G5 AI and HSI Installations
Putting aside whether a Garmin G5 upgrade or a pair of G5’s is the right answer for your aircraft or not, there are things to consider regarding the installation of this system that you need to know prior to any commitment. One of the things that makes ‘this’ system unique is that it is not required to be installed by a Garmin Dealer therefore can be purchased from a Garmin Dealer and installed by someone of your choosing. The most important questions you need to answer are ‘Who?’ and are they qualified to do so?
Before I go any further with this, I want to be clear that I absolutely have no problem with anyone who can install this system in a safe, clean, and legal manner; quite frankly we have enough work whereas I have no need to coral and hoard work. It is for this reason, that we also have limited time to correct installations that are not right and I personally find it less than desirable having to tell a customer what was done is not right after they have already bought and paid for the unit and installation elsewhere.
The justification for this discussion comes from us finding a fairly large number of G5 installations that are not legally installed for any number of reasons. The result of these findings leads to customers having to pay more in the long run to correct these issues to have things undone and then redone to make things legal and you end up with an inferior job. I highly suggest that you do your due diligence and query your interested installer to make sure they can and will comply with the following 5 required items and are qualified (including access to the needed equipment) to address the following 6 qualifications:
Required items:
- FAA Form #337 Major Alteration Form
- G5 Flight Manual Supplement
- G5 Instructions for Continued Airworthiness
- Inclusion of completed sections Appendix A, B, and C with the G5 Instructions for Continued Airworthiness
- Applicable Log Entry
Qualifications:
- At least and A&P license to sign off appropriate paperwork listed above
- Ability to configure G5
- Ability and equipment necessary to level the aircraft for Attitude calibration
- Ability and Certified equipment to calibrate the G5 Airspeed
- Ability and Certified equipment to calibrate the G5 Altimeter
- Ability and equipment to perform compass calibrations in the G5
It has been my experience that there are a fair number of A&P’s that do not have the equipment or qualifications to perform 4 thru 6 listed in the ‘Qualifications’ list. Bottom line is that unless all 11 things listed above are accomplished, your G5’s are not legally installed which could lead to anything from higher costs when it’s caught, to actual performance issues. A little due diligence up front can save you a great deal of hassle after the fact. There’s really only one way to do this right and as long as that happens, regardless of ‘who’ does it, everyone is happy!