!
Maybe we should ban Cessna's, and have RV only airports!

[kentb]

This spring I started working on my panel upgrade.

My old panel had a 2500 and BMA EFIS. I also wanted to have traffic.



So I did the upgrade.



Although I had a tip-up I removed the panel to work on it. I hate working on my back with the fuel selector poking me.

Note that I didn't replace the panel blank, but cut out access holes and then screwed cover plates over the hole after fitting the new instruments.

AFS has an upgrade path so that you can trade in your 2500 on the 3500. Also I moved my back round gauges to the right side. Replace the Vans air vents with one that I got from Stien. I had to relocate the 496 to a RAM mount to make room for my iPad, but I like it better there anyway.

I decided to go with ADS-B from NavWorx, so there is nothing blocking my view or taking up panel space. I don't know if you have that service in your location.

I though that I would be down about 1 week for the upgrade, but it took more like 1 month. Most of the wiring connection under the panel hook up to the panel with large AMP connectors, so the remove and installation of the panel is not to bad (1 - 2 hours). The unplanned time was the result of not having part and being organized up front. If you can get everything ordered before you start.

When upgrading from 2500 to 3500 you will need new oil and fuel pressure senders and I think that I also replaced the oil temp sender. Trish (at AFS) knows. I didn't use the wiring harness from AFS, but adapted my own. If you didn't trim the wires that came with the 2500 and you locations aren't any worst then my, then the wires will reach.

Good luck with your upgrade.

Kent

[Darren S]

FYI, there is a Top Gun sequel in the works ! For those fans out there. Apparently there won't be as much dogfighting requiring switching from "cannons" to "guns" as modern day Fighter Jet warfare is based on Smart Bombs and dropping them. So now the writers have to create a story around this new technology. The original was done 25 yrs ago.

Alas, I digress. Thanks for the input so far. I need to pull the panel and check out exactly what I am dealing with, with regards to access, wiring, busses.

I didn't build the plane so it'll all be new to me.

A weight savings would be a nice benefit but if it's only going to be 5-10 lbs I may take the easy route and go option #2. Buy the A/P head, buy the TCAS, buy the G-meter.

Darren

[Flybuddy2]

Here's another option to the XRX which is kind of clunky. I have no experience with the XRX but I did own both MRXA and the older Monroy. I found the older Monroy to be much better with accuracy than the MRXA. The new Monroy has direction also.

http://www.monroyaero.com/ATD300+Brochure.pdf