Avionics upgrade

[Topper]

Ok, I have a 79 182 with a kln90b that is not talking to the CDI. The number two radio is down. I had decided to put a used 430w in and call it good. Long story short, I am now planning a 650 (pricing an upgrade to a 750), a gdl 88, and an Aspen EFD1000. I will keep the kx155 and the glidescope.

Just wondered what others thought. Based on advice received here, I have already made at least one change. Thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[Marauder]

Ok, I have a 79 182 with a kln90b that is not talking to the CDI. The number two radio is down. I had decided to put a used 430w in and call it good. Long story short, I am now planning a 650 (pricing an upgrade to a 750), a gdl 88, and an Aspen EFD1000. I will keep the kx155 and the glidescope.

Just wondered what others thought. Based on advice received here, I have already made at least one change. Thanks in advance.

Jim

Jim -- I went the 650/Aspen route and haven't regretted it once (okay only once, when I paid the bill). Coming from strictly VORs, ADF and even a working LORAN that talked to no one, the upgrade was nothing less than a major improvement.

I looked hard at the 750 and opted for the 650 with the Aspen MFD. Why? Because you can display multiple things on the Aspen. The 750 is dedicated to the 750. Another thing, once I started using the Aspens, the only time I look at the Garmin is to change the radio or setup the approach.

You will be able to interface the 155 with the Aspen and use it either with the Aspen glide slope capabilities or with the other CDI you already have. If you go with a MFD 1000, you can actually do a full reversion (move the entire PFD function to the MFD).

If you have an autopilot, you may gain immediate GPSS capabilities. I personally would hold off on the GDL88. Aspen has just released their solution and i suspect others will be available shortly. Here is a picture of my panel:

Let me know if you have any questions.

I found another picture of the Aspen in flight. Shows a bit more of the information you will get:

 

[tmyers]

Is the touch screen of the 650 difficult to use in turbulence. I have heard a couple say they liked the physical knobs of the 430 or 530 better than the touch screen. What has your experience been?

 

[Marauder]

Is the touch screen of the 650 difficult to use in turbulence. I have heard a couple say they liked the physical knobs of the 430 or 530 better than the touch screen. What has your experience been?

The bezel on the 650 and 750 is designed to allow you to rest fingers on it so that you can use the touch screen. I have not found it to be a problem, but if it is really bumpy, you can use the knobs as well. The knobs will allow you to select things just like on the 430/530 products.

 

[poadeleted20]

I've trained a few folks with the GTN 650/750, and they're darn nice units. Package them with the Aspen PFD, and you've got a pretty stellar installation, although I must say the Garmin G500 display is better (although twice as expensive). Either way, as long as you've got the money to spend, go for it.

 

[Topper]

Jim -- I went the 650/Aspen route and haven't regretted it once (okay only once, when I paid the bill). Coming from strictly VORs, ADF and even a working LORAN that talked to no one, the upgrade was nothing less than a major improvement.

I looked hard at the 750 and opted for the 650 with the Aspen MFD. Why? Because you can display multiple things on the Aspen. The 750 is dedicated to the 750. Another thing, once I started using the Aspens, the only time I look at the Garmin is to change the radio or setup the approach.

You will be able to interface the 155 with the Aspen and use it either with the Aspen glide slope capabilities or with the other CDI you already have. If you go with a MFD 1000, you can actually do a full reversion (move the entire PFD function to the MFD).

If you have an autopilot, you may gain immediate GPSS capabilities. I personally would hold off on the GDL88. Aspen has just released their solution and i suspect others will be available shortly. Here is a picture of my panel:

Let me know if you have any questions.

I found another picture of the Aspen in flight. Shows a bit more of the information you will get:

That is a nice set up. My concern would be that with a single Aspen unit that the it would be too crowded to put the weather/traffic on. The other concern is waiting for Aspen to come out with the abs-d stuff, I would prefer to do it all at once. Do you know what the second Aspen unit runs? Is it basically the first on all over again or is it a cheaper add on? Maybe I go with the 650 and add the second Aspen and add the Aspen ads-b solution when it comes out. Might be close in cost and we don't have ads-b here yet anyway.

