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What would your priority be on the potential upgrade below??


pkofman

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Ive asked this type of question in the past but im thinkng about tinkering with some new avionics

I have a 1998 Bravo TLS  . it has a g5. and a 530w and flightstream 210  .Given  the equipment in the plane would you prioitize a Aspen Pro 1000 or a GTN750 . What would you choose 

I can do one or the other, not both.. ( im not a fan of the g5 but it will suffice if i had to keep it. )

What is your opinion and choice. 

 

Peter

 

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Ive asked this type of question in the past but im thinkng about tinkering with some new avionics
I have a 1998 Bravo TLS  . it has a g5. and a 530w and flightstream 210  .Given  the equipment in the plane would you prioitize a Aspen Pro 1000 or a GTN750 . What would you choose 
I can do one or the other, not both.. ( im not a fan of the g5 but it will suffice if i had to keep it. )
What is your opinion and choice. 
 
Peter
 


I would do the 750 and sell the 530.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Hey INA201 . I have a g5 but dont love all the functionality ie too much button pushing to get from gnss to nav to heading mode... Ive been caught behind the plane as i forgot to change the g5  when selecting a new mode on the kap 150. the menu is hidden so ive screwed in up on approach  or when getting vectors.> approach. BUt maybe the 750 should be the logical upgrade path first

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If you slide out the 530W and slide in a refurbished Avidyne IFD540R (about $4500 net cost after you sell the 530W) and get a good end of the year deal on the Aspen maybe you could do both?

If it's only one then I would do the Aspen since it replaces the troublesome KI256, the KI525 HSI and the KG102A remote gyro. If you pull these out in working condition they are worth some money.

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1 hour ago, pkofman said:

Ive asked this type of question in the past but im thinkng about tinkering with some new avionics

I have a 1998 Bravo TLS  . it has a g5. and a 530w and flightstream 210  .Given  the equipment in the plane would you prioitize a Aspen Pro 1000 or a GTN750 . What would you choose 

I can do one or the other, not both.. ( im not a fan of the g5 but it will suffice if i had to keep it. )

What is your opinion and choice. 

Peter

Go with the 750.  When the time comes...if you’re eventually looking for a dual-screen Aspen, consider the G500txi. The price points between that and the dual Aspen are really close, and the G500 capabilities are amazing.  Don @donkaye has an exceptional setup in his M that should stimulate some thinking about potential upgrades.  Good luck.

Steve

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pk,

How do you mean...?

1) The Avidyne is a fantastic upgrade compared to the ten year old Garmin that it is replacing... with a low acquisition cost and very little installation cost...  assuming you have a similar garmin to replace and sell...

-or-

2) Best Avidyne vs. GTN 750... where the GTN is a resale magnet... the whole market knows what it is... but its new acquisition cost and fresh installation cost is huge, and installing it to sell the plane probably doesn’t make sense...

 

Are you equipping to fly...?   

Or equipping to sell...?

Bigger budget, or smaller budget?

The newer electronics are so nice! 

It is more of a budget discussion...

or a discussion of being a fan of Garmin, or anybody but garmin...

I noticed you didn’t mention BK at all...? :)

Best regards,

-a-

 

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I'm with Lance, Anthony, and others. The 750 makes no sense if budget is at all a concern. The IFD540 (no need for the 550) will be only $4500 after you sell the 530W or $6500 by trading it to Chase at AvionicsSource. And the install will cost you $0. It will also include SV which means you don't need it on the G5 or the Aspen. Finally, you can sell the FlightStream as you won't need it. The IFD540 basically has it built in.

At the end of the day (installed and flying) the 750 will cost you at least $12K and likely $15K more than the IFD540. And while it's got a bigger screen, it's not $12K bigger IMO. 

Now take your savings and get the Aspen. You won't be sorry with the IFD540... especially when you discover the included Bluetooth keyboard. There's no easier way to run the GPS/Radios/Nav/Route changes/etc in turbulence or any other time, than a keyboard in your palm.

BTW... Don Kaye is certainly always on the cutting edge of panel technology, but he's said himself several times, the cost is no object.

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Not gonna lie. As nice as don kayes panel is, 3 aspen maxes, ifd 540, 440, jpi 930, and an stec 3100, will provide practically the same as a g500 txi, gtn 750, 650, gfc 500, and the eis. Both will offer emense capabilities, and both will lighten the wallet quite a lot.

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All the advice is awesome. ( and I should have pointed this out at the outset of my post ). I am in Canada and although we have great avionics shops here they, unfortunately, play in American dollars and some even quote their labor in American $$. So I'm not exactly on a level playing field when it comes to the numbers quoted above

An installed aspen here is going to cost me about ( material and labor.... 20K Canadian ) and a 750 will be installed about 25k Canadian). I bought the g5 last year and the shop I got it from won't give me a credit as they say there is little to no market for the resale (probably bullshit but whatever!) , So that is the unfortunate consequences of a 72 cent dollar conversion.

Not complaining but those are the facts. Aviation is an American dollar commodity .even on this side of the border!!! and you might think that the shops are quiet with little to no business but they are booking 3 months out minimum!!!!!!

Its a 20-25 k investment for one or the other.and hence that is what makes it even more difficult. Maybe im convincing myself to go with the do-nothing plan,

Included a pic of my existing panel ..... thoughts.

MVI_5204_1.jpg

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53 minutes ago, pkofman said:

All the advice is awesome. ( and I should have pointed this out at the outset of my post ). I am in Canada and although we have great avionics shops here they, unfortunately, play in American dollars and some even quote their labor in American $$. So I'm not exactly on a level playing field when it comes to the numbers quoted above

An installed aspen here is going to cost me about ( material and labor.... 20K Canadian ) and a 750 will be installed about 25k Canadian). I bought the g5 last year and the shop I got it from won't give me a credit as they say there is little to no market for the resale (probably bullshit but whatever!) , So that is the unfortunate consequences of a 72 cent dollar conversion.

Not complaining but those are the facts. Aviation is an American dollar commodity .even on this side of the border!!! and you might think that the shops are quiet with little to no business but they are booking 3 months out minimum!!!!!!

Its a 20-25 k investment for one or the other.and hence that is what makes it even more difficult. Maybe im convincing myself to go with the do-nothing plan,

Included a pic of my existing panel ..... thoughts.

MVI_5204_1.jpg

Now that you showed your panel, I will change my comment. The Lynx the last time I checked will show traffic on the GTN but weather products are not available. I would go with the Avidyne exchange for the 530 now (there still is a good resale market for them now) and find a way to fund an Aspen. Everything will be integrated and you will be able to get GPSS and autopilot control. Sorry I am spending your money.

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One thing to throw in for consideration...

What is on the back shelf/radio rack?

When going all Garmin, a few boxes can be remote mounted...

  • transponder
  • audio panel
  • support boxes

Some Long bodies have Charlie weights back there for balance...

It would be an interesting UL improvement to toss out some lead and replace with remote mounted boxes.

For pics of a full avionics rack in a Bravo... See DonKaye’s gallery pics...

When looking at prices, hold onto your hat, it’s going to be a rough ride... :)

Best regards,

-a-

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