28
Had to pick between a full avionics suite upgrade or just the comms on a Cessna 172 last quarter.
Went with the full upgrade for future-proofing, but it added 15 extra hours of labor. Anyone else faced a 'go big or go home' call on a retrofit?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
holly_flores797d ago
Honestly, the full upgrade was the right call for us. We put in a Garmin G3X system two years ago, and yeah, the install was a beast (so much wiring). But now, adding things like an autopilot or ADS-B In was basically plug and play. That labor you pay up front saves you a ton later when you want to add one more thing. It hurts at first, but it spreads the pain out over years instead of having the plane torn apart every other year for small upgrades.
8
juliadavis25d ago
Yeah, the extra labor on those full avionics packages is a killer. We did a similar panel overhaul last year and the wiring alone ate up a ton of unbilled shop time. Future-proofing is smart, but you really feel that labor cost later.
0
wadeyoung25d ago
Future-proofing is smart" but is it really worth it? The tech changes so fast that what's new now is old in a few years. You might just be paying a lot for stuff you'll replace anyway.
6