Blogname: Long before glass and GPS units, planes still went from Point A to B. Big surprise huh?
Not true, without RNAV (or GPS) you could not, and still cannot, file IFR direct routing, therefore, IFR certified panel-mounted "GPS" is an important savings factor in DOC.
F8F ... speaking of the a/p, could it be removed altogether to save weight? ... fly happily without a/p
Correct, several small PAX commuter airliners and most freight turboprops do NOT have autopilots as standard equipment or, they were removed (e,g., Beech 1900D, etc.). And, as I mention it below, your original A/P will NOT work! Therefore, best to remove it entirely and donate it to a museum, along with the rest of the original avionics.
The real problem with old, obsolete avionics such as the systems you find in a F27 is that they will probably not work for very long, if they do work at all in the first place. The avionics in F27s date from the 1950s (and up to the early 1980s for late models), they cannot be repaired and it is [almost] impossible to find spare parts. Reason why you need entirely new, modern day IFR avionics suite (which, incidentally, are also lighter in weight and offer much more functionality, redundancy and safety).
EFBs (and other gizmos such as iPad, etc.) do not replace panel mounted avionic systems, they are merely tools to improve productivity to some degree within large airlines with large number of flight crew members and well established SOPs. Some airlines use them as an approved way (approved case by case) to store and
replace paper documents such as instrument approach plates, airport taxiway diagrams, aircraft POH, MEL, company OPS manuals, etc. EFBs are never approved for navigation, they are usually assigned to a flight crew member, not to the aircraft (NB: if you employ a large number of flight crew members, savings can be substantial). They are not essential
in your case, with just one aircraft, just a distraction, IMHO.
Not sure if you have looked into the Garmin suites I mentioned in an earlier post, here are some pics of older turboprops after "affordable" avionics upgrade and, an interesting G1000 video. Glass panel, airport taxiway diagrams and more.
Total installed cost less than 200K USD (no A/P included).
Total installed cost slightly more than 300K USD (fully integrated GFC700 A/P
included)