Thoughts on a 430W slide in upgrade to an Avidyne IFD440?

[BlueSky247]

Total noob here, so apologies if this is a boneheaded question, but would there be any merit to getting the Avidyne IFD440 slide in replacement? I stumbled across it on avionics source' site as a trade in option and it looks pretty nice. This would potentially be going into a modern mooney with steam gauges so I'm not sure how much other work might be needed. 

[EricJ]

I have an IFD540 and love it.   A slide-in is a good option and can save a lot of installation cost.   There may still need to be some installation work if your 430 isn't already WAAS capable, or if you want some additional audio or other instrument connectivity that isn't already there.   Regardless I think it's a very good option to consider.   The IFDs are very capable and many people (including myself) consider them more capable and easier to use than the Garmin options.

[BlueSky247]

@EricJ That is great to hear! Thank you. I do know the 430 in this case has the waas upgrade. The trainer I am doing the ppl in has the 430w and like many, I am just not a fan of that interface. 

[MikeOH]

The next time my 430W croaks (yes, it bricked itself once already and cost a couple AMU at the time) I'm going to upgrade to the IFD.  I continue to hear good things, especially the HMI (which sucks on the 430, IMHO).

[BlueSky247]

53 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

The next time my 430W croaks (yes, it bricked itself once already and cost a couple AMU at the time) I'm going to upgrade to the IFD.  I continue to hear good things, especially the HMI (which sucks on the 430, IMHO).

Yikes! That sucks it died. I was thinking about this replacement also because those 430’s are getting miiiighty old. I’m sure that’s why avionics source are offering that deal, still money to be had refurbing and selling used ones. 

[Mcstealth]

3 hours ago, EricJ said:

I have an IFD540 and love it.   A slide-in is a good option and can save a lot of installation cost.   There may still need to be some installation work if your 430 isn't already WAAS capable, or if you want some additional audio or other instrument connectivity that isn't already there.   Regardless I think it's a very good option to consider.   The IFDs are very capable and many people (including myself) consider them more capable and easier to use than the Garmin options.

I am interested in this process also. The 430 in my plane is non-wass, so there is that to consider. 

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Mcstealth said:

I am interested in this process also. The 430 in my plane is non-wass, so there is that to consider. 

To go from a non-waas 430 to an IFD440 to fly WAAS approaches you would need a new GA35 WAAS antenna, new RG400 antenna coax and the appropriate testing and sign-off and 337 form filed.

To go from a 430W to an IFD 440 you would need a 3/32 hex wrench, a pen and paper to copy down the configurations on the 430W, same pen to write an entry in the log book and 30 minutes time. Easy peasy. I swapped out a 530W and 430W in an Ovation that I had. I liked the Avidynes so much that on the next airplane I put an IFD550 in it.

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, Mcstealth said:

I am interested in this process also. The 430 in my plane is non-wass, so there is that to consider. 

Adding the WAAS antenna isn't a huge thing, and would need to be done regardless of what GPS you ultimately upgrade to.

[Falcon Man]

I put an Avidyne IFD 540 in a King silver crown panel that had a King 90B GPS, in a 1984 K model and it worked well with the steam gauges and a KFC 150.

Recently, in my '86 252, I put a IFD 440 in to replace a 430W. The original install of the 430 was so crappy we decided to rewire the whole system. My avionics guru says the only "slide in" was the cage. He finds there are more than "just a few wires" to install, depending on the setup of the panel.

It's probably worth having your panel wiring evaluated prior to jumping in to switch out to the Avidyne system.

After a dozen years flying behind an Avidyne navigator and Garmin GPS system, I prefer the Avidyne - more intuitive, capable and having the knobs and touchscreen option works well for me. According to Gary Reeves, Master CFII, the Avidyne system is actually a more capable FMS system than the Garmin units, but sometimes the discussion about the brands turns into a Mooney vs. Bonanza vs. Cessna vs. Piper vs. Cirrus  situation.

 

[BlueSky247]

@Falcon Man Much appreciated!  Your timing is good. I just found a 530 cage at BAS and was thinking about ways to rearrange the panel in order to move up to an IFD5XX. 

 

IMO, one of the biggest things about the IFD's is how it does intuitive waypoint selections and helps you choose the comm and nav frequencies. 

