Jump to content

Aspen’s new hardware!


Recommended Posts

Great idea but it’s not enough. Aspen had the right idea with their connected panel concept but it doesn’t seem like it really came together.  Aspen is going to get squeezed by Garmin at the high end (TXi), Garmin at the low end (G5) and Dynon at the low end if it ever materializes. The Aspen is head and shoulders ahead of the Garmin G5, but the integration with an autopilot and the navigators brings capabilities that the Aspen doesn’t have.

 

 

The Connected Panel was basically killed when Garmin refused to give access to the GTN line. It works on the GNS series. Why would Garmin do that? Oh, it’s because they knew the FlightStream was coming out.

 

Unfortunately, Garmin has been the gorilla in the market. I had hoped that Bendix King was going to be successful with their own portfolio. But that didn’t materialize since BK didn’t get any help from their mothership Honeywell. BK had to reach out to Aspen to help finish up the GUI for the 770 in order to complete the certification.

 

Healthy competition is good for us the consumer.

 

Despite some gloom and doom predictions for Aspen, I’m still extremely content with my Aspens. I have time behind G500s and it is a fine glass panel as well. What I do think is funny are those who bash glass and have never owned one. Whether it is an Aspen, Garmin, Avidyne or Dynon product, these glass systems enhance the flying experience.

 

I hope the non-Garmin avionics companies continue to work together. There are both performance and financial benefits of those collaborations. If you want an example, price out Garmin and non-Garmin ADS-B/TAS solutions.

 

As for your last line, what exactly do you mean? My Aspens takes information from the Garmin GPS, including autoslewing and displays indicators from the navigator if I have incoming messages, change from enroute to approach modes as well as shows my flight plan legs and waypoint information. Am I missing something? As for autopilot integration, just like the G5 plans with the GFC500, TruTrak is working on and STEC already has that integration with the 55X and the Aspen. I expect the 3100 will follow suit.

 

bf1ce383dbe7cc4bbb5c9b281e15a305.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks pretty good to me.  My knock on Aspen as a current install is I was unexcited about purchasing today 10 year old hardware.  They seem to have updated the hardware.  The software and concept were always good.  Price point is competitive still.  If this were to go along somehow with a GFC500 upgrade path I would consider it strongly.  But Im not doing anything until I see where the GFC500 lands.

 

That was my philosophy in 1998 when that new fancy approach capable GPS showed up from Garmin. I only waited 14 years to install one.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope the STEC 3100 STC materializes for Mooneys. My old STEC50 has been so solid with the Aspen that I'd have to put modern versions of both the STEC and the Aspen on the top of my don't-need-but-would-like-to-have list.

 

I have Jerry hounding the Gensys folks about the 3100 this week. You should camp out at their booth. I think once the 3100 is integrated into the Aspen, it will be a pretty powerful combination.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

I am on the way back but here’s a still picture that doesn’t do it justice but at least proves that it’s real and will be ready to ship soon.

402C3BFC-991C-4EFB-B5F1-CE9151818844.thumb.jpeg.284702b317c5d128c2555688b3a380c7.jpeg

Doesn't prove anything! They look like they're the same pigs to me with slightly different lipstick hues! 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Marauder said:

And yes Bob, you and I have a problem. I have no plans to have a gold lined mausoleum nor do I plan on giving my kids a golden ticket. But they sure will get one heck of a nice, well equipped Mooney.
 

you want to adopt a 49 year old son?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

The Aspen rep mentioned that the faster processor will mean cooler temps. The circuitry is completely changed to take advantage of the new components available now that weren’t available 10 years ago.

How does a faster processor run cooler and how much cooler? What components exactly? Did the rep say?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Jerry 5TJ said:

Remind me again how much bigger a G500 TXi display is than an Aspen’s?  Three times?  Four?

