One of the very first questions prospective owners ask about a new airplane is, “How much does it cost to operate?” While everyone can get a grasp on the normal upkeep and operating costs like fuel, oil, annual inspections, and the like, one element in particular often catches new owners off guard.
That’s the ongoing upkeep of legacy instruments and avionics. Think about it for a minute. Those old mechanical instruments and early-generation radios are, well, old. And chances are they haven’t led a pampered life. Untold hours out in the heat and cold do take their toll on the unit’s reliability.
That means more repairs. And when you’re talking about old instruments and avionics, said repairs could be very costly -- if you can have them fixed. Heck, even early-generation Garmin 430’s can be expensive to repair.
It’s not that you should avoid aircraft with older radios; it’s just a good idea to know upfront that it’s often cheaper to replace aged instruments and avionics than it is to repair them. And it’s not just the units themselves; everyone has heard stories about problems with vacuum systems. They are notorious for failures – always at the most inopportune times.
That’s why at the top of every aircraft owner’s wish list is to upgrade their instruments, and avionics. It’s a lot more cost-effective in the long run and you get an amazing array of capabilities and unsurpassed reliability.
But weight, there’s less…
Another benefit of swapping out your old radios for new digital units is the amount of weight you’ll save. Those old boxes and their associated wiring bundles are heavy. In fact, it’s not uncommon to save up to 25 pounds of weight on a twin and two or three times that on a turboprop or light jet.
But, you ask what the big deal is about saving a few pounds of weight? Well, that all depends on how you look at it. That additional useful load can make a difference in your ability to carry more fuel or more baggage on your next cross country. Or perhaps it’s just that lighter weight adds that bit more climb performance on a hot day.
No matter how you look at it, swapping out those legacy instruments and radios is probably one of the best investments you can make in lowering the ongoing operational costs of your airplane while improving its capabilities and value.
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