GNS 430 support

[FAST FLIGHT OPTIONS LLC]

I just installed a GTN 650.  It is by far the best piece of avionics I have ever used....Don’t rule it out.

Last time I had my 13 year old son with me I let him fiddle with the unit for about 10 minutes once we were in cruise configuration.  After his 10 minutes of playing with the touch screen he was as proficient with it as I was.  It’s that simple to use.   Simplicity, ease of operation, reliability, and display quality are the hallmarks of that unit if you were to ask me.  There is nothing else out there that even comes close right now.

[FAST FLIGHT OPTIONS LLC]

DP

[danb35]

Quote: triple8s

What is the alternative to a Garmin 430, 530 or GTN series for LPV app ?

[John Pleisse]

Quote: KSMooniac

I have now, courtesy of the previous owner).  If/when I go through another panel modernization, I am going to strongly consider this Avidyne box as a replacement for my 530W and then perhaps ditch both Garmins.  It will be interesting to play with one of these units at Sun n Fun or OSH.

[triple8s]

I am not ruling out a Garmin, I have a 496 and love it, BUT, I dont think a company places much value in its customers who spend 10 - 20 K for GA avionics and then say "oh, we have a new model out now so we arent going to support the old one anymore sorry". I guess its who you trust, never had a problem getting Bendix/King stuff fixed, I trust them.

[KSMooniac]

I agree that the GNS series are the KX170B of modern times, but I'll be surprised if many (or any) of them will still be functioning 40 years from now.  Garmin will continue to support them going forward, but as I've posted before, they are at the mercy of the component supply, much of which is commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and obsolete for any other application except the GNS boxes.  Garmin has an inventory of components for support, but it IS finite and presumably when it runs out then you won't be able to get certain problems repaired.  The lifecycle for every other electronic consumer product in the market these days can be as little as a few months to a few years, not 10-20 years like we hope for our expensive GPS boxes.  The only thing Garmin (or any other company) can do to provide infinite lifecycle support is to produce every single component in-house, and if that were the case none of us could afford the units in the first place.  Garmin is not an integrated circuit, button, knob or screen manufacturer and is at the mercy of those suppliers.

I really hope the Avidyne and even the BK/Aspen products make it to market.

[John Pleisse]

Quote: KSMooniac

I agree that the GNS series are the KX170B of modern times, but I'll be surprised if many (or any) of them will still be functioning 40 years from now.  Garmin will continue to support them going forward, but as I've posted before, they are at the mercy of the component supply, much of which is commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and obsolete for any other application except the GNS boxes.  Garmin has an inventory of components for support, but it IS finite and presumably when it runs out then you won't be able to get certain problems repaired.  The lifecycle for every other electronic consumer product in the market these days can be as little as a few months to a few years, not 10-20 years like we hope for our expensive GPS boxes.  The only thing Garmin (or any other company) can do to provide infinite lifecycle support is to produce every single component in-house, and if that were the case none of us could afford the units in the first place.  Garmin is not an integrated circuit, button, knob or screen manufacturer and is at the mercy of those suppliers.

I really hope the Avidyne and even the BK/Aspen products make it to market.

[DaV8or]

Quote: danb35

Other than that, you can always keep an eye out for a Garmin 480.

[tony]

Quote: DaV8or