If that is important enough to you to pay a lot extra for the wasted space. In the videos I have seen it looks like about 40% of the TXi screen is blank, nothing in it but background.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm really glad they did away with the pitot/static dependence of the AI and DG, but I don't see anything else that makes me want to rush to upgrade my Aspen pro pfd for 3 amu. It works very well right now.  Maybe I'll hold off a few years and upgrade if/when I upgrade my STEC30 autopilot - am still waiting to see an ideal path for that one.  Any word on if the battery life is better on these now that a second Aspen is certified to be backup?  Putting in a second one is tempting too if I do eventually upgrade. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, rbridges said:

I can see a little difference in the displays, but not enough to warrant more money.  Is the current Aspen laggy?  I have a Pro on order through a local shop.  Should I cancel and wait for the newer one?

It sounds like the upgrade cost is not that different from the steep discounts on the old one I saw recently, and the upgrade merely involves swapping the display, so maybe don't sweat it for now? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, DXB said:

I'm really glad they did away with the pitot/static dependence of the AI and DG, but I don't see anything else that makes me want to rush to upgrade my Aspen pro pfd for 3 amu. It works very well right now.  Maybe I'll hold off a few years and upgrade if/when I upgrade my STEC30 autopilot - am still waiting to see an ideal path for that one.  Any word on if the battery life is better on these now that a second Aspen is certified to be backup?  Putting in a second one is tempting too if I do eventually upgrade. 

I’m guessing 2 hrs (like the e5 has) vs the 30 min standard on the pfd. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

The Connected Panel was basically killed when Garmin refused to give access to the GTN line. It works on the GNS series. Why would Garmin do that? Oh, it’s because they knew the FlightStream was coming out.

 

Unfortunately, Garmin has been the gorilla in the market. I had hoped that Bendix King was going to be successful with their own portfolio. But that didn’t materialize since BK didn’t get any help from their mothership Honeywell. BK had to reach out to Aspen to help finish up the GUI for the 770 in order to complete the certification.

 

Healthy competition is good for us the consumer.

 

Despite some gloom and doom predictions for Aspen, I’m still extremely content with my Aspens. I have time behind G500s and it is a fine glass panel as well. What I do think is funny are those who bash glass and have never owned one. Whether it is an Aspen, Garmin, Avidyne or Dynon product, these glass systems enhance the flying experience.

 

I hope the non-Garmin avionics companies continue to work together. There are both performance and financial benefits of those collaborations. If you want an example, price out Garmin and non-Garmin ADS-B/TAS solutions.

 

As for your last line, what exactly do you mean? My Aspens takes information from the Garmin GPS, including autoslewing and displays indicators from the navigator if I have incoming messages, change from enroute to approach modes as well as shows my flight plan legs and waypoint information. Am I missing something? As for autopilot integration, just like the G5 plans with the GFC500, TruTrak is working on and STEC already has that integration with the 55X and the Aspen. I expect the 3100 will follow suit.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

A couple thoughts-

I believe Garmin wouldn't open up the GTN because opening the GTN wasn't good for Garmin, it was good for Garmin's customers and Garmin's competitors.  I would like to see the equipment open, but it probably makes sense to Garmin to add the capabilities of openness only if you install Garmin equipment.

The GFC500 autopilot is a game changer- that level of capability at a dramatically lower price point.  True, the new Stec autopilot has a lot of capabilities, but on a new install it's not competitive with the GFC500 (price point is similar to the GFC600.  Furthermore, I doubt you see the same level of integration between the navigators and the Stec autopilot as you will between a Garmin navigator and a Garmin autopilot; I doubt Garmin will open up the lower end system without regulatory pressure which I don't expect will happen.

Commentary from people much smarter than me has said that the G1000 was a big step forward for integrated avionics, but the GFC700 is really the bigger deal.  The quality of the flight characteristics was unmatched, and the ability to push buttons and auto sequence the flight plan represented a significant step forward from the Stec55x.  If that's correct, and it makes sense to me flying into busy DFW airspace, then I don't see the same level of integration coming using the Aspen. 

