Gns530w to GTN 650xi upgrade

[drifter001]

Howdy. we currently have a 530W in our E. We’ve been flying more IFR stuff and starting to realize how tedious loading flight plans to the 530 really is. We started looking into either a flightstream 210 or a 650/750. We were initially leaning towards the 210 but our avionics guy made the point that the 530 is on a timer so economically speaking, the best bet would be to go with a 650xi and sell the 530w while we can get something for it. Curious what y’all’s thoughts are on that concept. TIA

[Rick Junkin]

3 minutes ago, drifter001 said:

our avionics guy made the point that the 530 is on a timer so economically speaking, the best bet would be to go with a 650xi and sell the 530w while we can get something for it.

There's some merit in that, however it depends a lot on your long term plans for the panel. If this upgrade is all you ever plan to do, then biting the bullet and going with the 650 or 750 xi may be what you want to do. Keep in mind the FS510 you'll need to accomplish the flight plan transfer is an additional $1,500ish on top of the cost of the radios and installation.

If what you primarily want right now is the Flightstream capability, and have thoughts of doing a major panel upgrade down the road, then the FS 210 installation will probably be roughly half the net cost , maybe less, than swapping the 530W for the 650Xi and you can save those funds for your big upgrade. The FS210 is a much simpler installation which will mean less down time and lower labor expense.

As for the 530W being on a clock that's true, but there are still plenty of them out there for sale for decent prices and that likely won't change a whole lot until Garmin sunsets support. They did that with the 14V GNS430 so its a matter of time and spare parts availability. It's a gamble but it may be one you want to take. Some research into Garmin's support plans would give you more data on which to make your best decision.

Cheers,
Rick

[donkaye, MCFI]

The 530, while a great product for its time, is rather "long in the tooth" so to speak.  While you can run LPV approaches with the W version, the 750Xi/650Xi can do much more now and has the capability to do even more with future software updates.  With the 210 or 510 flight plans can be imported, but oftentimes the clearance given is not the same as the one filed, so I find it just as easy to quickly, manually load the given clearance.

There are other options out there now, but when all is said and done I like the 750/650 the best for number of reasons, not the least of which are larger characters.  I have a student who just installed the GNC 355 and with all the turbulence we experienced yesterday, he had a hard time tapping the desired button.

[Fly Boomer]

12 minutes ago, donkaye said:

There are other options out there now, but when all is said and done I like the 750/650 the best for number of reasons, not the least of which are larger characters.  I have a student who just installed the GNC 355 and with all the turbulence we experienced yesterday, he had a hard time tapping the desired button.

To be sure I understand, you are saying the touch screen on the 650/750 is easier?

[drifter001]

We did dial gi275s last year so my understanding is they’d not only work better with the 650, but would also give us an even better base for autopilot down the line if or when we decide to do that. Ultimately we would love the 750 with remote audio panel but kinda saving that for last as I would think autopilot is more of a priority than a full 750. 

[Ragsf15e]

2 hours ago, drifter001 said:

Howdy. we currently have a 530W in our E. We’ve been flying more IFR stuff and starting to realize how tedious loading flight plans to the 530 really is. We started looking into either a flightstream 210 or a 650/750. We were initially leaning towards the 210 but our avionics guy made the point that the 530 is on a timer so economically speaking, the best bet would be to go with a 650xi and sell the 530w while we can get something for it. Curious what y’all’s thoughts are on that concept. TIA

If you do the 650/750, just get a good read on the installation because it’s not a simple swap from a 530.  You might be talking new wiring, antenna, radio racks, and integration with other avionics.  That can add significant cost.  The 210 would have lesser unknown installation costs.

[donkaye, MCFI]

2 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

To be sure I understand, you are saying the touch screen on the 650/750 is easier?

The sizes of the locations to tap are larger.  Even holding the supports to make touch easier, with the amount of turbulence that was experienced yesterday, as my student tried tap a location on the 355, he would accidentally touch the wrong position.  That is less likely to happen with the 750.  I will say, however, that yesterday's turbulence magnitude was unusual.

[Steve Dawson]

Have you thought about the Avidyne IFD 540? It'll fit in the same spot as your 530 and the installation cost will be significantly lower. It has data transfer through to both their IFD 100 and ForeFlight similar to having the extra FS 210 installed. 

I've had both the 540 and the 750 and they each have their advantages. The 750 screen compared to the 650 and IFD 540 is an plus if your doing a lot of IFR and after awhile punching in frequencies and flight plans becomes easy during most turbulence 

[drifter001]

On 2/22/2023 at 4:41 PM, Steve Dawson said:

Have you thought about the Avidyne IFD 540? It'll fit in the same spot as your 530 and the installation cost will be significantly lower. It has data transfer through to both their IFD 100 and ForeFlight similar to having the extra FS 210 installed. 

I've had both the 540 and the 750 and they each have their advantages. The 750 screen compared to the 650 and IFD 540 is an plus if your doing a lot of IFR and after awhile punching in frequencies and flight plans becomes easy during most turbulence 

We were looking at the ifd 540 and haven’t fully ruled it out. Just saw Sarasota has used 750s (non xi) models available which is really intriguing for the cost. Can’t see a huge difference between the xi and non xi units either

[Pinecone]

Xi has faster processor and higher resolution screen.  They start up faster and rewrite the screen faster.

They store all the database info internally due to greater memory.

Non-Xi are older products, the Xi is only a couple of years old.

The nice thing is, if you put in a non-Xi now, swapping to the Xi later is about 20 minute job.

Last fall I had Sarasota swap in a 650Xi for my 650.  I felt that long term it was a good idea.  And, at the time, the market for non-Xi was pretty good, so the swap was not outrageous.  And they handled dealing with my old unit.  I just paid the difference.

[drifter001]

8 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Xi has faster processor and higher resolution screen.  They start up faster and rewrite the screen faster.

They store all the database info internally due to greater memory.

Non-Xi are older products, the Xi is only a couple of years old.

The nice thing is, if you put in a non-Xi now, swapping to the Xi later is about 20 minute job.

Last fall I had Sarasota swap in a 650Xi for my 650.  I felt that long term it was a good idea.  And, at the time, the market for non-Xi was pretty good, so the swap was not outrageous.  And they handled dealing with my old unit.  I just paid the difference.

Kinda what we’re leaning towards is maybe upgrading to the XI in the future. Figured for sarasotas used price, we could do the 750 for roughly the same price as the 650xi

[Pinecone]

Long term, about the same price, assuming your 750 can be sold for near what you paid for it.

[stevesm20b]

I would just slide in the IFD 540.

 

[drifter001]

1 hour ago, stevesm20b said:

I would just slide in the IFD 540.

 

That was my original option I was leaning towards but we already have dual gi275 so figured the 750 would work better if or when we do autopilot