Aspen E5 or Garmin G5 Stack?

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frostyeric

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frostyeric
Looking to do an upgrade in my C172H to begin IFR training this winter. Purchased a new-to-me Garmin 430W. Considering the Aspen Evolution E5 or two Garmin G5s and eliminating the vaccuum system. Please share any words of advice or opinions.
 
I only have experience with G5's, but I love mine. Seems like Aspen is having some issues lately, I'd be inclined to avoid them personally.
 
I would also go with the pair of G5s. Despite having a few less bells and whistles than various iterations of the Aspen unit, the failure modes are more robust and you're not dealing with the current rash of issues faced by Aspen (which have been ongoing in one form or another for rather a long time now, to be candid about it.)

The dual G5s come in at a price tag less than a similarly-kitted Aspen, but to be clear about it, I think it's the superior option and would choose it even if the price discrepancy did not exist.
 
do a search on here and any other aviation forum for G5 issues vs aspen issues. you'll find a thread ratio of about 50 G5 threads to 1 aspen thread. the one major issue with the aspen (everything shuts down if you are flying in -120*C temps while wearing red pants while humming an ABBA song) has been resolved with an update. not trying to talk you out of the G5 at all, just saying don't listen to people who don't fly behind either one and just regurgitate cr@p. I actually tried putting a big red X image in each of the G5 issue threads and eventually lost count of how many there were.

that being said, if the G5 setup lets u get rid of the vacuum system, I'd be leaning that way. also be aware of what autopilot integration each one has. I 'think' that also favors the G5s but I'm just regurgitating cr@p. lastly, ^^Jesse (and one other avionics person, I can't remember who it is) has been extremely helpful on this forum with information so I'd strongly consider their input over mine. I'm just saying, look at the threads of actual user experiences.
 
eman1200 said:
do a search on here and any other aviation forum for G5 issues vs aspen issues. you'll find a thread ratio of about 50 G5 threads to 1 aspen thread. the one major issue with the aspen (everything shuts down if you are flying in -120*C temps while wearing red pants while humming an ABBA song) has been resolved with an update. not trying to talk you out of the G5 at all, just saying don't listen to people who don't fly behind either one and just regurgitate cr@p. I actually tried putting a big red X image in each of the G5 issue threads and eventually lost count of how many there were.

that being said, if the G5 setup lets u get rid of the vacuum system, I'd be leaning that way. also be aware of what autopilot integration each one has. I 'think' that also favors the G5s but I'm just regurgitating cr@p. lastly, ^^Jesse (and one other avionics person, I can't remember who it is) has been extremely helpful on this forum with information so I'd strongly consider their input over mine. I'm just saying, look at the threads of actual user experiences.
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The vast majority of G5 issues were battery drain, which is annoying, but not likely to kill you. Also, there's LOT more G5's out in the wild, so I'd expect more threads on them. How many "look at my cool Aspen panel" compared to "look at my new G5's" have there been in the last year? About 10 to 1 in favor of the G5.
 
Salty said:
...How many "look at my cool Aspen panel" compared to "look at my new G5's" have there been in the last year? About 10 to 1 in favor of the G5.
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aspen's been around for a while, no need for those kind of threads. G5's are new, and there is a large portion of people who just want new, so of course there will be more threads on it. it means absolutely nothing.
 
eman1200 said:
aspen's been around for a while, no need for those kind of threads. G5's are new, and there is a large portion of people who just want new, so of course there will be more threads on it. it means absolutely nothing.
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Your claim was there are lots of threads on G5’s, is that claim meaningless as well? Seems to me like it would be under your criteria.
 
It doesn't have to be a brand war. Let's just be realistic about the safety aspects here. Aspen has had numerous recurring issues with a central theme: complete failure of the unit. It's a problem.
 
Salty said:
Your claim was there are lots of threads on G5’s, is that claim meaningless as well? Seems to me like it would be under your criteria.
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my initial comment was the amount of threads on G5 issues. clearly not meaningless. the second comment was about more G5-is-great threads because they're the latest and greatest compared to aspen threads.
 