I suspect the Stec digital autopilots are top notch at their ability to control the airplane.  I question the level of integration with the navigators, but I'm admittedly out of my area of expertise, but time may prove my doubts to be unwarranted.  Will the Stec autopilot with any GPS navigator fly full route lateral and vertical navigation?  We'll need to give Avidyne time to catch up to Garmin, but if that capability exists soon then there may be a good competitor.  However- that competition is only good for airplanes that have pre-existing Stec installations; the fresh Stec install is twice the cost of a GFC500.

TruTrak?  I may be wrong, but I think of the TruTrak/Trio autopilots as competition for the Stec 30/50 autopilots which probably won't be sold for much longer if at all.  They're great options, but it appears to me that the market moved past their products.  Nothing wrong with the products, but tough to compete with a basic GFC500 installation, albeit at a higher price.

The question about the Aspen isn't whether an existing Aspen customer should upgrade, it's really a question of how competitive the Aspen is to the competition for a new install.  As I noted before, the the Aspen has more capability than the G5, but if you're an aircraft owner with a king/century autopilot the Garmin system makes a lot more sense to me.  It's even more obvious to me if the airplane is either already STCd for the GFC500 or is on the development timeline for the GFC500 (e.g. Mooney aircraft).  G5, GTN650, GFC500 is an insanely capable setup for a traveling airplane; entry level integration in a way that is tough to beat- and tough to beat at the price point.

Don't get me wrong- I'm rooting against Garmin even though I'm going to write a big check for Garmin equipment.  They're milking me for GFC600 money instead of GFC500 because they can (A36).  Fortunately for Garmin shareholders Garmin continues to develop new products rather than staying content as the market leader like Bendix King did years ago.

2 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

And what proof did he offer to substantiate his claims?  Where is the evidence!?!?  :)

Jim

New product not in the wild- let's give them the benefit of the doubt ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, PTK said:

Doesn't prove anything! They look like they're the same pigs to me with slightly different lipstick hues! 

 

This thread is for people who have actually flown behind Aspens and see the value. There are a lot of choices that people have. Reasonable open-minded people don't have to tear down someone else's choice to make theirs' look better. Go buy your KI-300. I hear it's a wonderful unit.

  • Like 8
  • Haha 1
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, PTK said:

How does a faster processor run cooler and how much cooler? What components exactly? Did the rep say?

The faster processor is only working at a small percentage of its capacity therefore runs cooler. I didn't ask what components, but here's a screen shot from the video.

1360411580_ScreenShot2018-07-26at10_04_03AM.thumb.png.bfe5b53d6276047b9f5007cdab3de02d.png

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The faster processor is only working at a small percentage of its capacity therefore runs cooler. I didn't ask what components.


I just watched the first video in this thread and I swear it was made just for Peter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm really glad they did away with the pitot/static dependence of the AI and DG, but I don't see anything else that makes me want to rush to upgrade my Aspen pro pfd for 3 amu. It works very well right now.  Maybe I'll hold off a few years and upgrade if/when I upgrade my STEC30 autopilot - am still waiting to see an ideal path for that one.  Any word on if the battery life is better on these now that a second Aspen is certified to be backup?  Putting in a second one is tempting too if I do eventually upgrade. 


Dev - at $3k, street price around $2500, I think the big advantage for single tube owners is the elimination of the red X that some feel were a concern. If you had an older unit and were worried about out of warranty costs, you can purchase their extended warranty on the single tube system, it is $800 per year. You buy the Max for $2500, you get 2 years of warranty, that brings down the upgrade cost to ~$900. You get a new unit, new battery and the other enhancements with the Max.

For me, I wish this product came out a year ago February. I could have saved $6k on purchasing the ESI-500. That savings would have funded the two tube upgrade and saved me $1000.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see a little difference in the displays, but not enough to warrant more money.  Is the current Aspen laggy?  I have a Pro on order through a local shop.  Should I cancel and wait for the newer one?


