Avidyne IFD540 9,000$

[jetdriven]

9 grand seems like a really low price for such a stunning piece of hardware.   It ships at the last of 2012, and the money is refundable after Sun-n-Fun next year.   Anyone taking them up on the offer? We are considering it. 

 

http://www.avidyne.com/products/ifd540/index.asp

 

[KSMooniac]

I would be really tempted if I were thinking about adding a GPS!  I'm happy with my 530W/430W combo today and have my next upgrade money aimed underneath the cowl instead of the panel, but this appears to be a heckuva deal from a company with a good track record, so it should be low-risk.  

[DonMuncy]

Where do you get the info on the "late 2012" delivery date. I didn't see that anywhere.

Don

[Vref]

Quote: jetdriven

9 grand seems like a really low price for such a stunning piece of hardware.   It ships at the last of 2012, and the money is refundable after Sun-n-Fun next year.   Anyone taking them up on the offer? We are considering it. 

 

http://www.avidyne.com/products/ifd540/index.asp

 

[flyboy0681]

Very interesting unit. My first impression is that Honeywell's 770 unit is way behind in the technology race when compared to this and the new Garmin's. I find it amusing that Avidyne made their new unit pin and rack compatible with the 530 units and appropriately named their new system the "540".

[docket]

I was surprised that Avidyne could make them pin and rack compatible with Garmin because I assumed that they had some patent/trademark protection on that configuration.  Perhaps a rack is not protectible.  In any event, if the unit is good they have a great strategy -- an upgrade is always a lot more fun when it just slides in.

[Barry]

The PS 8000 Audio panels are pin/harness compatable with the Garmin harness.

[jetdriven]

9k is the price at the show for payment in full.  Pay now and get delivery in late 2012.  On the surface it seems like about 8k off.  

Quote: Vref

9+7=16k$ what I read in the Pdf price list..?

[DaV8or]

That's what I'm talking about! Just plug and play is what all these guys should be thinking about. Just use Garmin's trays, wires and antennas. Guess they left us 430 guys out in the cold though...

[M016576]

The biggest thing this has going for it is the "plug and play" aspect... man I really WISH that Garmin would have done this with their 650/750...  A standardization in the tray's/pin-outs would make it SO much more cost effective for the purchaser.... In this era of standardized computer components, it's hard to believe that more companies aren't thinking about this.  Or perhaps they are... and they want to keep the avionics installers in business... 

Typically with these boxes it's the installation cost that I fear more than the raw price of the units themselves, although both tend to be pretty hefty! 

As for the box itself, I prefer the look of the 750 over the extra knobs/buttons on the Avidyne...  I'm sure some others would rather have the tactile buttons.  This will be a decent alternative to the Garmin units.  Hopefully a little more competition to help drive down the overall unit costs!  Keep them coming, guys!

[Becca]

My speculation on the ridiculously low price offer ($7k less than retail) is a last ditch effort to raise the capital required to bring the thing to market. I think you'd be taking a risk making a deposit that avidyne could go out of business before delivering the unit. Any thoughts on this? I see that avidyn is no longer standard equipment in cirrus, that probably hurts their bottom line quite a bit.

[M016576]

Quote: Becca

My speculation on the ridiculously low price offer ($7k less than retail) is a last ditch effort to raise the capital required to bring the thing to market. I think you'd be taking a risk making a deposit that avidyne could go out of business before delivering the unit. Any thoughts on this? I see that avidyn is no longer standard equipment in cirrus, that probably hurts their bottom line quite a bit.

[DaV8or]

Quote: M016576

The biggest thing this has going for it is the "plug and play" aspect... man I really WISH that Garmin would have done this with their 650/750...  A standardization in the tray's/pin-outs would make it SO much more cost effective for the purchaser.... In this era of standardized computer components, it's hard to believe that more companies aren't thinking about this.  Or perhaps they are... and they want to keep the avionics installers in business...

[PTK]

Garmin plays the tune and Avidyne has no other option but dance. It appears that Avidyne has no money for R&D. If they could they would bring out a box of their own. They're piggy backing on Garmin attempting to raise funds. It's a huge gamble.

[OR75]

I 'd love to see a plug and play replacement to the 430.

The standard used to be King (refer to the KMA24 and KT76) and may be moving to Garmin

[M016576]

Quote: OR75

I 'd love to see a plug and play replacement to the 430.

The standard used to be King (refer to the KMA24 and KT76) and may be moving to Garmin

[jetdriven]

The price is 9500$ till the end of the month. We are still on the fence.   Beechtalk has a thread on the subject.  Reid from Avidyne says they have well over 100 deposits.    Take a look?

 

http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=59637

[FBCK]

I was going to go ahead today and purchase one (although being in Canada the currency turned ugly on me today so I held off), the company has been around for a while but who knows, it looks good value to me and I'm in the market for a new GPS.  Do you need a password for the Beach forum?

[jetdriven]

you can register for BeechTalk for free.