Ryan F. said:
It doesn't have to be a brand war. Let's just be realistic about the safety aspects here. Aspen has had numerous recurring issues with a central theme: complete failure of the unit. It's a problem.
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and for the billionth time this gets mentioned, that issue has been fixed. it is NOT recurring, it's the same issue, but the AD recently came out. I repeat.....THE ISSUE HAS BEEN FIXED, so no, it is not a problem. the only thing recurring is people mentioning it even after it's been fixed.
 
eman1200 said:
my initial comment was the amount of threads on G5 issues. clearly not meaningless. the second comment was about more G5-is-great threads because they're the latest and greatest compared to aspen threads.
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That’s not what I said. The issues G5’s have had are nothing as catastrophic as the aspen issues.
 
eman1200 said:
and for the billionth time this gets mentioned, that issue has been fixed. it is NOT recurring, it's the same issue, but the AD recently came out. I repeat.....THE ISSUE HAS BEEN FIXED, so no, it is not a problem. the only thing recurring is people mentioning it even after it's been fixed.
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The g5 issues have also been fixed. I’ve flown a couple hundred hours behind them without a single issue.
 
G5s, especially if a Garmin autopilot might be in your future. The Garmin stuff will definitely talk to each other without trying to pull your hair out. I was offered an Aspen at a discount instead of G5s, but I went with the G5s for redundancy an for more certainty in interfacing with my GNS-430W and a legacy STEC autopilot. The backup batteries in the G5s really will last a long time after a total power failure, and the redundancy should one or the other fail is a real comfort. The G5s work amazingly well to fly GPSS intercepts and courses from the GNS-430.
 
I just went through this exact thing, decision on how to go. I went with the two G5’s & a GPS-175, the vacuum system came out. So far I’ve done about 5 hours with the new setup, today was LPV approaches, VMC conditions.

Still kinda new, I‘m liking it.
 
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I really like the single integrated approach of the Aspen, but never really trusted them as a supplier nor liked the higher cost of installation compared to G5's.

Very much hoped Garmin would have introduced a single panel twin G5's called a G10 or something. It would be nice to reclaim the lost bezel area to usable screen.
 
NordicDave said:
I really like the single integrated approach of the Aspen, but never really trusted them as a supplier nor liked the higher cost of installation compared to G5's.

Very much hoped Garmin would have introduced a single panel twin G5's called a G10 or something. It would be nice to reclaim the lost bezel area to usable screen.
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I'd like to hear from somebody like Jesse regarding the install cost. Generally speaking, I'd expect the install of a single E5 to be about the same or less than 1 G5, and almost certainly less than 2 G5s. Total assumption on my part....
 
G5's for the win. With a shorter total time in service they have far fewer reported problems.

One could argue there isn't a robust enough G5 install base to support my claim, but the trend supports Garmin so far.

YMMV
 
Eric Lehto said:
I'd like to hear from somebody like Jesse regarding the install cost. Generally speaking, I'd expect the install of a single E5 to be about the same or less than 1 G5, and almost certainly less than 2 G5s. Total assumption on my part....
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Why would one E5 be less install work than 1 G5?
 
jrcox19 said:
Why would one E5 be less install work than 1 G5?
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My thoughts....RSM mounted outside the fuselage may be a little easier than building the support for the GMU-11 internally. Maybe negligible. Or may be harder if a doubler/shim has to be fabricated.
 
Eric Lehto said:
My thoughts....RSM mounted outside the fuselage may be a little easier than building the support for the GMU-11 internally. Maybe negligible. Or may be harder if a doubler/shim has to be fabricated.
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According to my installer, the most time consuming problem with the magnetometers is not mounting them, but rather finding an acceptable place to site them. A good installer will be better as guessing the likely good spots on your plane. My installer had done a few Grummans before, so the first place he tried (right wingtip) worked first time. Having a remote magnetometer to get no-fuss accurate magnetic heading info is REALLY nice.
 
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