Marauder

The stuff they sell today is indeed German. But does require an interface box from what I can tell. If it is software only, that would be nice. I also heard that the ADS-B stuff they announced is still in FAA approval. I will call them today and get the scoop on all this.

This the beast you talking about Bob? http://www.aspenavionics.com/products/aps4a-altitude-preselect

That is where I am headed as well. If the GDL-88 were available and did interface with the Aspen I might consider it.

I will certainly ask Bob. I have the 60-2. Do you know if it is just an altitude pre-select or will it also control vertical speed rates?

I think there is some gamesmanship going on here. One shop I spoke to today is a big one that does a lot of volume. They told me that Aspen has been the delay in opening up the interface with the GDL-88 to work with the MFD. According to them, the protocol for ADS-B is supposed to be an open format. The Aspen delay is presumably to allow their own ADS-B solution to become available and not to lose the business to early adopters. He said they received hundreds of calls from Aspen owners the day after the March press release announcing Aspen's "future" ADS-B solution (looking for availability). Somewhere in all the truth exists...

Will do Bob. Was it for any AP?

Thanks Bob! At least I am down to knowing that 1 antenna will work. I will call Aspen tomorrow if no one else steps forward. I suspect they are probably not doing much with it anticipating their own product release...

Thanks Bennett! I can understand the shading concern, but when they both said it would upload quicker, I started scratching my head. I agree, less antennas would be preferred.

Pretty funny!

Actually, this is pretty entertaining, Just wished I made the big bag of popcorn. I'm afraid I'm going to run out before this show is over.

As some of you know, I have been working through the portable ADS-B options. In order to get full capability on the portable platforms, I would be spending quite a bit. So much in fact, that it makes the panel stuff look even better. Since I have an Aspen 2000 setup, my MFD is capable of displaying weather and traffic on it. At this point, I believe only the GDL-88 is available to interface with my Garmin GTN 650. Talking with a couple of avionics shops, it is not clear what, if anything will be displayed on the Aspen. According to these shops, the Garmin GDL-88 will only display on the GTN, not the Aspen MFD. For those of you that have this configuration, is this true? If this is not true, could you fill me in on a few details? > Ballpark cost of installed product? I got numbers from the two shops I spoke with, but want confirmation of real world numbers. > These shop also said that two antennae configurations were available. Something about shading occuring and faster upload speeds with two. If you had the GDL-88 installed, can you confirm any of this? > How does the GDL-88 function with respect to the MFD's capabilities of presenting textual weather information? (I know that radar uploads and traffic should be displayed, but in the MFD manual, it shows the capabilitiy of panning to an airport and getting the textual description -- does that work as advertised?) > Is there anything you find you like or dislike with the setup? Thanks, B26 aka Marauder

You have given some thought to this! Nicely stated!

Strange how that works, isn't it? I get the situations where you are entering an airport area and the interactions are more likely to happen. But the ones where you are in the "big sky" area, flying direct to a point and have someone show up are hard to comprehend. But it does happen...

First of all, NO voice activation! I have never seen one of these work whether it be in call centers, Siri, Nuance or Sync (we call the version in my Ford truck the "b&@ch in the box"). I can see it now, "did you say spiral death dive?". Avionics: What I want is open hierarchy that any manufacturer's product will work with anyone else's. I want a cheaper way to upgrade rather than paying as much to install something as the box costs (think audio panels). Mechanical: a reasonably priced turbine that could directly replace my horizontally opposed engine.

Understood. Your topic title threw me. Sounded like you bought a project plane and were announcing it flew again. Good luck!

Trust me Steve, been there. Started with NOAA's then thought I would get modern with Jepp's. 5 Jepp binders painstakingly undated every cycle and then finding out I missed a section and needed to fly to an alternate that I had to query the controller for the updated information. If anything, I got too much to look at. The iPad has both Garmin Pilot and ForeFlight on it, a Nexus 7 with Garmin Pilot, an iPhone 5 with ForeFlight and Seattle Avionics geo-referenced charts on the MFD -- and I still feel compelled to print out my departure, destination and alternate plates! Any instructor giving me an IPC would run out of post it notes... The only thing I miss about the paper was "binder night". A 6 pack of beer, my new charts from Jepp and my outdated binders like clockwork... Hey, maybe that is why I missed an update once in a while

Wow! It is true! People still do use paper! Here is a picture of my charts binder.

