There is no good way to answer the question.
What upgrades do you have in mind? What brand?
Does the plane have a glass panel in it now, and would you plan to upgrade to a newer/better glass panel? Some brands like GRT are plug and play with the wiring harness when upgrading, some are not.
There are a lot of places to get a new panel built, depending on what you are looking for. Advanced has a sweet setup, but you need to use their stuff. Steinair is well known for their panels. Aerotronics is another well known provider.
As far as wiring the panel,any of the above will do it. Integrating the new panel into the airframe is a whole new ball of wax--------or not. Depends on how the plane was wired in the first place.
https://www.steinair.com/
http://www.aerotronics.com/
Advanced Flight Systems
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Luck of the draw I guess as there’s rarely more than a few 10’s on the market at any given time. Garmin avionics are very popular in the RV world and RV-10s are no exception (my own 10’s panel is a 2-screen non-touch G3X, GTN 650, SL 30, and a G5). That said Dynon/AFS are just as popular followed by GRT. All good systems but you get into Ford vs Chevy vs Toyota territory with most championing their brand of choice. Upgrading can be a lot of work depending on how much you changing out, your budget, your knowledge/experience, and last but not least the state of the wiring in the plane. Wiring isn’t particularly difficult (I wired my panel and like the whole build I had to learn how OTJ), but it can be tedious especially when you have to do work behind the panel in the plane. Buying a while completed panel is a partial solution as you still have to install and integrate it into the exis wiring and systems.So, I am considering just buying an RV10. I currently fly with a 172 with G3x, 750xi GPS and the 500 series AP. Used RV10s seem to not be equipped with much Garmin, so want to know what the worse case scenarios could be buying used (engine/avionics)
I would call a panel builder. My first choice would be Advanced Flight Systems and I'd definitely be talking with them about panel planning and cost. I'm a huge fan of their Advance Control Module. Rob Hickman has been around forever, and AFS is now part of Dynon. He knows RVs and in fact owns an RV10, which is featured in their literature. Class act for sure. My second choice would be Stein Bruch at Steinair. They are also RV-knowledgeable and absolutely top-notch. Thrid choice would be Jason at Aerotronics. Finally, you could design and build yourself...but personally, that hold no appeal for me.If one were to buy a used RV10, how difficult would it be to upgrade the panel? Would the services that build wiring, panel itself, and bench test be able to handle things still?
I was a complete novice when I built my panel. It's only for a VFR airplane. As I recall, the work to perform the avionic built planning, reading the manuals, panel cutting, wiring, bench testing, debugging, airplane installation, checkout, more debugging, all of these tasks took me longer than building the set of wings for my RV8.If one were to buy a used RV10, how difficult would it be to upgrade the panel? Would the services that build wiring, panel itself, and bench test be able to handle things still?
The only difference is cost. As mentioned, the non-certified stuff, regardless of brand, is less expensive. But even the certified stuff, like Garmin GTNs, can be cheaper if you shop around. However, the real cost is in the install labor which can easily be 2 to 3 times the cost of the boxes themselves.Is there anything different or unique about a new panel in a 10 vs the certified world such as my current 172? There don't seem to be so many access panels for things.
Do it yourself. It is not that hard and you will learn a lot. Investigate some "panel planning software", like XPanel. Go get Bob Nuchols book at "Aeroelectric connection"The only difference is cost. As mentioned, the non-certified stuff, regardless of brand, is less expensive. But even the certified stuff, like Garmin GTNs, can be cheaper if you shop around. However, the real cost is in the install labor which can easily be 2 to 3 times the cost of the boxes themselves.
I've done numerous panel upgrades in RV's and certificated aircraft over the years.If one were to buy a used RV10, how difficult would it be to upgrade the panel? Would the services that build wiring, panel itself, and bench test be able to handle things still?
I have done multiple panel "upgrades".If one were to buy a used RV10, how difficult would it be to upgrade the panel? Would the services that build wiring, panel itself, and bench test be able to handle things still?