[from email]

 

Byron,

Your concern has been a common one throughout this deposit program, however it is really a misconception.  While Avidyne did lose the Cirrus contract over 4 years ago we have continued to thrive though what has always been our primary revenue source, our sensors business (TAS, TWX, MLB etc) we are still OEM on Piper, Diamond and a most turbine helicopter manufacturers for those products.  To replace our Cirrus business we launched our Release 9. There have actually be quarters where we've had more R9 sales than Cirrus had new deliveries. 

We launched the IFD deposit program for a couple of reasons:
With the launch of Garmin's GTN products we wanted to let people know that there will be an option in panel mount avionics before they made the decision to upgrade, and were locked into their decision.
We are not as large of a company as Garmin and need to scale our manufacturing based on what we think we'll need.  We run a just in time process and buy taking deposits in advance we are able to know exactly what type of raw materials we'll need to order and when.  To answer your last question we have taken well over 100 deposits, far exceeding our expectations.  Since we've run this deposit program we'll be able to build to that number and ensure that customers are able to get their units when they want.
I hope this answers your questions.  Please let me know if I can be of any more help.

Best Regards,

Reid
 
Reid D. Antonacchio
Territory Manager
Integrated Flight Deck Sales
(O) 317-286-2647
(M) 239-249-0414
rantonacchio@avidyne.com
www.avidyne.com

 

--------------------------------

hank you for your inquiry on the IFD540.  The IFD540 takes the ease of use and simplicity for which Avidyne is known and adds the power of a GPS/NAV/COM.  Avidyne took the best parts of our complete R9 Flight Deck and packaged it into the size of a GNS530.  We made a huge splash at this year’s EAA (Oshkosh) because of the IFD540 and everything we packed into it.

Below are the top 5 reasons to buy the IFD540:
Easy Flight Plan Entry with Airways
Intuitive QWERTY-style Touch Screen keyboard
Power tools like FMS Vectors, FMS Preview, GeoFill, TAWS-B, and CMax Approach and Airport Charts
Drop in Replacement for GNS530W and GNS530
ABS Special Pricing (See Attached Agreement)

To learn more about these reasons and more please visit:
www.ifd540.com
Videos
Frequently Asked Questions

Also, I’ve attached our deposit agreement, which ended on 10/31, however I am able to accept a few more deposits.  Please review it and call me with questions.  Delivery is expected approximately 1 year from now.  Install costs will be determined by your dealer, figure the same amount of time it would take them to install a Garmin 530.

Thanks,

[FAST FLIGHT OPTIONS LLC]

The price does not include the cost of the antenna  or installation.  Could anyone speculate as to how much each of those two items would cost?

[jetdriven]

Conroe Avionics and Reid both said the cost of installation for an IFD540, a GTN650 or GTN750 were all going to be in the 3,000$ range.  Of course Garmin radios only work with the 2K garmin indicators.  The IFD540 plays fair with all.  SO the GTN70 is around 20K laid in, and the IFD540 is 13K/.

 

[OR75]

Antenna install will probably run about $300 to $500. 

$300 if only the antenna needs to be changed. $500 if antenna AND antenna cable needs to be change (labor time to remove headliner and replace coax cable, etc ...).

I would think you would also need to add to that 1 or 2 hours to file required FAA paperwork ?

I am just guessing here for a slide in replacement.

 

 

 

[FAST FLIGHT OPTIONS LLC]

I would surmise that if one were to examine this offer from a residual value perspective the Avidyne product would be a clear winner.  I don’t have a 530W so I would be looking at a straight / full install of either the Avidyne 540 or Garmin 750 and will need an antenna at a cost of 500 extra dollars.

 

I would theorize that like a new car once you leave the dealership/installer with the product its value is almost immediately diminished.  Either system will probably add about 5K worth of value to the aircraft by the second day of ownership since it will then be “used”.

 

That would mean the Avidyne depreciates about 7k in value while the Garmin depreciates 15K in value when you include the cost of a full install.  From what I’ve read both systems provide comparable functionality and the 540 is based on Avidyne’s R9 system which I have only read great things about.  Unless someone could convince me otherwise (and I’m open to opinions) I think I’m going to send my deposit in and forgo the Garmin 750

 

Thoughts?

[RJBrown]

Quote: DaV8or

No kidding. This is a little insight into Garmin and their business model. Changing the connectors and trays just because they can. I can think of no reason to change these things because the systems they interface with are the same. Avidyne has the right idea. A plug and play unit that slips into the old Garmin trays, with all the features of the 750, should really give them a significant advantage. They should then work a deal with Fore Flight for the data subscription. If they can make it real and solid, they could sell like wild fire.

[Awful_Charlie]

I'm going off Garmin due to their Jepp lock-in and treatment of the 480 product and users.  I'm seriously considering dumping a deposit on a 540, but it would probably be to replace my 430 (non-W)  and make my 480 #2, so likely to be arms and legs in the installtion cost.  I thought the deposit scheme was open until the end of the year, and will likely sit on the fence until the last minute.