San Luis Avionics | Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Who are the customers you serve?

A. We serve customers from much of the western U.S., with the majority from Central California. We focus on offering service to all types of customers private, corporate, and experimental.

Q. What types of avionics work do you specialize in?

A. We are generalists. Customers' aircraft include general aviation, corporate (up to King Airs and Citations), as well as experimental and vintage airplanes. We have designed and installed unique systems integrations, such as real-time location transmission and broadband communications for a pipeline survey fleet.

A major portion of our business is the installation of new avionics equipment and we are authorized dealers for nearly all brands. We also sell, and install, new & reconditioned equipment.

We provide required periodic systems checks and equipment diagnostics repair to keep our customers in the air.

As active members of the Aircraft Electronics Association, we work closely with the AEA industry practices advisory board and with our local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. AEA's Resource One gives us an Internet source for DERs, STCs, and an even larger technical library than our own, their on-line global equipment exchange, and access to Ric Peri, AEA's highly regarded Government and Industry Affairs Consultant. He's a good man to have on our side with all the FAA coordination work we do.

Because we have the facilities and training to do so, we perform bench work for technicians serving customers in outlying areas. We have an extensive test-harness inventory and technical library, including ARC, Collins, Goodrich Avionics (formerly BF Goodrich), Narco, S-Tec, King, Bendix going back to Edo-Aire days, as well as Garmin, Sandel, Garmin AT and other newer manufacturers.

We developed and manufacture the MOBILTECH line of time-saving portable test equipment for our own needs and now market them to other avionics shops and technicians. Our MOBILTECH division also designs and manufacturers custom display units for avionics manufacturers.

Q. Where can I buy MOBILTECH products?

A. You can order them directly from us or from your Dallas Avionics, Inc. representative.

Q. What's the best way to upgrade my panel?

A. Call or come in so we can discuss your goals and your budget. We'll help you compare features and costs of various alternatives, help you select the best combination, and then prepare a quote for you. For example, we built a unit to demonstrate a wide range of intercoms so you can operate their controls, compare their features, and hear their sound quality yourself.

Our capabilities range from single unit installations to the design, fabrication and installation of complete panels and connectivity harnesses.

Flying your airplane here is advantageous. We can discuss more specifically what you have in mind, examine the condition of your existing panel and wiring, and give you a more detailed quote of time and materials. Few airplanes have been equipped, maintained and operated exactly alike.

Q. Will you install equipment I purchase elsewhere?

A. We have invested substantially in becoming trained and licensed distributors of all popular aviation equipment brands. As a result, we can and nearly always do purchase the equipment that we install in our customers’ aircraft. We know how competitive equipment pricing is and we do our best to keep our prices fair and affordable.

However, though we reserve the right to decline, we also can install equipment that you bring to us. Just as restaurants charge a “corkage” fee for wine that you bring to, rather than buy from, the restaurant, we add a similar fee equal to 20% of the retail cost of such equipment to normal installation charges.

Also, while the installation will be the same in either case, after-market service and support may not be. We’ll stand behind our work either way and, if you purchased the equipment from us we’ll also handle all warranty service for you. However, if you purchased the equipment elsewhere, when there is a warranty issue, it’s up to you to seek warranty service from whomever and wherever you purchased it, including shipping and negotiating the needed repairs.

In making your equipment purchase decisions consider that:

The total cost of ownership during an equipment’s installed useful life is a combination of hard and soft factors beyond the initial purchase price, including convenience, downtime, documentation, FAA approvals, and ongoing service and repair hassles and costs.
Many discount equipment sellers and installers provide little or no after-sales support. If they are not an authorized dealer, your warranty may not be honored.

As with any service business, our continued success depends on the long term satisfaction of our customers. To that end, we have set, and maintain, standards that are unusually high in the avionics field. Our goal is to offer you a satisfying experience and the most attractive overall cost of ownership. Most customers find, sometimes quite painfully, that, over the period of its installed ownership, purchasing equipment elsewhere is ill-advised.

See our Installation Policy for more details

Q. What causes most avionics equipment problems?

A. In the first few hours of operation it's usually component failures or installation errors. Manufacturing defects are infrequent, but they do occur. Equipment components do fail and, over time, they may occasionally need adjustment or servicing.

The most frequent problems are faulty wiring (usually the result of some combination of constant vibration and/or improper installation), loose connections and routine parts replacements.

Tracking down broken wires, damaged insulation, inadvertent grounds, corroded pins, broken solder joints, loose connections, wrong gauge wires, improper shielding, broken connectors, etc. takes time, patience, skill, a variety of specialized equipment, an extensive technical library and, hopefully, accurate documentation of that aircraft’s wiring configuration.

The top three problems are, unfortunately, frustrating for everyone and mostly the result of a customer trying too hard to save money:

Do-it-yourselfers without the specialized tools, training and experience to do a first-class job, who don't come in until after they've fried their avionics and/or otherwise damaged their aircraft's electrical system, and
Owners who want us to be financially responsible for faulty installations and/or equipment from other sources.
Lack of proper installation procedures and documentation by other installers, making troubleshooting and repair much more difficult and time consuming.

Over the years we have seen a variety of installation errors, some simply sloppy and unprofessional, some using incorrect or non-aviation materials, others downright dangerous.

We're happy to do whatever it takes to get you flying again, but unless we did the installation of equipment we acquired for you, we charge for all non-warranty corrective time and materials to bring the installation and documentation to our standards.

With the increasing sophistication of today's avionics, fully qualified and equipped avionics shops are more important and harder to find than ever, and less expensive in the long run.