All,
A little late but, just a comment, The Service bulletins wants you to buy the kit from Cessna, and there are a couple of things you are not going to find anywhere else. The L band antenna is from Cessna, $500 and the sub kit with labels and wiring another $100 and can be ordered from a Cessna Service Center. The SB states that no substitution of parts is permitted. You can buy all of the parts from Aircraft Spruce including the GDL 82, the wiring, the connectors, the mounting hardware, rivets and doubler material, check the part numbers. My installation complies with the SB every part called out in the service bulletin was used. The materials cost was half of the rip off price. I have my LSRM ticket and did the work over a couple of days. And as far as the ASDB refund, their timing to release the SB had all of the reservations claimed, their poor timing cost me $500. They knew about the FAA requirement and due date for how many years?
If your C162 does not have the XM antenna the mount is the same for the GPS antenna. I noticed that and wondered why Cessna didn't use that as an option. Also, if Cessna was so restrictive to increasing weight, why didn't they just have us replace the transponder with a GTX 330? the kit added 3.5 lbs. to empty weight, so no more coffee to go. I saw a 162 for sale that stated it had the GTX 330 and I know for a fact that "Just say NO Cessna"
will not even open the email for a LOA.
Cessna knows that the SL40and the GTX 327 is no longer being manufactured, Garmin has the GTR200 and GTX325 new units available and would require only connector wiring to install. They have but no plans to for avionics obsolescence, except " let it die on the vine". Software, they own G300 software through Ver 6.2 and no plans to upgrade even though the G3X software improved and has features we might like, but "Don't Care Cessna"
has forced some owners to go "experimental" to upgrade. And while I am venting, autopilot was a option but Trutrack nor "Just say No Cessna" have any hardware or information on the system. It is in the service manual though.
I love flying my 162 and the flight school I lease it to gets very good feedback form people who have flown it. The aircraft is great but Cessna support is poor to non existent.
Randall Bearden
Sport Pilot
LSRM
Sport pilot training is available at Atlanta Air Academy at KRYY.