 

[N201MKTurbo]

10 minutes ago, BlueSky247 said:

@Falcon Man Much appreciated!  Your timing is good. I just found a 530 cage at BAS and was thinking about ways to rearrange the panel in order to move up to an IFD5XX. 

 

IMO, one of the biggest things about the IFD's is how it does intuitive waypoint selections and helps you choose the comm and nav frequencies. 

 

If you buy an IDF550 or 540, it comes with a tray. You don't need to buy one beforehand.

I think you can take the connectors off the 430 tray and put them on the 530 tray and you are good to go.

[BlueSky247]

@N201MKTurbo that's awesome! Thank you so much.

 

Now I just need to find a nice budget altitude AP to complement the IIB the plane has and I'll be flying the budget-friendly skies! 

[N201MKTurbo]

1 minute ago, BlueSky247 said:

@N201MKTurbo that's awesome! Thank you so much.

 

Now I just need to find a nice budget altitude AP to complement the IIB the plane has and I'll be flying the budget-friendly skies! 

I have a CIIB. Thimming for altitude keeps me from falling asleep on long cross countries.

[LANCECASPER]

33 minutes ago, BlueSky247 said:

@Falcon Man Much appreciated!  Your timing is good. I just found a 530 cage at BAS and was thinking about ways to rearrange the panel in order to move up to an IFD5XX. 

 

IMO, one of the biggest things about the IFD's is how it does intuitive waypoint selections and helps you choose the comm and nav frequencies. 

 

Don't go from the 430W to the 530W if what you really want is an IFD550. Wait and go to an IFD 550 from the 430W.

However if Dynon ever gets their autopilot approved for a Mooney, the panel of the airplane you're looking at would be a perfect candidate for a complete Dynon panel. A 430w or an Avidyne won't make a lot of difference with that. You'll be looking at the big screens.    https://www.dynoncertified.com/

[BlueSky247]

8 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

Don't go from the 430W to the 530W if what you really want is an IFD550. Wait and go to an IFD 550 from the 430W.

 

Right - sorry if I typed that wrong. My interest in the 530 cage was just to get the IDF that fits in it. I wasn't aware that Avidyne includes the cage.

That's a great point about the Dynon. Maybe pigs will fly and that system gets approved by the time I'm ready.   

[LANCECASPER]

Just now, BlueSky247 said:

Right - sorry if I typed that wrong. My interest in the 530 cage was just to get the IDF that fits in it. I wasn't aware that Avidyne includes the cage.

That's a great point about the Dynon. Maybe pigs will fly and that system gets approved by the time I'm ready.   

We're going to get you up to speed on avionics lingo. It sits in a tray, which does kinda look the a cage, come to think of it. . lol

[Mooney in Oz]

19 hours ago, BlueSky247 said:

I wasn't aware that Avidyne includes the cage.

You are much better off with the Avi tray. It is a well built and solid bit of gear.

[BaldEagle]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:24 AM, BlueSky247 said:

Total noob here, so apologies if this is a boneheaded question, but would there be any merit to getting the Avidyne IFD440 slide in replacement? I stumbled across it on avionics source' site as a trade in option and it looks pretty nice. This would potentially be going into a modern mooney with steam gauges so I'm not sure how much other work might be needed. 

I know I'm late to this thread but I did exactly this, box purchased from Avionics Source.  I had a non-WAAS GNS430 so I had to replace the antenna.  Existing coax was good so that saved some labor (as I recall the length of the coax is also important).  If you need to replace the coax it means pulling out the headliner, which means pulling out the side panels, which means pulling out the front seats, etc., quite annoying and labor intensive.  I had to replace the existing GPS CB for a higher amperage CB, per Avidyne install requirements (I think 5 amp to 7 amp), and this was a horrible job.  The A&P spent the best part of the day working on this alone and was swearing the whole time ('78 J).  As I was going from non-WAAS to WAAS there was an additional setting on the IFD I had to set to get the glideslope up.  I've been flying with it for a few years now and my only regret is not swapping this out earlier.  I have mine driving 2 Aspens, which drive a legacy KFC200.  Bottom line, it's a slide-in replacement but you could be looking at a couple of day's labor.