Last time on the projects page we mentioned coming into possession of a trade in (yet unused) Aspen EFD-1000 flight display. Orphaned components like this are not an uncommon phenomenon in the world of avionics, and we can end up with them for any number of reasons. Sometimes we upgrade brand-new aircraft fresh off the production line, and the barely-used stock avionics need to come out. Other times, as was the case with this unit, the owner simply changes their mind. Whatever the details, these nearly-new units are a boon to price-savvy clients.

This EFD-1000’s eventual destination turned out to be C-FSLL. This 1969 Cessna 182M was purchased in 2009 as a bigger, faster upgrade from the owner’s old 172. It’s seen a lot of the world in its 44 years – it’s been across the Atlantic three times, across North America, and it saw several years of hard service in Africa. This year it’ll fly across the continent yet again with Century Flight Club in John Lovelace’s Fifth Annual Aircraft Adventure Tour across Canada. As a part of the world’s largest annual group flight, C-FSLL will be just one of over 100 planes to fly from coast to coast.

Crossing the second-largest country in the world is a serious undertaking, and while C-FSLL’s owner, Dave Qualley, is an experienced CASARA pilot with many hours logged, he still wanted to make sure that his avionics systems were modernized and ship-shape prior to making the trip. This was the right decision on his part, as upon inspection some of the aircraft’s wiring was found to be of substandard quality.

As for modernization, the Aspen EFD-1000 provided a no-frills but modern glass panel flight display, while an ADS-B out upgrade for the existing GTX-330 transponder brought C-FSLL into compliance with current American regulations. However, the benefits of ADS-B are far more than legal in nature and benefit Canadian pilots as well as Americans. For example, ADS-B in can provide an advanced “see and avoid” capability – somewhat similar to TCAS. It’s easy to see how such technology would be desirable on a 100-plane group flight. This may be why our client opted to purchase a secondary portable ADS-B unit with “in” capability. Hybrid systems like these are a cost effective method of getting full ADS-B functionality that might not otherwise be possible. Last but not least, we installed one of our famous laser-engraved duracoat custom panels. While C-FSLL’s panel had actually been replaced fairly recently, our laser engravings looked so much better than conventional silk screening that an upgrade was impossible to resist.

Cessna 182M Complete and ready to fly

The Wire Before Panel Installed.

Before The Panel Was Re-Wired