Found an old Garmin 430 in a hangar that hadn't been touched since 2008

I was cleaning out a storage room at a small FBO in Tucson last month and stumbled on a Garmin 430 that looked like it was straight out of a time capsule. The screen was faded and the knobs were stiff but after blowing out the dust and cycling power a few times it actually came to life. Anyone else run into old avionics that just work after sitting for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper23d ago

Garmin stuff is way too fragile for that, I bet it'll glitch out on you mid-flight.

felix82423d ago

You ever get that feeling where something's been sitting for so long it should be dead, but it just fires right up like it was waiting for you? I found an old KX-155 in a junk pile a few years back that had been through a hangar collapse, and after some contact cleaner and a little love, it worked fine for like two more years. It's funny how sometimes the older stuff just has more grit than the brand new glass panels. Hope yours keeps going strong. I'd just give those knobs a little more exercise before trusting it in the air, though. Maybe it's just me but I love seeing that old stuff come back to life.