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Minimal IFR: What to do with your old Nav-122?

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mitchw62

cfi-a&p/ia
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Minimal IFR: What to do with your old Nav-122?
Lots of Pipers from the 60 and 70’s have Narco radios – they were the least expensive at the time, have since gone out of business and support for these radios is fading away. We send a steady flow of Narco products to Bevan-Rabell in Wichita for repair. They usually take about 4 weeks and $450 and your Mark12D is back in operation. This has not been the case for the all-in-one navigation radios. Last week we sent a Nav-122 for repair to find it needed plastic gears that are no longer available. This instrument candidate is working to get his plane ready for an instrument training, checkride and regular flights to Houston and New Mexico. What are the best solutions? He has a mixture of other radios such as an old Apollo GX-55 GPS, and couple communication radios (TKM-810, and KY196).
Of course we recommended buying a Garmin setup with new or used GNS or GTN with an indicator and an audio panel, and keeping one of his Com radios as a second Com.
- used Garmin GNS430W = $6500
- 340 audio panel used = $1000
- GI106A indicator used = $1500
- Wiring harness = $1200
- Installation $1000
At a minimum $11,200 and this does not get ADS-B.
What about if all you want to do is instrument training, checkride and basic IFR for less money? (Assuming you do not need/want an IFR GPS and the $425 plus year subscription). Is there a replacement for a NAV-122? You can use Foreflight/wingx/etc or for VFR GPS and you just want to fly VOR/LOC/GS approaches if needed.
We installed a VAL INS-422 in our blue Cessna 150 about 11 years ago. It is designed after a Nav-122 and has been trouble free. I used it for a CFI-I instrument check ride and did some IFR training in our blue Cessna 150. This radio has not seen a lot of use. Our C150 has not done a lot of instrument training due to its limited climb rate, slow speeds with faster traffic and limited range. Val redesigned the new INS-429 a few years ago. It has much better features including operation as a course deviation indicator for a Garmin installation. With a street price of $1585, it is about the same price as a used Garmin Indicator (GI-106A) and could be integrated with a Garmin in the future. We pulled the trigger on this last week and will report how well it works. The installation is straight forward as we will reuse most of the existing wiring: 3 antenna cables (VOR, Glideslope from splitter, and existing marker beacon antenna), power, ground and existing audio cables to audio panel. Installation will be a minor alteration as defined in Advisory Circular AC 20-138D, and a logbook entry.
 

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