Add SV to Aspen or get a Dynon D3 w/ SV

[J0nathan225]

Thought I'd ask MS for an opinion on this. 

[carusoam]

Thinking out loud...

The main reason I want SV...

I’m in IMC near the ground and navigating toward the runway....

I want to see a picture of the runway on the same display I’m using for navigating to the runway...

Just a confirmation thing... avoiding human error...

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

Me likey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Marauder]

Thinking out loud...

The main reason I want SV...

I’m in IMC near the ground and navigating toward the runway....

I want to see a picture of the runway on the same display I’m using for navigating to the runway...

Just a confirmation thing... avoiding human error...

Best regards,

-a-

 

Helps on foggy runways too!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[carusoam]

Do you get Siri’s voice with that?

Distance to the end of the runway... is nil....

-a-

[Yetti]

The subie was in part financed.  Took the money bought three cheap stocks.  several months later paid off car

[gsxrpilot]

Unless you live out here in the Rockies, I thin SV is a complete waste of money period. 

Using it to find a runway in the fog or low IMC is about 5 seconds of work. And you really ought to spend those 5 seconds keeping the needles centered.

It's useful in the dark over the mountains to verify that you're above the various rocks that stick up above 14,000 feet around her. But it's still very rarely used. I have SV in my Mooney and for three years in Texas, there was never any reason to use it. There's nothing to see. Now in Colorado, it's useful in the dark. We don't use it in IMC because we're never in IMC over the mountains as IMC over the Rockies equals Ice.

Buy SV for your Mooney after you've run out of things to spend money on.

[Skates97]

48 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Buy SV for your Mooney after you've run out of things to spend money on.

Is it actually possible to run out of things to spend money on? I keep hoping I have, but then there's always something else calling for my money! 

[aviatoreb]

6 hours ago, Skates97 said:

Is it actually possible to run out of things to spend money on? I keep hoping I have, but then there's always something else calling for my money! 

I'm watching the other thread where someone is asking if they can hang a Walter turbine engine on their mooney.

[Yetti]

10 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Unless you live out here in the Rockies, I thin SV is a complete waste of money period. 

Using it to find a runway in the fog or low IMC is about 5 seconds of work. And you really ought to spend those 5 seconds keeping the needles centered.

It's useful in the dark over the mountains to verify that you're above the various rocks that stick up above 14,000 feet around her. But it's still very rarely used. I have SV in my Mooney and for three years in Texas, there was never any reason to use it. There's nothing to see. Now in Colorado, it's useful in the dark. We don't use it in IMC because we're never in IMC over the mountains as IMC over the Rockies equals Ice.

Buy SV for your Mooney after you've run out of things to spend money on.

Kind of disagree.  There are a fair amount of 2000 foot towers along the coast.

[Marauder]

Is it actually possible to run out of things to spend money on? I keep hoping I have, but then there's always something else calling for my money! 

It’s not. I’m trying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[squeaky.stow]

I have it in my Aspen but I got it as a free upgrade. I would NOT pay for it. It is, at best, a toy.

The only thing SV does for you on a big screen is give you some degree of situational awareness of what is around you when IMC.  Unfortunately the Aspen screen is much to narrow to accomplish that in any meaningful way.

TAWS is a far better terrain awareness tool and the Aspen has that. Finding a runway in the fog? There are approach visibility minima that govern that. If you can’t see the runway or approach lights at the MAP,  do you really want to continue the approach on SV?

[rbridges]

I actually paid to have it installed on my MAX panel.  It's alright.  Flying into Marietta and Orlando at night is a little tricky for me.  The airports blend into the city lights at night until you locate the green/white light.  Sometimes it's surprisingly tricky for me to find the flashing light.  I thought the SV would make it easier, and it does, but it's not the game changer I was hoping it would be.  Would I pay for it again?  Probably not, but it does add a little situation awareness so I'm not totally disappointed.

 

btw, do you have a MAX unit or the classic?

Edited July 3, 2020 by rbridges

[Bike_rider]

I have the SV in the Aspen and use it on each flight.  I agree that it is a luxury and not a necessity. I do like it when doing approaches for another cross check.  My Aspen has been failing on me and that has me extremely concerned.  I was doing a practice approach in VMC and it went totally blank and never came back.  I am still waiting for a replacement so I am VFR only until they can get me another unit.  In the mean time, I purchased a D3 as a backup for now and in the future.  The SV on the D3 is practically useless.  It does show terrain but the screen is so small to be useful. The only advantage is that it looks nicer than a simple AI.  I've been experimenting with how and where to mount it so that I could use it when needed.  I would really like it if I could replace my magnetic compass on the center windshield post with the D3 but it would need an external sensor and is not TSO'd for that.  I think someone should design a new magnetic compass with the magnetic flux sensor built in, if that's possible?  So, to answer your question, the SV in the Aspen is a nice to have feature and an excellent cross check, the SV on the D3 is not a reason to buy the D3, and it's never a bad idea to take the extra money and invest it!  .   The D3 does have a 3.5" mount that you could put in the panel, if you have the space, as a relatively inexpensive backup in case your Aspen or other primary display has an issue.  

