John Baker
Final Approach
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2008
- Messages
- 7,471
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Display Name
Display name:
John Baker
Almost a year ago I purchased a new AV8OR Bendix King handheld. I never used it in the air, but did fiddle with it at home. The software seemed very easy to navigate, the graphics were fairly decent and its headings and airport approach information was excellent, all the way to TPA.
Anyway about a week ago I was in the pilot shop looking at the Garmin 500. I asked the salesman which unit was the best. He said they were having so many problems with the AV8OR that they stopped handling them completely. They had about a fifty percent hardware failure rate and said Bendix King would not do anything about it. They said it was the dealers problem.
He let me trade my AV8OR in at full price toward a Garmin 500. He said their hardware is built to take a beating and could even be submerged three feet under water without any damage to the unit. I did the trade and paid another 100+ dollars and took my new Garmin 500 home.
After playing with the Garmin 500 in my spare time all week, compared to the AV8OR it leaves a whole lot to be desired. The most glaring thing I have found so far is that it does not give TPA information about airports. You still need the airport facilities directory for this information.
The next thing is that navigating through the software is not nearly as intuitive as the Bendix King. The map page graphics seem like going back in time, huge square terrain pixels, reminiscent of the old Pack Man video game era. Then finally the keyboard on the Garmin is much harder to enter information, you must touch exactly above the letter or number, even slightly off, a different entry will appear. In bumpy air, I doubt you could make an entry within five or six tries. The AV8OR is much more forgiving.
I stopped by the dealers store today and told him about my concerns and inquired if they had sent my AV8OR back yet. They had not, so they are going to hold it for a week to give me time to decide what I want to do.
So here is my dilemma. Keep my AV8OR and risk the hardware crapping out on me. Apparently the on-off button breaks and falls down inside the unit. Or keep the more rugged Garmin 500 with it's primitive, incomplete, software.
My third option is to purchase the Garmin 550 for another five hundred dollars that would have software information comparable to the AV8OR.
Both units at the AV8OR price range have their drawbacks. It would be a no brainier if Bendix King would stand behind it's hardware. I hardly ever fly with my cockpit three feet underwater.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
John
Anyway about a week ago I was in the pilot shop looking at the Garmin 500. I asked the salesman which unit was the best. He said they were having so many problems with the AV8OR that they stopped handling them completely. They had about a fifty percent hardware failure rate and said Bendix King would not do anything about it. They said it was the dealers problem.
He let me trade my AV8OR in at full price toward a Garmin 500. He said their hardware is built to take a beating and could even be submerged three feet under water without any damage to the unit. I did the trade and paid another 100+ dollars and took my new Garmin 500 home.
After playing with the Garmin 500 in my spare time all week, compared to the AV8OR it leaves a whole lot to be desired. The most glaring thing I have found so far is that it does not give TPA information about airports. You still need the airport facilities directory for this information.
The next thing is that navigating through the software is not nearly as intuitive as the Bendix King. The map page graphics seem like going back in time, huge square terrain pixels, reminiscent of the old Pack Man video game era. Then finally the keyboard on the Garmin is much harder to enter information, you must touch exactly above the letter or number, even slightly off, a different entry will appear. In bumpy air, I doubt you could make an entry within five or six tries. The AV8OR is much more forgiving.
I stopped by the dealers store today and told him about my concerns and inquired if they had sent my AV8OR back yet. They had not, so they are going to hold it for a week to give me time to decide what I want to do.
So here is my dilemma. Keep my AV8OR and risk the hardware crapping out on me. Apparently the on-off button breaks and falls down inside the unit. Or keep the more rugged Garmin 500 with it's primitive, incomplete, software.
My third option is to purchase the Garmin 550 for another five hundred dollars that would have software information comparable to the AV8OR.
Both units at the AV8OR price range have their drawbacks. It would be a no brainier if Bendix King would stand behind it's hardware. I hardly ever fly with my cockpit three feet underwater.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
John
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