Radio Stack

Last night and tonight I worked on the G750 installation. This is the IFR nav radio unit, where flight plans are entered and managed. It sits above the autopilot module, and extends a long way back into the subpanel.

This unit has a rack much like the other Garmin equipment. The task of mounting the rack was a little tedious as I was trying to ensure the frame of the unit fit nicely on the panel, so I did numerous test fittings and fine adjustments. The forward attach points were challenging because of access, and proximity to the sub-panel. In hind-site, I should have moved the unit aft slightly to improve the location of the forward mounting holes, but I’m happy enough with how it ended up.

The aft edge (the front of the unit) frame attach holes. I ended up creating slots so I could adjust the height of the unit, giving the right amount of clearance

The forward (back of the unit) attach points, with screws temporarily installed. This side was relatively easy, the other side was hard because I have permanently installed shelving that blocks access. Lack of planning on my part

The backing plate on the left side. I decided to rivet this into place on the left side to act as a doubler, increasing strength of that area. This was too hard to do on the right side, so I didn’t rivet the plate into position on the right side

One of the many test fittings of the rack. In must have installed and removed the G750 unit a dozen times before finalizing the mounting location for the rack

How it looks with the autopilot and G750 installed. Note, the 750 screen has a plastic protective sheet on it, and the screen is not scratched

Tonight I worked on installing the autopilot module in the center radio stack. I noticed an issue with the panel which I’ll have to address, but otherwise this went ok.

The GA-507 autopilot module will sit at the bottom of the center radio stack, under the GA-750. It has a rack that fits nicely inside the center stack, with two screw attach points on each side. Most of the work was to make a doubler plate with nut plates, and to line up the holes correctly. After some fiddling and experimenting I had a solution that seemed to work well.

The issue was with the left-hand most switch location. It is too close to the edge of the panel, and contacts the rib, pushing the center panel out of alignment. I emailed David who made the panel cutouts and I hope he can make a new plate with the hole moved over slightly.

It was cool to see the autopilot panel installed, the buttons and knobs have a great solid feel to them.

The go-around switch is too close to the edge of the panel, contacting the rib and pushing things out of alignment. David is remaking the center panel and will ship a new one

Taking the switch out allowed me to continue working for now

The autopilot rack temporarily taped into position so I can locate the screw holes

Once I had the rack screwed into position, I could install the autopilot panel

One of the backing plates with nut plates

Radio stack – G750

Radio stack – Autopilot