Vent: I just hit 500 hours on a single autopilot system install

For years, I figured a full autopilot retrofit on a mid-size jet should take about 350 hours, maybe 400 if you hit snags. That was my benchmark from my old shop. My current project, a full Garmin G5000 integration on a Challenger 300, just clocked in at 500 hours on the dot. What convinced me I was wrong was the sheer amount of new software verification steps. It wasn't just the physical wiring runs or the LRU swaps. Every single line of configuration code, every sensor input, needed a formal sign-off test that wasn't in the old manuals. The milestone matters because it changes how I bid jobs now. I have to factor in that modern integrated systems aren't just plug and play like the older boxes were. Has anyone else seen their standard job times balloon with these newer glass cockpit packages?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_torres27d ago

Honestly, are you sure the extra time isn't just from being in a new shop? Tbh, maybe your old place was cutting corners on those checks. I've seen older systems need just as much fussing if you do it right, the book time just didn't show it. Ngl, bidding higher now might mean you were undercharging before.

sandraflores27d ago

Yeah, that's a solid point from william_torres. Reminds me of a buddy who moved shops and found all the "quick" brake jobs he used to do actually needed caliper pins no one ever checked. He was basically working for free on half his jobs before. Book times can be a lie if the last guy was just slapping parts on.

the_wyatt18d ago

But that's assuming the old shop was wrong and the new one is right. What if the new shop is just adding fluff to the bill? I get what sandraflores is saying about missed pins, but sometimes the book time exists because the job can be done that fast with experience. Feels like we're just swapping one set of guesses for another. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle, not all on one side.