OK, I'm going to have to break from the pack here. I think you should
get the GPS installed for the following reasons:

1) It WILL increase the resale value of the aircraft. Of course not as
much as the upgrade price but more than adding another NAV/COM. Don't
take my word for it. Browse the ads on ASO and Trade-A-Plane and
compare for yourself.
2) GPS is the wave of the future and is arguably the current state of
the art. There is no question if it may or may not "catch on" it HAS
and is here to stay. If you follow the other posters' lines of thought,
you should just mark the glideslope inop and get your ticket using just
the LOC and VOR approaches. But why learn ILS approaches? Because
they're the standard precision approach types and they're very common.
The same rationale should apply to GPS technology.
3) In my opinion, GPS approaches are much simpler than other
non-precision approaches because the non-overlay ones (as in standard
T-types) are pretty much the same no matter the airport. Learning them
will be at worst no more difficult than the myriad of VOR approaches
out there. That said, there are other aspects (i.e. enroute and
regulatory) that you need to be up to speed on if you head to the
examiner with a "slant Golf" on your flight plan. Still simple stuff
IMO.
4) It WILL make you a better pilot with more tools under your belt. If
you're going to learn them anyway why wait till afterward when you are
more likely to learn it in a half-assed way.
5) Could be a safety move. Picture going missed and having all the
airports with only GPS approaches available to you. Could take some of
the pucker factor out.

I can't believe it was suggested you get another instructor. Why,
because he has the opinion that you should know more than know less??

As for which IFR GPS to install, get quotes from various shops for the
everything needed to get the aircraft IFR certified. Many of the older
units need some extra things such as annunciators that can quickly add
to the price. Also, don't be so quick to write-off a Garmin 430. I did
initially until I priced everything out and realized that to get the
same capabilities in the 430, it would cost more with USED equipment.

All you need to get your instrument rating is one NAV/COM and a
transponder (I believe even only and ADF instead of the NAV/COM) if all
your interested in is the ticket.

Marco



Bud_of_yours wrote:
Last weekend I bought an IFR equiped '68 Cherokee 140 to get my
Instrument ticket in ... ( I flew it from Bedford, MA home to
Savannah, GA in one day. But, that is another story. )

The guy that I'm going to use as my CFII came out and looked the plane
over and told me that while the plane is technically IFR equiped it
still needs a few things. ( Isn't that typical??)

The plane is equiped with a KMA-24 audio panel with markers, KX-155
w/KI-209 nav/comm with glide slope, KX-125 nav/comm, and a KT-76
transponder. I also had pitot heat installed during the prepurchase
annual/inspection.

According to my instructor I can get my instrument ticket in the plane
as equiped, however in order to be a more well rounded instrument pilot
I really need to add an IFR certified GPS to my panel.

Question #1. In order to get my Instrument ticket tucked safely in my
pocket do I really need to be concerned about learning GPS approches,
etc.?

Question #2. If I do decide to add a GPS to my panel what is the
best/least expensive way to do it. GNS 155XL? KLN-94?

I don't plan on keeping this plane forever. And I don't want to invest
a ton of $$$ in it.

Any comments, suggestions, experiences would be appreciated.