Garmin GFC 500

[chuckW]

Is the GFC 500 approved for the 201?

[Vance Harral]

Yes.  The approved model list is available at https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/604257/#additional.  The "201" is, in type certificate terminology, a Mooney M20J model.

[toto]

8 minutes ago, chuckW said:

Is the GFC 500 approved for the 201?

Yep, lots of us on here fly a J model with a GFC500

[PT20J]

Great autopilot. Just be aware that you need a G3X, or dual G5s, or dual GI 275s to run it as it’s not a stand alone device like legacy designs. The software is in the Garmin PFDs.

[201Mooniac]

2 hours ago, PT20J said:

Great autopilot. Just be aware that you need a G3X, or dual G5s, or dual GI 275s to run it as it’s not a stand alone device like legacy designs. The software is in the Garmin PFDs.

Or a G500TXi and one of a G5 or GI 275

[PT20J]

18 minutes ago, 201Mooniac said:

Or a G500TXi and one of a G5 or GI 275

True. The important point is that you need Garmin equipment to support the GFC 500 and sometimes people forget that when pricing the autopilot.

I still believe the best setup is a G3X/G5/GFC 500 because this combination is one of the few Garmin configurations besides the G1000 that was actually designed as a system. It gives maximum redundancy, and the G5 is a great backup for an airplane without a vacuum system because it has a long backup battery run time. This is not to say that the TXi is not a great product because it is. And if I already had one, I would not replace it with a G3X when adding the autopilot. But, when starting from scratch, I weighed all the pros and cons and went with the G3X/G5/GFC 500. Lower cost, redundant ADAHRS, longer backuo battery life, older hardware.

[wombat]

1 hour ago, 201Mooniac said:

Or a G500TXi and one of a G5 or GI 275

Does the G500 really have to be a TXi or can it be a 'classic' G500?    Not really important to me at the moment, but I've got a classic G500 and if I ever want to change to the GFC500 autopilot, a new G500TXi would add $20k to the install bill.

 

[201Mooniac]

1 hour ago, wombat said:

Does the G500 really have to be a TXi or can it be a 'classic' G500?    Not really important to me at the moment, but I've got a classic G500 and if I ever want to change to the GFC500 autopilot, a new G500TXi would add $20k to the install bill.

 

Good question, I think as long as the software (and STC) support using the G5 or GI 275 as a 'classic' G500 backup, it should work because as Skip says, the GFC-500 is driven by a G3X, G5, or GI 275, the G500 or G500 TXi just displays the annunciations and the flight director.

[201Mooniac]

2 hours ago, PT20J said:

True. The important point is that you need Garmin equipment to support the GFC 500 and sometimes people forget that when pricing the autopilot.

I still believe the best setup is a G3X/G5/GFC 500 because this combination is one of the few Garmin configurations besides the G1000 that was actually designed as a system. It gives maximum redundancy, and the G5 is a great backup for an airplane without a vacuum system because it has a long backup battery run time. This is not to say that the TXi is not a great product because it is. And if I already had one, I would not replace it with a G3X when adding the autopilot. But, when starting from scratch, I weighed all the pros and cons and went with the G3X/G5/GFC 500. Lower cost, redundant ADAHRS, longer backuo battery life, older hardware.

I agree the integration of the G3X/G5/GFC 500 is very well done, offers good redundancy, and is a great value.  I had the G500TXi and with the GI 275 the AP can be driven by either ADAHRS (by default from the TXi and if that fails from the GI 275 but not the other way as the TXi won't drive the GFC 500 directly).  I believe the TXi and the GI 275 work very well together and are more modern hardware with better display quality.  It is definitely a more expensive solution and the extra dollars don't provide much value (other than display quality, IMO) unless you need to use other interface capabilities that are available with those devices.

[ArtVandelay]

I agree the integration of the G3X/G5/GFC 500 is very well done, offers good redundancy, and is a great value.  I had the G500TXi and with the GI 275 the AP can be driven by either ADAHRS (by default from the TXi and if that fails from the GI 275 but not the other way as the TXi won't drive the GFC 500 directly).  I believe the TXi and the GI 275 work very well together and are more modern hardware with better display quality.  It is definitely a more expensive solution and the extra dollars don't provide much value (other than display quality, IMO) unless you need to use other interface capabilities that are available with those devices.

The other difference is the G3X is relatively old technology, takes like 15 minutes or more to update its databases.

[Marc_B]

12 hours ago, PT20J said:

I still believe the best setup is a G3X/G5/GFC 500 because this combination is one of the few Garmin configurations besides the G1000 that was actually designed as a system

The one thing that always irked my feng shui is since they are a system, why on earth is the "scoreboard" on the top of a G5 a different order than the G3X?  Why would you not have them the same?  At least the G500TXi and the G5 show the same:  lateral mode / AP / vertical mode.

[midlifeflyer]

3 hours ago, Marc_B said:

The one thing that always irked my feng shui is since they are a system, why on earth is the "scoreboard" on the top of a G5 a different order than the G3X?  Why would you not have them the same?  At least the G500TXi and the G5 show the same:  lateral mode / AP / vertical mode.

I wonder how much of that is just changes that only get adopted in later units that are either delayed or don't get pushed at all into older ones.  Similar - FLC in (older?) GFC 700 autopilots; IAS in later GFC500-600 units. Same thing; different labeling.

[Pinecone]

3 hours ago, Marc_B said:

The one thing that always irked my feng shui is since they are a system, why on earth is the "scoreboard" on the top of a G5 a different order than the G3X?  Why would you not have them the same?  At least the G500TXi and the G5 show the same:  lateral mode / AP / vertical mode.

Because the G3X came from the experimental side.  So slightly different.

Same with the radio frequencies.  In most Gamin, Active is Green, Standby is white.  On G3X, they are White for Active, Blue for Standby.   Not sure why they do not change those little things in an update.

[ArtVandelay]

Because the G3X came from the experimental side.  So slightly different.
Same with the radio frequencies.  In most Gamin, Active is Green, Standby is white.  On G3X, they are White for Active, Blue for Standby.   Not sure why they do not change those little things in an update.

But G5 is from the same group, Id expect those to be the same.

[Pinecone]

True.

But either say, it should be trivial to fix.

[DC_Brasil]

On 3/17/2025 at 9:37 PM, PT20J said:

 

I still believe the best setup is a G3X/G5/GFC 500 because this combination is one of the few Garmin configurations besides the G1000 that was actually designed as a system. It gives maximum redundancy, and the G5 is a great backup for an airplane without a vacuum system because it has a long backup battery run time. This is not to say that the TXi is not a great product because it is. And if I already had one, I would not replace it with a G3X when adding the autopilot. But, when starting from scratch, I weighed all the pros and cons and went with the G3X/G5/GFC 500. Lower cost, redundant ADAHRS, longer backuo battery life, older hardware.

That's my setup. I am loving it.