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Advice needed: do I want/need a new panel?

rotoiti

Well Known Member
In most cases, the answer to the above question would be a "no" but please hear me out.

I purchased a flying RV-10, equipped with a single screen MGL Odyssey 2, MGL radio, and a Garmin GNS430W. The panel is about 7-8 years old. It works for basic VFR stuff with some caveats but there are multiple issues preventing me to fly IFR with it. I will attach the list of issues at the end of the post.

My life situation has changed (of course, happens all the time) and while I can still fly, I can't spend a lot of time on working on the aircraft. I would not be able to, for example, disassemble the panel and assemble it back again, won't have time.

If the money was less of a concern than reliability and plane downtime, would you pay someone to fix the issues with the existing panel or rather get a new panel built and installed in the airplane, while trying to recoup some of the losses by selling the old parts? I really like AFS Quick Panel system and AFS features.

Here are the major issues, there are more than a few minor ones as well:
- autopilot disengaging constantly due to clutch in both pitch and roll axes
- ammeters showing wrong indications, for example Alt1 ammeter shows 60A constantly
- no audible AoA alerts even though they are configured in the system
- crosswind indication on EFIS and on GNS430W is ridiculously high (i.e. it will show anything between 80 kts and 300 kts where in reality it is more like 10 kts)
- autopilot doesn't seem to work with coupled approaches from GNS430W; it flies a spiraling descending left turn instead
- transponder is not ADS-B out compliant (not yet urgent)
- my mechanic tells me the panel wiring is a mess and should be redone

I am pretty sure I have not presented a complete picture of my situation so please ask questions so I can fill in the gaps.
 
If money isn't the biggest concern I would find someone to take the plane to, and have it done the way you want, call me when its done.

Sounds like you don't have time yourself to do either, I suspect if the wiring is a mess you will spend almost as much troubleshooting as just starting over.
 
Based on the number of problems described, i would suspect there are multiple issues in your current environment. They probably all are correctable, but it's going to require plenty of detective work and going to be tedious.

The AFS quick panel is a great product, guaranteed interoperability, and should be a straight forward retrofit.

The decision is yours. The trade off is money versus time.
 
You must have Trio servos. They don't have enough torque for the RV10. The other problems sound like botched wiring. I could probably fix it, if you're interested PM me. That said, if you want to get rid of the Odyssey I might be interested.
 
Wants and Needs

Almost everyone "wants" a new panel. Most don't "need" a new panel.

So if you "want" a new panel, and can write a check for $40K then give Rob Hickman at AFS a call (You indicated that you like the AFS concept)

You don't "need" a new panel. In fact you don't "need" much of anything if you're willing to fly without all the goodies you would usually find in a RV10.

If you're OK with your current panel and want to make it totally functional, come up with a figure you're willing to invest. Find a builder/mechanic familiar with the RV10 and discuss it.

30 days down time after writing a check for whatever you decide, and you're back in the air.

I think you already know the answers to these questions, so this should be easy.

Jim
RV8 N37PK
Just completed an AFS panel upgrade that I wanted, but didn't really need.
 
Just to be clear, I *want* a new panel (yes, almost everyone does). Am I fine with the current panel? Yes, absolutely, I am, if everything is working fine.

Thanks aerhed, I will send you a PM.

Not sure where to check which servos I have.
 
You must have Trio servos. They don't have enough torque for the RV10. The other problems sound like botched wiring. I could probably fix it, if you're interested PM me. That said, if you want to get rid of the Odyssey I might be interested.

I have Trio servos in a -10 and they work just fine. The loads do get large if you are out of trim, so I recommend the Trio autotrim be part of the package. If you drive the autopilot directly from the 430W it should follow an LPV approach. Lots of people mis-wire the Trio, it needs serial AND ARINC lines directly from the 430W, to perform the approach directly from the 430W. I cannot speak as to how well the Trio couples to the MGL.

As to the OP: hopefully you have more than one attitude source, besides the MGL, if you are contemplating IMC? I know you didn't list all equipment.

Finally, you need to take a good look at what you have and what you want before committing to an ADSB path.
 
Major issues are not that major

Hi

I have the same MGL system as yours, and been flying with it for some time now. Im extremely happy with it but you need it setup properly

I will simply say the following, most of your major issues are not that major. They all seem to be internal setup parameters that are not correct

- autopilot disengaging constantly due to clutch in both pitch and roll axes
Your clutch values are set too low, please see mgl manual for a strating point
- ammeters showing wrong indications, for example Alt1 ammeter shows 60A constantly
Again this could be setup parameters depending on what shunts you have installed
- no audible AoA alerts even though they are configured in the system
MGL has not fixed this known issue, you can get screen warnings and lights to work but not the audio
- crosswind indication on EFIS and on GNS430W is ridiculously high (i.e. it will show anything between 80 kts and 300 kts where in reality it is more like 10 kts)
In a turn you can expect massive crosswind indication as is calculates, but once on a heading that should stabalize, check your compasss swing calibrations as it uses ground speed and direction with compas to calculate these...again a setup issue
- autopilot doesn't seem to work with coupled approaches from GNS430W; it flies a spiraling descending left turn instead
No familiar with this but guessing setup again

I would say find a person with MGL knowhow and pay them to look over your system.

Good luck.
 
I did a flight test this Sunday. I don't have an option to set the servo torque. According to the manual, only MGL servos can have their torque values set. The closest to torque setting I found was the "magnitude" setting which controls the travel distance of the servo for each correction. I found lowering those values helped somewhat but the autopilot still disconnects.

Regarding the ammeters, I think I have tried all kinds of combinations. I have the magnetic current sensors (no shunts) but I was unable to find a setting that would work at all. I think there might be a wiring problem with those but getting to those sensors requires removing the panel apparently. There is no easy access.

I think I might have gotten the crosswind indication under control. It is still finicky but after replacing SP-2 with SP-6 I see a great improvement in both magnetic heading stability and crosswind calculation (derived from it).

Have not tried the approaches yet, want to get the basics under control.
 
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