Jim

 

[Ted]

The second Aspen is a bit cheaper, and a lot cheaper if you don't care about having the backup ADAHRS. You can have up to a triple Aspen setup.

The Aspen can get crowded, so a second one would be nice for MFD functions. In our case, we added a 430W to match the 530W, and I use it for displaying terrain (no traffic in the plane yet). When I was flying the Navajo with dual 430s (and traffic) we typically kept one of the 430s on traffic. Worked nicely.

 

[Marauder]

That is a nice set up. My concern would be that with a single Aspen unit that the it would be too crowded to put the weather/traffic on. The other concern is waiting for Aspen to come out with the abs-d stuff, I would prefer to do it all at once. Do you know what the second Aspen unit runs? Is it basically the first on all over again or is it a cheaper add on? Maybe I go with the 650 and add the second Aspen and add the Aspen ads-b solution when it comes out. Might be close in cost and we don't have ads-b here yet anyway.

Jim

Jim, the second unit as Ted points out is a lot cheaper if you go with the MFD 500. The 1000 unit I have is capable of running a separate AI and dumping all of the Nav, including full AP control over to it during reversion. If you go with the MFD 1000, make sure to ask about the AP reversion. Aspen provided the wiring schematic to my shop for. it allows full AP control to be moved over to the MFD in case of PFD failure. You can see the switch in this picture above the audio panel.

Aspen is always running decent rebates and my shop cut labor significantly when I did both units at once. I got the 1000 MFD for 1,500 less than I paid for the PFD. Aspen will work with you on price. I agree with you on everything like Wx and traffic on one display. I use the PFD exclusively for the AI and the HSI. I have the map underneath the HSI. I have a friend with the GDL88 and he has the MFD as well. Splitting the window on the MFD you can run traffic on one window and weather on the other. That seems to work well.

Aspen has an ADSB solution out. Depending if you have a WAAS GPS unit it is comparable in price to the GDL 88. You can also add a WiFi interface from that box to run it to your iPad for traffic and weather on it. I know they worked with ForeFlight on the Connected Pilot stuff and I suspect they are probably working with them on this as well. In other words, you don't need to buy the Stratus or GDL39 to get it on your iPad.

I can't help but to think more options will be come available in the next couple of years as they all gear up for the mandate. Let me know if you have any more questions. Sorry for the delay in responding. We're working on phase II

 

[Topper]

Thanks for all the replies. I was able to talk to a guy with a that has two screens. I was debating between two aspen units and a 650 or one aspen and a 750. I think I am going to go with the 750 and one aspen and I may add a second aspen in the future. My avionics shop indicated that the aspen ads-b unit will not be out until the end of the year and that the GDL 88 won't talk to the aspen. Is this correct?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Marauder]

Thanks for all the replies. I was able to talk to a guy with a that has two screens. I was debating between two aspen units and a 650 or one aspen and a 750. I think I am going to go with the 750 and one aspen and I may add a second aspen in the future. My avionics shop indicated that the aspen ads-b unit will not be out until the end of the year and that the GDL 88 won't talk to the aspen. Is this correct?

Thanks,

Jim

I know that Garmin changed something in the communication protocol that affected the Connected Panel package flooding the cross-feed on the 430/530 units (Aspen sent a message out to owners stating this) but I have not heard of any compatibility issues with the GDL-88.

I'm going to an avionics trade show this weekend where a local shop is talking specifically about ADSB. I will ask these questions because I know they install both Garmin and Aspen products routinely.

As for ADSB in general, I still am going to wait until the market stabilizes. We have 6.5 years to address the mandate. I can't help but believe there will be significant advancements over the next few years. I would love to have traffic and weather today on the panel stuff but for the kind of money they are commanding, I'm waiting a bit.