Filling the baffle jog
I’m finally back at building after our trip to Sun Valley. We had great weather and a great time skiing/snowboarding.
I’m still wiped out from the trip, but did a tiny bit of work after dinner. Using some scrap sheet, I did a first cut at the box that will fill the jog in the left rear baffle. I bent the box following my cardboard template, but it just didn’t fit well. It was too long and too wide. Instead of trying to unbend and rebend, I just made a new one from scratch. This time, I’ll be a bit more careful about how I bend it.
I’ve also been trying to make some final decisions on the avionics. Until I place the order, I guess I’m going to keep waffling. I’m pretty set on the Dynon EFIS/EMS. I looked again at the transponder. Using Stark’s prices including wiring and shipping, the GTX-327 is $1750 cheaper than the GTX-330. I’d love to have traffic display, but it’s only going to last another year or two because the FAA is too cheap to pay for it as the terminal radar sites are upgraded. I’d rather save that money and apply it to an ADS-B system, which is better and should continue to be supported in the future.
The next decision is between the GNS-430 GPS and GNS-480. The 480 has more flight management functions and is WAAS capable, allowing precision GPS approaches. The difference in price is $2400. I’ve downloaded both simulators. It’s really cool to be able to interact with the user interface for both units. Personally, I find the 430 much easier to use. It would be nice to have WAAS, but I doubt I would use it very often. I don’t plan on flying IFR approaches on a regular basis, and if I did I could always find a nearby airport equipped with a localizer/glideslope. Also, Garmin is supposedly working on a WAAS upgrade for the 430.
Next up is the SL-30 vs. SL-40. The only difference is that the -30 includes a VOR receiver. Actually, they’ve done the interface so well it’s like two VOR receivers. However, the 430 includes VOR, so the -30 would be redundant. Especially since the 430 can automatically tune the VOR receiver from the database. Plus, I expect I’ll use the GPS 99% of the time. The VOR is just a back-up. The difference in price is $1800.
All of those combined add up to $6000. That’s a big chunk of change. I might be giving up little things here and there, but for 99% of my VFR flying and even 90% of my IFR flying I don’t think I’ll notice the difference.