Can't we all just get along? It's bad enough that we gotta defend why our tails are on "backwards".

Easy for you to say. Just pump up your inflatable doll with helium and you're all set.

I think that is what all the color coded zipper pulls are for. I use the colors to denote different things. Makes it easier for the wife to find things when I can narrow down the color. It stopped the "it's in their somewhere!"

Ok, you are partially off the hook... Looking forward to more updates! I have a thread going in the aviation avionics section. I'm still up in the air which way to go with the portable solution. I really like Garmin Pilot but the compatibility limitation with my Aspens and with other antennae makes it less attractive. Same with ForeFlight. Both also will require an ADS-B source to get the true traffic capability. Which translates into more money spent. The cost delta between a portable solution and the Aspen stuff (to roll out their panel mounted stuff this Fall) is getting a lot closer.

Like most pilots, I spent the better part of my flying career looking for the "perfect" flight bag. Once I found "it", then the next gizmo came out and I had no place to store it. Last Christmas I got a Brightline bag and I think (at least I hope) my search Is over. You can buy different sized compartments and stick them together. I bought the standard one (I think it is called the B10) but am looking to change it up if I move over from traditional ANR headsets to Halos.

Ok Brett... Moving closer to buying something. Was VFR this evening coming back from the ocean. Stopped at Georgetown for dinner (PIREP on the new restaurant Arenas later) and was climbing through 3k when my wife asked if "that plane should be that close?". I tipped my wing and saw I was climbing up and converging with a Piper Cherokee. "Er, no that would be a problem". I could not see him because he was above and slightly to the right. My wife was in the right rear seat and my son in the front seat. So for once she was a good back seat driver. I'm really torn on the direction to go with this. Without the "out" capabilities I might have seen him since I was close to Dover and perhaps someone was pumping "out". But then again, most of the commercial traffic was a bit further north. So... Here are my thoughts: Garmin Pilot - I really like how Garmin Pilot works. The GUI works for me. What I don't like is that the GDL-39 is Bluetooth only and will only work with my Garmin Pilot. Cost: $700 (never like the "99" thing, it's $700 BUCKS!). In order to get the "out" capabilities, I would need to buy the SkyGuard or equivalent. I see SkyGuard will soon be selling an "out" only solution for $975. So, for $1675, I could have a portable solution. ForeFlight - I like most of the FF features, but wish it had a split screen and my personal pet peeve is the IFR charts for departure/destination not being automatically stuck in their own binder. ForeFlight does work with the Aspen Avionics gear and when the CG50 is available, I can then port over my weather to the Aspen display using the portable antennae. The problem with FF for me as well will be that it is not compatible with my Nexus 7. So I would need to factor in a iPad Mini since my iPad 2 is just too big to be yoke mounted. Cost: $900 for the Stratus 2, $975 for the SkyGuard Vision Pro and $529 for the Mini. Total: $2384. WingX - other than trying out Mike's a bit, I am not too sure about it. When I hear people talking about it, they either love it or hate it, I also think people either love or hate Hilton as well. Not sure what is driving that. Maybe I will spend the 99 cents and give it a try. The annual cost is more than FF or Garmin. I think it comes in over $200 per year. Cost: $1475. The price allows for ADS-B out and full weather and traffic. WingX is also compatible with Aspen Avionics and I can port weather over using the CG50. Keep me posted on your FF/Stratus/SkyGuardTWX experience. BTW -- on your video, in between 27 and 28 seconds you can see a momentary metallic flash of the traffic. The camera is just not quite able to focus but you can see the location of the other plane.

Yeah Scott... Inquiring minds want to know...

Like Mike's insatiable taste for inflatable dolls?