Upgrade paths

[jetdriven]

That will look very nice. The Aera660 map is an outstanding piece of kit. It’s almost the same as a second GTN750 map.  

[Danb]

Brad it's awesome to be so mechanically gifted.

[bradp]

Ok so here’s the skinny - 

The Aera 660 is awesome.  It really adds to situational awareness for the terrain alerting functionality alone. I need to read a bit more about the logic - but it seems smart in that if you descending to an airport nuisance alerts are suppressed.  It’s above any beyond what my 430 can do or what foreflight / GP can do.  I don’t have traffic or weather  functions set up from the 660 yet.  The fact that alerts are passed to the audio is something that I think you can find on the Avidyne boxes but not the GTN/GNS.  I’ve only flown once with it but so far seems one of the highest value propositions in GA (next to an engine monitor).  Great great bang for the buck.  I’d take one of these over any other MFD unless I was needing actual weather radar...

[MIm20c]

Looks very nice and cost effective. Is the total height of the 430/660 about the same as a 750?

[jetdriven]

The GTN750 is quite a bit taller in th stack than the 430 and 530. 

[Browncbr1]

I've been thinking about selling my Aera510 and replacing it with an Aera660 just for the synthetic vision capability.  

Does the 660 provide automatic audio alert at DA/MAP or MDAs on approaches?

[Jerry 5TJ]

5 hours ago, jetdriven said:

The GTN750 is quite a bit taller in th stack than the 430 and 530. 

The GTN750 is tall in the front but is of much reduced height behind the panel. 

In vintage Mooney panels the depth behind the center stack is greatly reduced near the top due to steel fuselage tubes.  

The GTN750 will fit at the very top of the stack, unlike most other boxes.  

[bradp]

Did another flight tonight with my CB 750 (Aera 660).  Performed flawlessly.  Now that my Little ahars issue has resolved I used the 3D vision function - which shows an HSI with a couple of barbs for next fix and nearest airport.  The touch screen is responsive and the refresh rate is very fast.  Again enjoyed the aural cues for obstacles  and airspace. It gave me additional situational awareness  when I landed at IGX after dark  as there are a few tall towers in the vicinity.   The VNAV feature is identical to the 750 and gives me a full flight plan listing to select my fix from.  The new software will listen to MapMx so I have approaches and holds depicted on the screen identically to the certified box.  I’m standing by my conclusion that this little gps is different from and superior to an iPad in a couple of ways (or at least is a great complement to an iPad) and is one of the best values in aviation. 

[jetdriven]

Poor mans 750.  It is.  In some way better. The terrain call outs that cost 8k come wirh the 660

Edited December 17, 2017 by jetdriven

[MIm20c]

@bradp can you explain in a little more detail what / how things are piped into the 660.

Is the traffic displayed from your stratus or 330es mode S?

For weather do you have to use the xm weather or can the 660 interface with the stratus?

Any confirmation page or extra button pushing when the 430w updates the flight plan to the 660?

When you load an approach (on the 430) does the geo referenced plate display with the proper IAF (on the 660)?

Thanks for all the info so far, trying to decide if I want to replace my phone on the dash with this unit. It would be mounted right above my 430w as well. 

[bradp]

1 hour ago, MIm20c said:

@bradp can you explain in a little more detail what / how things are piped into the 660.

Is the traffic displayed from your stratus or 330es mode S?

For weather do you have to use the xm weather or can the 660 interface with the stratus?

Any confirmation page or extra button pushing when the 430w updates the flight plan to the 660?

When you load an approach (on the 430) does the geo referenced plate display with the proper IAF (on the 660)?

Thanks for all the info so far, trying to decide if I want to replace my phone on the dash with this unit. It would be mounted right above my 430w as well. 

Here are some answers:

1) I don’t have traffic running but you can use TIS-A via RS-232 from a GTX-330(ES) or -3X5.  I don’t know if the unit will show traffic from the Bluetooth connection from the GTX-345. It will also connect to a GDL-39 or -5X via Bluetooth or hardwired.  Garmin is currently recommending hardwiring their portable ADS-B receivers to the unit for a reliable connection.   This is also probably because there is a limitation of a single Bluetooth connection to the Aera 660.  Right now my single Bluetooth connection is to a FS-210 to show AHRS and flight plan transfer via garmin connext (flight plan entry- my flight plan display is via MapMx hard wire as per below).

2) I have both a stratus 2 and a gdl-69.  Neither will show Weather on the Aera 660.  My weather is now exclusively shown on my iPad.  The Aera 660 communication is limited to Garmin brand adsb receivers.  My plan is to dump both those units and hardwire a GDL-52R to my existing XM antenna and an orphaned DME antenna on my belly.  Essentially I’d be getting the functionality of a GTX-345 transponder for a third the cost ($1600 for an ES, $500 rebate and $1200 for the  52-R minus a $200 rebate, selling the gld-69 and stratus 2S).  

The Aera 660 will show ADSB Weather or XM Weather but only from Garmin portables.  It won’t pump Weather through a FS-210 Bluetooth connection from a GDL-69/A.  I don’t know if it can be connected to a GDL-88.  It can be hard wired to a GTX-345 but I don’t know if this is “connext” (traffic weather) or just TISa traffic. The traffic display is that proprietary traffic logic that people seem to like  whether adsb or Tisa.

3) There is no extra button pushing for flight plan updates when the 660 is hard wired to the 430W - it’s seamless.   

If you have a portable such as a 296/396/496/696/796 or 660 and it’s connected via RS-232 Aviation-in, approaches won’t be fully or correctly depicted.  Missed approach fixes won’t be displayed.   The firmware update that Garmin released last week includes the MapMx format for the RS-232 wired connection.  This allows full depiction of approaches and missed approaches as well as curved path approaches (holds etc).  The picture I have above is with me having loaded the GPS approach to 27 at IGX.   RDU approach wouldn’t let me cut across their departure path, so I deleted everything outside the FAF and activated the leg from Igage (FAF) to the runway just so I could get a virtual guide-path at night VMC.   I’m flying later today so I’ll try to get a pic of a full approach and missed approach depiction.  This MapMx update is a huge bonus in my book   . So the short answer is when you load an approach the 660 will show exactly what the 430/530(w) or GTN navigator is depicting unlike the old 296 I had in there.

Hope this is helpful.  I’ll share more as I learn more and continue the piecemeal updates.  

Brad

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MIm20c]

Thank you for the very detailed response. I wonder if the 52r will combine the TIS-A data with the adsb traffic info (similar to how the 345 will combine with skywatch traffic info). 

I’d really like Garmin to combine the wireless features of the fs210 with the 52r for transferring foreflight route information to the 430.  A 660 and 52r would be on order tomorrow if a combined device (minus xm) was available.