Swap GNS430W for IFD440, or ...?

[chrixxer]

1969 M20F. 

Current configuration:

• GNS430W
  • GPSS linked to S-Tec 30 autopilot
  • Linked to FS-450 fuel totalizer
  • Linked to a GI106A CDI head
  • Receives traffic from the FreeFlight RANGR FDL-978-XVR ADS-B In/Out system
  • Cross-fills a GPSmap 496 (not long for this panel, though might replace with something like an Aera 660, with the same footprint)
• EDM-700 (currently being swapped for an EDM-730 through the trade-in program, and will live on as backup engine instruments)
• KX-155 NAV/COM (display failing, thinking GNC-255 eventually)
• GTX-327 transponder
• PMA450 audio panel

Planned configuration (assuming STC/AML update to include the M20):

• Dynon SkyView HDX replacing the steam six pack, with its own engine monitor and autopilot (replacing the S-Tec)
• Some backup on the right panel (probably the D10 or D100), next to the EDM-730

From scanning eBay auctions, it looks like I can probably flip the GNS430W for about $7,000. I'm leery of the long-term lifespan of that circa-1998 tech and Garmin's ability and willingness to continue to support it. They've already dropped support completely for the earliest 430/530 units. I kinda want to get out while it still has some significant value.

I really like the GTN-650, but I'm a cheap bastard (less so than I used to be, but still).

What I like about the IFD-440 is, it's a slide-in replacement for the -430W. No avionics shop rewiring, etc. It's also WiFi and Bluetooth enabled already, so I wouldn't need something like the FS-210 to import flight plans from ForeFlight into the panel GPS, etc. Also, I kinda like having knobs and buttons. The F isn't as tossable as the E in turbulence, but it can still be a nightmare tapping in changes on my iPad, even with it sturdily yoke-mounted right in front of me.

What I'm less thrilled about:

1. Avidyne doesn't, AFAIK, have the same track record as Garmin. How long will they support the IFD-440? If I buy it now and it needs a screen replacement in 5 years, will I be SOL? (Probably not; they seem to be able to fully support the Entegra stack in the 2004 Cirrus SR22 I fly.) Database updates? Etc.
2. There's no AHRS in the -440 (the FS-210 adds AHRS). Though, with synthetic vision coming on the SkyView HDX, that's really not as big of a deal as it was with a vacuum-powered AI and no terrain information in the panel, in my old E.
3. I don't know that the -440 will talk to everything I already have, though I suspect it will.

So my options right now, as I see them, are: (a) Buy the -440 ($10K?), sell the 430 ($7K?), come out $3K down, but have a new unit with warranty and probably better long-term outlook. Or, (b) keep the -430, have an FS-210 installed (My regular shop is quoting $1700 all in)...

(I already have GPS and ADS-B weather and traffic coming into the iPad over WiFi through the FreeFlight.)

[N201MKTurbo]

I like the Foreflight integration better with Garmin. With Garmin when I make a change on the IPad and send it to the Garmin it updates the current flight plan. When I do it with the Avidyne it creates a new flight plan that I have to activate then activate the current leg. If I update the flight plan in the Avidyne and send it to the IPad it updates the Foreflight properly. I think, I'm never quite sure what the Avidyne is doing.

[thinwing]

I've had better luck using Avidyne IFD100 app for updating flight plans,than there is never a question