Walked through a hangar at Paine Field last Thursday and ate my words about old King Air panels.

I used to think the old analog setups were junk until I saw a 1982 model still running original radios with zero failures. Has anyone else had a change of heart after seeing an older plane's avionics hold up better than the new glass stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eric11d ago

Zero failures" is a bold claim for a 40 year old plane, I'd want to see the logs first. That 1982 King Air probably had plenty of minor squawks the owner just learned to live with over the years. Old radios work great until they don't, and getting parts for that era is getting harder every year.

riley_miller2511d ago

Oh man, you're totally right. "Zero failures" always sounds like someone selling a plane, not someone who actually flies one. I've been burned by that exact line before. Bought a 1979 Bonanza from a guy who swore up and down everything was perfect, and the first time I took it up the nav radio just gave me static. Took me three months to find a shop that even had the right parts, and they charged me an arm and a leg for it. Those old King radios are tanks until they're not, and then you're stuck hunting on eBay for a donor unit or paying a fortune for someone to rebuild it. I'd want to see every log entry from the last ten years before I'd even consider a plane that old.