[rbridges]

Just now, Bike_rider said:

I have the SV in the Aspen and use it on each flight.  I agree that it is a luxury and not a necessity. I do like it when doing approaches for another cross check.  My Aspen has been failing on me and that has me extremely concerned.  I was doing a practice approach in VMC and it went totally blank and never came back.  I am still waiting for a replacement so I am VFR only until they can get me another unit.  In the mean time, I purchased a D3 as a backup for now and in the future.  The SV on the D3 is practically useless.  It does show terrain but the screen is so small to be useful. The only advantage is that it looks nicer than a simple AI.  I've been experimenting with how and where to mount it so that I could use it when needed.  I would really like it if I could replace my magnetic compass on the center windshield post with the D3 but it would need an external sensor and is not TSO'd for that.  I think someone should design a new magnetic compass with the magnetic flux sensor built in, if that's possible?  So, to answer your question, the SV in the Aspen is a nice to have feature and an excellent cross check, the SV on the D3 is not a reason to buy the D3, and it's never a bad idea to take the extra money and invest it!  .   The D3 does have a 3.5" mount that you could put in the panel, if you have the space, as a relatively inexpensive backup in case your Aspen or other primary display has an issue.  

Have you had the firmware updated on the Aspen?  I heard that helped with the bulk of the failure issues.  Knock on wood, my have been pretty rock solid.

Edited July 5, 2020 by rbridges

[J0nathan225]

3 minutes ago, Bike_rider said:

I have the SV in the Aspen and use it on each flight.  I agree that it is a luxury and not a necessity. I do like it when doing approaches for another cross check.  My Aspen has been failing on me and that has me extremely concerned.  I was doing a practice approach in VMC and it went totally blank and never came back.  I am still waiting for a replacement so I am VFR only until they can get me another unit.  In the mean time, I purchased a D3 as a backup for now and in the future.  The SV on the D3 is practically useless.  It does show terrain but the screen is so small to be useful. The only advantage is that it looks nicer than a simple AI.  I've been experimenting with how and where to mount it so that I could use it when needed.  I would really like it if I could replace my magnetic compass on the center windshield post with the D3 but it would need an external sensor and is not TSO'd for that.  I think someone should design a new magnetic compass with the magnetic flux sensor built in, if that's possible?  So, to answer your question, the SV in the Aspen is a nice to have feature and an excellent cross check, the SV on the D3 is not a reason to buy the D3, and it's never a bad idea to take the extra money and invest it!  .   The D3 does have a 3.5" mount that you could put in the panel, if you have the space, as a relatively inexpensive backup in case your Aspen or other primary display has an issue.  

Is this the newer MAX unit? my legacy has been solid

[carusoam]

@Andy Smith may be interested in hearing about the Aspen failure...

Andy was the Aspen guy around here...

Best regards,

-a-

[Bike_rider]

My Aspen was the legacy that was upgraded to the Max model before Covid hit.  I didn't fly it much to discover the issue until a few months ago.  Each time I flew, it would fail.  I did get in contact with Andy and he told me to contact my dealer which I did.  They are working on getting me another unit.  I've given up on this one since it is showing signs of a hard failure.  The failure on a practice approach made me a little concerned because I would not want that to occur in IMC.  I do have the legacy ILS equipment but I do like everything to be working.  I'm sure they will get me a functioning unit as soon as they can, given the current environment.

[rbridges]

2 hours ago, Bike_rider said:

My Aspen was the legacy that was upgraded to the Max model before Covid hit.  I didn't fly it much to discover the issue until a few months ago.  Each time I flew, it would fail.  I did get in contact with Andy and he told me to contact my dealer which I did.  They are working on getting me another unit.  I've given up on this one since it is showing signs of a hard failure.  The failure on a practice approach made me a little concerned because I would not want that to occur in IMC.  I do have the legacy ILS equipment but I do like everything to be working.  I'm sure they will get me a functioning unit as soon as they can, given the current environment.

I've read a lot of people got frustrated with recent issues, but everyone seems to agree that Aspen sticks with you until the problem is solved.  Andy has been responsive to my questions on several occasions. Hopefully you'll be satisfied when this is over. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by rbridges

[Danb]

I don’t have an aspen , but a Garmin 1000, I got synthetic vision right when it came out, it’s one of the items I absolutely would get again. It does a whole lot more than runway depiction. The terrain awareness  alone is worth it to me, I don’t know if it’s the same as sv n the aspen though