Nice! Keeping the old flight director is a really smart way to do it, as it simplifies so much and makes autopilot work etc. The minute you go all glass for FD and PFD, a whole new world of pain opens up. So if you can live with the analog part, it’s a less painful way. I’m doing the exact same thing on mine. Also, the old Collins is a bit like an analog PFD in ways. GS markings come right up next beside the AI, so there’s really only one place you need to look.
I did try the IFD. I come from steam, so never really had much interaction with the GTN’s, so can’t really compare. But I liked all the new features that were coming. What I think sold me was the fact that it’s got a PFD in it, and you could theoretically mount it right in front of you. I never really understood why the G500/G600 MFD/PFD’s needs an external GPS. Shouldn’t it be built in already into one box? The IFD is a step in that direction and I think the future will be exactly that: there will be one big screen with everything built in that can do it all.
Surprised to hear you didn’t like it, but for many people Garmin just fits better. Superficially, I like the Garmin layout design better. It just looks a little slicker, whereas the Avidyne seems a little less refined design-wise.
Progress pictorial….
Nobody puts baby in a corner! A telltale sign that your plane has been there too long is that it’s stuck at the very back corner…
…and a look inside the cabin produced the same anxiety as last time.
But at least the radar was installed.
And the panel is back, labelled and ready o be installed.
Perhaps hard to see, but a very thin overlay will cover many of the screw holes and plates for the environmental system. This has been moved up from pedestal.
Here’s the top panel. They did a good incorporating the LED annunciator/warning lights into this panel, not having to rely on tiny incandescent bulbs.
Fuse panel.
A quick stop at the upholstery shop at Corona revealed a very nice set of pilots seat…
…and this made the day from kind of meh to great!
Went for a diamond shape pattern in the middle, slightly inspired by current Bentley interiors…
They’ll use a darker brown stitching for the final finish, the light one is just temporary…
Pockets at the back.
Very nice!
Temporary stitching? You mean they undo all of that and go again?
Your panels look great, by the way.
I do like the instrument panels. Very nicely done.
Years ago, another pilot I knew, reworked a 421C like this. It was done by Airtime in Bournemouth. I have no idea if they still have that capability. I reckon he spent something like 100k on the refit, having originally bought it for probably a similar amount, and he got some years of good flying out of it before moving to a King Air.
He re-did the labels on circuit breakers etc with engraved metal strips. It looked really good.
AdamFrisch wrote:
…and a look inside the cabin produced the same anxiety as last time.
Yeah, it’s kinda like being on the Dr.’s side when your wife is giving birth …
Some things are not for the faint at heart 
If you have a competent and trustworthy shop doing the work, then this is an opportunity to end up with an aircraft which is exactly how you want it and which should be free of various annoying issues.
Here in Europe there is a dire shortage of shops which could do this sort of project.
That’s what they said – my reaction was like yours. @ChuckGlider
Minuscule progress, but still progress… The throttle quadrant is now painted.
So, getting pretty close now…
They tested it all the other day, and most things works fine. GPS, ADS-B, radar, radios etc all work well, which were the main things. The gyro flag on the ADI doesn’t go away, despite the gyro spinning up. This also affects the autopilot which immediately kicks off due to this. So they’re troubleshooting that now, hoping it’s some easy solution, like wiring etc. Of course once you start test flying, I’m sure there will some other things that need fixing…
But anyhow – slightly encouraging. Hope you don’t mind these little incremental update postings.
