My Trip To The Avionics Shop $$$$$

My experience with OH gyros has been so-so... Not horrible, but not good
enough to risk my life on them... One time back in the 60's, flying my
Skylane up to Drummond Island to take my boys fishing, I did have my only
horizon slowly wind down and roll over - I used the TC to let down
underneath and fly marginal vfr back to my home airport... It was an old
unit that had been overhauled a couple of times in a 7000 hour airframe...
My rule since then is that the PIC AI/TC have to be replaced with new if
they go sour... Back up gyros/nav-heads can certainly be OH units...

Most of us have two VOR, so I don't have strong feelings on them... But,
many pilots have just one GS, so it needs to be trustworthy...
I have actually had the fun experience about two years ago of having an
recently overhauled GS head pack it up in, 300 and a mile conditions ... The
needle centered on the bubble and stayed there... No warning flag... If it
weren't for the fact that it was rough air and I had been having to jockey
the throttle all the way down to that point I might have been lulled into a
bad situation... I got suspicious fairly quickly, added power, and when the
needle did not react and declared the missed approach... That was the day I
added another rule to my book - the copilot side ILS radio WILL be turned on
and on frequency during any real IMC approach...

Yup, seems some of those on here are spoiling for some kinda fight... Wrong
guy for that... I'll just keep commenting where I see fit...

denny

"Jay Masino" wrote in Dennis,
I tend to agree with you. My experience, as well as the experience of
my avionics person (who's also a friend of mine) is that the overhauls
don't tend to last as long as new. I'm not sure why you're statement is
causing so much heartburn.