I have an FX-3 in my hangar currently with a G5 in the panel. I'm not sure where in Texas you are located but would love to have you come look at this bird and I could get you some stick time in the -3 airframe. I'm in the Austin area. Can have a complete kit ready to ship in July! No need to wait for Oshkosh and no advantage to buying at Oshkosh. Look forward to visiting with you.
The component prices you showed do not include several other components of a G3X panel, so the price differential is not as great. As others have said, the custom plug and play wiring harness from CC is a HUGE value item.
I built my own panel and used Vertical Power to eliminate all but the two circuit breakers for the LightSpeed on the seat pedestal. I am very happy with the outcome.
Wiring your own is NOT for the timid, faint of heart, or someone without electrical experience. You will get to know all about CAN bus, RSR232, ARNC429 architecture. You will get to correctly source all your components including antenna, wires (shielded and unshielded) connectors, and ensure compatibility. So if that sounds fun (it was for me!) then have at it. My time value of doing this part of my build in $/hr is a very low number. If there is a problem not discovered until you fly, you may very well have a major difficulty in getting to connectors on components without removing the boot cowl. This means removing the engine first.
The panel build and wiring for me easily added 200 hours to my build time. I was not in a race to get done, so for me was not a major impediment.
The ignition switch is in the red oval. The circuit breaker function is handled by the Vertical Power VP-X. The main battery solenoid is powered on by the switch at the top of the panel labeled "master". The auxiliary battery solenoid is powered on by the switch labeled "Aux Bat". I have two EarthX ETX 680C batteries under the seat (one is master, second is Aux Bat).
I set it up so I power everything up left to right. The switches are spaced to be in groups with associated functions.
Re: Instrument Panel Options for EX-3
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