The International Cessna 170 Association

Just saw this this week. Just like the Dynon. However, the left the 170 off the STC list.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... min-g5-stc

The 170, 170A, and 170B are there. Look under Textron, not Cessna.

On second look you are correct. My AI is going out in my 170 and I have been dragging my feet waiting for something like this to be approved. The only downside is how it would fit/look in the raised panel of a 170.

I've been looking around at electric AI's and they are not cheap either. $2K+ Unless I go back to vacuum....

I'm saving the glass bucks for the RV7...

I went to an AOPA safety seminar this summer and one of the startling stats that came out was something like 30% (don't quote me on that, but it was a lot) of all gyro failures in IMC are fatal. If one considers the frequency of vacuum pump failures, it's a sobering thought. Sure, we train no-gyro flying, and we all think it won't happen to us, but so did those other guys who didn't make it. Feel lucky?

These gyros, while admittedly limited in scope and function, offer a quantum leap in reliability in a key safety system. For those who find themselves flying IMC often and who can't afford a full glass panel this provides an affordable, measurable, safety benefit.

DEM

Yeah... that's why I like venturiis. If we're flying... they're sucking.
Glass gyros are nice, but many of the affordable ones are not true ring-gyros. They are accelerometers and are actually reporting past tracking, not present attitude.
Still, they're better than nothing.
Partial-panel training is something every flight-review should re-train.

You mentioned it spools up quickly. Do you still have to cage it once the tail comes up level? Just wondering how it looks sitting on the ground.

Whether this is expensive depends on what you're comparing it to. If you already have a usable setup and your choice is a couple of periodic overhauls or the G5, then sure, it's expensive. But a year ago I had one venturi attempting to drive two gyros, and neither gyro had been overhauled in 20 years. I had to add another venturi, a suction regulator, hoses, and overhaul two gyros. Well over $1000, and if I'd wanted to add a wet vacuum pump, another $1000. If the G5 had been available I'd have been tempted. As a side benefit in my airplane, replacing my AI with the G5 would also solve a behind-the-panel interference problem between the yoke U-joint and the attitude indicator, caused by a design error in the replacement instrument panel. So one size does not fit all, but I agree it doesn't look right in a 170.

flyboy122 wrote:......... something like 30% (don't quote me on that, but it was a lot) of all gyro failures in IMC are fatal.........DEM

Smart pilots don't fly in IMC without back-up attitude info of some sort. Back-up is easy to obtain these days.

One thing I really like about the G5 is how it integrates with other Garmin devices. I already have a GDL 39 3D, Aera 660 and Garmin Pilot for backup. You can couple the G5 with the 660 via serial and provide navigation guidance to the G5. So anytime you have a flight plan active you will see that information overlaid onto the G5. Add to that a nice ADSB transponder like the GTX 345 and you have a nice integrated system (aside from the $$$).

The RC Allen 26 RCA26 is $2279 and the backup battery add more
The G5 is $2149 plus whatever a Garmin shop with gouge you to install it

Biggest drawback I see is how it would look in my nice vintage 170 panel.

hilltop170 wrote:

flyboy122 wrote:......... something like 30% (don't quote me on that, but it was a lot) of all gyro failures in IMC are fatal.........DEM

Smart pilots don't fly in IMC without back-up attitude info of some sort. Back-up is easy to obtain these days.

Richard,

Agreed! I was playing with the fancy new iphone they gave me at work the other day and found a really accurate compass app already installed. Can you say backup DG? And that same app has a built in level, white on top and black on bottom. Kind of reminds me of an AG. I need to play with a bit more in the plane to see how it reacts, but if it keeps working like it does now I'm going to rig up a little clip or something that I can use to pop this thing on the panel in the event everything else craps out. And if it doesn't, there are plenty of other apps out there for phones and tablets that will.

That being said, I stand by my original assertion, which is that if you fly IFR a lot, and are on a budget, the new digital gyros are a lot of safety bang for the buck. Cheap back up is great, but like reserve fuel the goal is to not have to use it.

DEM

I am getting close to buying the G5 for my 170. I was a little bummed today when I found out that there is no HSI or navigation integration via RS232 on the certified G5. They have disabled it in software. I was really hoping to be able to integrate this to my Area 660. Why would they take such a great product and dumb it down for the STC crowd? Ugh.

nippaero wrote:I am getting close to buying the G5 for my 170. I was a little bummed today when I found out that there is no HSI or navigation integration via RS232 on the certified G5. They have disabled it in software. I was really hoping to be able to integrate this to my Area 660. Why would they take such a great product and dumb it down for the STC crowd? Ugh.

Probably to prevent someone from using it for an approach. Where are you planning to install it?

nippaero wrote: Why would they take such a great product and dumb it down for the STC crowd? Ugh.

In order to certify it. Thank the FAA. It (along with the Dynon) is certified as a gyro only, and all other functionality is considered supplemental. If you read up how they STC'd these they used some pretty tricky loopholes. EAA actually did a webinar where they explain how the did the Dynon. I was really hoping it could be used as a DG or HSI as well, since then you could put 2 in an ditch the entire vacuum system and have redundancy to boot, but when I saw how they actually STC'd I realized that's probably not a near term reality.

DEM