IFR?

[lk]

Is it practical to make a 1948 rag wing IFR?

• Can vacuum be added?
• Pitot heat?
• Can a 430 and G/S fit somewhere without complete refabrication of the panel?

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Is it practical to make a 1948 rag wing IFR?

Only you can answer that. If it is the plane you want and you want to fly it IFR then yes.

• Can vacuum be added?
• Pitot heat?

I'll assume your talking a vacuum pump and not the stock venturi. Vacuum pumps can be very expensive to add because you will either have to find a STC'd unit and the paperwork which aren't available to be the best of my knowledge or change out the engine to an O-300-D with a pump pad.

But you don't need a vacuum pump to fly IFR. The venturi system can and does work very well.

You can also add pitot heat but you don't need that to fly IFR either.

• Can a 430 and G/S fit somewhere without complete refabrication of the panel?

Probably. I have essentially the same panel in my 50 A model and I wouldn't have any problem doing it. But you don't need a 430 or a G/S to fly IFR either. If you think you do or if you want to do hard IFR that the 430 can make easier, I'll bet the '48 170 is not the aircraft you want.