The International Cessna 170 Association

Thanks for that George. Looks great. My compass is in the panel as well. I think that's exactly what I'm goin to do. Which cradle did you use?

Andre_C wrote:Thanks for that George. Looks great. My compass is in the panel as well. I think that's exactly what I'm goin to do. Which cradle did you use?

Well...that was a puzzle for awhile.

If I recall correctly, I couldn't use what came in the box. I had already had a system I liked with the GPS-196 and didn't want to make things more complicated, but what came in the box wasn't going to do exactly what I wanted.
So I purchased addt'l accessories:

The Dashboard Mount, PN 010-10747-02 (which is what I used to replace the "soft-mount ball" mount that came with the unit. This part will have a "ball" of similar construction and will pop into the Bracket mount to hold the unit and allow some swiveling. I placed industrial strength VELCRO on the base of this dashboard mount and the mating VELCRO on the top of my dash, which holds it very securely even in turbulence.
The Bracket Mount, PN 010-11455-00 (which looks a lot like what came in the box but would not fit up to the ball of the dashboard mount. It cost another $35.)
It also accepts the semi-permanent power-lead I used, which is to cut off the lighter-plug from....
The Vehicle Power Cable, PN 010-10747-03. This is what supplies power to the Bracket mount unit from the aircraft's avionics master. (If you go for the full-blown XM satellite subscription you will not need this, you will use one of the other cables Garmin sells. Unfortunately, the cable supplied in the box will not fit up to a ball or dashboard mount...it will only bolt to the yoke mount which I hate. When you get your stuff together, this will all make more sense when you take stock of it all.)

While this all added a few bucks... it was well worth it to have a clean installation. The unit is powered by the avionics master... and if the ships power dies (imagine a complete generator/alternator/battery failure) the Aera 510 internal battery has been kept re-charged by the ships-pwr... and supplies another 4-hours of navigation/heads-up/back-up instrument display.

The micro-audio jack on the side of the Aera 510 was used to plug it into my PS Engineering audio input, so the Aera 510 provides me with audio-input for the Aera's built-in TAWS (Terrain Awareness/Warning System) and if you subscribe to the XM satellite you will also have all the aviation weather functions, weather/Thunderstorms/Metars/etc displayed, and your passengers can enjoy XM radio/music/etc. You might want to verify whether or not you need the bracket mount above if you use the one included in the box along with the included soft-dash mount. If you're willing to use that soft-mount...maybe in conjunction with Velcro... you might not have to spend the extra money I did. But I'm picky about looks and function and hate cluttered cockpits so I felt the simplicity was well worth the extra few bucks.)

In all, I'm very happy with it and find it worth far more than I ever spent on the system.

About 30 hours of upside down hand jamming with a scotch bright pad and MEK.
It's like day and night. The spray glue made a mess of things but the corrosion was superficial for the most part. Only a few areas needed serious elbow grease to get it out.

The yellow vent lines weren't intentional, just was the primer I had on hand.
I'm putting the black sound proofing up (Greg, you might have started a trend!) and will fly it without a headliner until the IO-360 goes in this winter.

delete

Without criticizing...merely a discussion....
... Ya' know, if the equipment list isn't up-to-date... if the wt and bal isn't up-to-date (to incorporate the missing items since the last wt/bal)... if the airplane hasn't been approved for return to service with those documents updated... then technically the airplane is being operated illegally. (which might also bring to mind the issue of liability and insurance policy validity...)

jus' discussin'...

I plan on revising the weight and balance at each stage but I don't thing the interior panels and such are on the equipment list. If they are, does that mean you need a field approval to fly without side panels like the back seat?

Many of us are lax when it comes to documenting stuff like removing interior upholstery.

The interior is not on the equipment list. However it is understood no aircraft came without it. And, unless documented, I'll bet your actual, on the scale, W&B was done with it in. So should you remove it, you would update the equipment list. The equipment list is not just a list of what we think of as equipment, it is the status of the airframe at the weighing or recalculation. Yes a seat, headliner and panels are equipment.

When I think of my equipment list, I think if the document that was issued with the aircraft (and has been updated a million times so far.) I wouldn't think to add/remove the headliner from that list as I'd have to add it to the list in order to mark it as removed.

In my case, since I'll be flying without the headliner and mine was a heavy vinyl, I plan to make a logbook entry that the headliner was removed the area was cleaned and primed and sound deadening material added (listing the data sheet of the material) as well as an updated W&B. I'm going to work with an A&P for the log entry because I can't update the W&B and I'm re-doing some of the wires and antenna runs at the same time.

The rest of it falls under owner maintenance in FAR 43.7.f.[9,10,11,13,14,15 and 26] and will be my own log book entries.

But this might spark a debate into the intended meaning of the words, 'repair', 'refinish' and 'replace'.

For example, I am simply removing the existing seat belts while I do the work and will re-install the same ones I'm finished. I didn't REPLACE the belts as stated in 43.7-f.14 so maybe I'm not allowed to do this.

Also I will be REPLACING the upholstery but 43.7-f.11 says I'm only allowed to REPAIR it. Perhaps I need a 337 for this?

Lastly, while performing these owner maintenance tasks on the plane, I can't find the proper procedure for using the bathroom. Did they mean to say I can't take a potty break while performing these tasks?? What is a person to do.

David, you assume when Cessna started the calculations from a representative example, that it had a headliner. No it was not on the list. It is assumed to be there as part of the standard package.

But now you are removing it. You are modifying the standard package. If you looked at the W&B calculations when your done how will you know it represents the aircraft without the headliner? Are you going to carry your log page and refer to that page every time you refer to the W&B? No of course not.

A W&B without an accurate equipment list tells you nothing. It is incomplete work. Just add a simple line to the list, headliner removed, simple and accurate. And should it happen that you not install the headliner for say 10 years like I did, and your plane is wrecked and subsequently sold, the next guy looking at the W&B record will know exactly what it represents.

But the W&B represents exactly what the aircraft is anyway. With or without an equipment list because we have specific guidelines as to when a new weight and balance needs to be calculated.

I certainly don't have my paint job noted on my equipment list but be sure a new W&B was done when it was painted.
And if someone strips off that paint, I doubt they will make an equipment list entry "paint removed"..they will simply make a log book entry and re-do the weight and balance.

So if someone 10 years from now adds a headliner back into the airplane, they will update the weight and balance accordingly to reflect that.

Arish,
I installed a set about a month ago. I can attest that in my hangar they are very bright, outside I don't know I am always inside the plane and cannot see them. I can say this I glad this system became available as I have always wanted a rear strobe (I worry about one of those green 170s running over me).

This post is to notify board members that we have ben made aware of this thread and will be monitoring it's progression accordingly.

Aryana wrote:

The FAA wrote:This post is to notify board members that we have ben made aware of this thread and will be monitoring it's progression accordingly.

Who is Ben? Did he buy something for his 170? If not, your post is off-topic.

Arash Aryana: your snide remarks are not well received. We have notified your local FSDO to arrange for a random ramp check of your aircraft. Please ensure your records are in order or you risk seizure of your aircraft.

Ok very funny. The truth is there have been and probably will be real FAA representatives that visit this site. I know, I've talked to them.

But this Funny Anonymous Anathema, shall we call him Inspector Smith, needs to do what is seems most FAA inspectors what to do sooner rather than later, retire.