It’s not laggy at all. I think Aspen could be refreshing for a few reasons. The primary reason probably is because they are looking to include more functionality. I saw they already have updated the firmware on the MFD to bring the METARs weather page into the main Nav page. This is a big improvement since you now can pull the METAR directly from the current page rather than navigating to the weather pages. I suspect the same could be true for the PFD. The GPS supplemental input is basically a way to get the AHRS to function at a degraded performance level of a standard AI.

The second reason is that there will be a number of people who will keep their first gen Aspens. Doing a trade-in will allow them to maintain legacy support by building up an inventory of first gen Aspens. And if they truly run out of 1st gen units, they still have the 2nd gen as an upgrade path.

The 3rd reason they are refreshing is to quiet some individuals who claim that the Aspen is ancient technology.

Personally, I would wait for the new unit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, LANCECASPER said:

The faster processor is only working at a small percentage of its capacity therefore runs cooler. I didn't ask what components.

Is this what the rep told you? Heat generation is a function of percentage of capacity? Really? This is what the rep told you? What else did the rep tell you? This is getting good!

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, PTK said:

Is this what the rep told you? Heat generation is a function of percentage of capacity? Really? This is what the rep told you? What else did the rep tell you? This is getting good!

 

You'll have to go to the Aspen booth yourself and wait in line behind all of the other interested buyers to get your questions answered. And if you want to relax in a quiet place when you're done go to the King booth and ask about the KI-300.

  • Like 2
  • Haha 4
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 


Dev - at $3k, street price around $2500, I think the big advantage for single tube owners is the elimination of the red X that some feel were a concern. If you had an older unit and were worried about out of warranty costs, you can purchase their extended warranty on the single tube system, it is $800 per year. You buy the Max for $2500, you get 2 years of warranty, that brings down the upgrade cost to ~$900. You get a new unit, new battery and the other enhancements with the Max.

For me, I wish this product came out a year ago February. I could have saved $6k on purchasing the ESI-500. That savings would have funded the two tube upgrade and saved me $1000.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

I hear you - I was still seriously considering the 6k ESI-500 for install this fall, but it is feeling silly now that a versatile new mfd from Aspen works as backup too for ~8k hardware.  Big downside of going the 2nd Aspen route is that it will leave me with yet another database to purchase and update after spending more money than I planned for the install.  Also I don't have Ads-b in for panel to take full advantage of the Aspen mfd,  so I probably won't go that route in the end.  I'll  just put in the Sandia AI, add a stormscope, and  tear out my vac if no other options emerge.  I also would have  updated the Aspen PFD now if Garmin would let the G5 serve as standby for it and not just the G500s - an utterly silly paperwork barrier.  The G5 would likely leave more future integration possibilities in place than the Sandia, given that I have a GTN650.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, PTK said:

Is this what the rep told you? Heat generation is a function of percentage of capacity? Really? This is what the rep told you? What else did the rep tell you? This is getting good!

 

I'm no computer guru, but I know ramping up a CPU increases heat.  My son has a gaming rig with a 6700 processor.  The temp goes up and down depending on its load.  Now, does that mean anything in the Aspen application?  Your guess is as good as mine.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm no computer guru, but I know ramping up a CPU increases heat.  My son has a gaming rig with a 6700 processor.  The temp goes up and down depending on its load.  Now, does that mean anything in the Aspen application?  Your guess is as good as mine.


It does. Think about how hot a laptop gets when a CPU intensive operation is going on - like a full virus scan. Between the storage (regardless if it is a mechanical or solid state hard drive) and the CPU, they can get pretty hot.

That was one of the comments made about the Aspens. The bezels were warm to the touch. People said it was running hot. In fact, Aspen’s engineers decided that to mitigate temperature control concerns they used the bezel as the heat sink. The logic was that heat dissipation was better porting it out to the cabin side rather than releasing it in the confines of behind the panel.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.