1986 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza

About Me

We bought our 1986 TNIO A-36 in 1999 and began a long upgrade process that to date has included a new engine from Ultimate (2001), various Tornado Alley turbo upgrades, tip tanks, new paint and paint scheme, and some minor avionics enhancements.

My Panel (Before and After)

We deferred major avionics upgrades as our King panel just kept working. But by winter 2010, it was beginning to show serious aging problems, and we knew it was time to move forward. We became aware of Aspen at Oshkosh 2007 and had kept an eye on their equipment since that show.

My Aspen Experience

Our Aspen area field engineer Kevin Williams gave us an excellent demo of his company’s offerings, and we also looked into competitive equipment. But it was Aspen that captured our attention. We were keenly interested in the backup “reversion” capability of Aspen and liked the idea of 3 panels rather than 1 or 2. We also liked Aspen’s extensive battery backup systems in case of power outage.

After a lot of study and thought, we made a deal with our local avionics shop, and the work was done this past February and March (2010). We bought all 3 panels, the PFD, and both MFDS along with a Garmin 430, WX 500, Garmin transponder and new audio panel. The install was done by Avionics Services International in Kerrville, TX, and not only did they do a perfect job but their pricing was also most attractive. I strongly recommend them to future Aspen purchasers. The install basically rewired the entire airplane, and everything worked perfectly when the plane was returned to us. We have had no call backs to fix issues. None.

Our Aspen equipment also worked perfectly, right out of the box.

We began flying the Aspen way in March and quickly built around 30 hours and a lot of practice and for real approaches. We now have over 50 hours and more than 30 approaches. The GPSS is sensational. The unending weather products are sensational. The navigation displays are sensational.

We were already very happy with our Aspens, but in June, we really learned why they offer the best equipment available today. We were at 17,000 feet over central Mississippi on a flight from Kerrville (ERV) to Clemson, SC (CEU), when our only alternator failed. The panel alert light appeared and almost immediately the PFD 1000 and MFD 1000 battery backups also alerted assuring me they were now powering our panels. The MFD 500, which consumes far less power than the other two, was happy with ship’s battery and did not have to engage its own backup…though it would have if voltage had dropped to an unacceptable level.

We did a ground speed, altitude, air time and battery time calculation and determined we had more than enough juice to make it into Birmingham, AL (BMH), where we hoped to find another alternator on the shelf. It was our lucky day. We did make it easily to BMH, and Constant Aviation’s repair station did have a spare for us. In a couple hours, we were on our way. Even though the primary Aspen backup systems were somewhat depleted, as soon as we cranked up on the new alternator to complete our trip, all backups immediately recharged. It’s interesting to note that the MFD 1000’s large external battery backup was hardly used as that unit’s internal battery was more than sufficient to complete our flight.

We no longer have to wonder. Our Aspens will work exactly as promised!