New Radios for the A36

[gibbons]

My partner and I have the A36 scheduled to go in the radio shop on Monday for a couple of weeks. We're pulling out the KLN90B and one of the KX165's and replacing them with a GNS430 and a MX20. The MX20 will have JeppView and XM weather.

Any comments on the GNS430 and the MX20 before it's too late?

I'll post the KNL90B and the KX-165 on the for sale section before we list them in e-bay. Both work fine. Both are 28V.

 

[Lance F]

Any comments on the GNS430 and the MX20 before it's too late?
.

It's exactly what I have, and I love it.

 

[Iceman]

I think you will really like XM and the new gps. If you have the space and the funds I would suggest going with the 530/mx20...however the 430 and mx20 make a great combination (I would get a 430/mx20 over a 530 any day). Below is a picture of our panel heading to sisters vor and then on to Juneau.

You might want to think about a combination antenna that will do both xm and gps to save an extra hole in your skin. We put in a WAAS GPS/XM antenna for a future WAAS upgrade.

 

[gibbons]

Any reason for going with the 430 vs. the 530, other than panel space?

Also, what was the quote for the 430 alone, if I may ask?

Price mostly. Panel space was not an issue.

$8923.31 Installed. - $6325 for the unit.

 

[gibbons]

Chris and Lance,

You guys have JeppView? How do you like it?

 

[Iceman]

Chris and Lance,

You guys have JeppView? How do you like it?

We did not get Jeppview...but we thought long and hard about it. You can always add it at a future date. The initial cost is not too bad at $2,000 but the yearly fee at $1,000 (that does not include the mfd update) was too much. Part of the reason this would have been a really bad deal for us is we still want paper charts (not printouts). Also JeppView dose not display vertical navigation.

 

[gibbons]

Part of the reason this would have been a really bad deal for us is we still want paper charts (not printouts).

I understand. We've been using JeppView on the PC and printing our charts out for about five years. We have bound charts for our home area but don't carry them on cross country trips. Having JeppView onboard would be great. The subscription, at $1,000 per year, is stupid. Still.........

 

[Dave Siciliano]

Chip:
This sounds like a great upgrade to me. We were on tract to do the 480/MX-20 for the WAAS and flight management features. Several friends that are airline pilots during the day and fly Bonanzas in their real life went this direction. I you'd like to discuss it with 'em, I can put you in touch. Really, think it's just a matter of personal preference at some point. I really like the 430/530 in the Baron, but would prefer the MX-20 if this didn't come with the plane.

Dave

 

[Bill]

Any comments on the GNS430 and the MX20 before it's too late?

Can't say on the MX20, but the 430's in the club Archer are great, especially tied to the 55x auto pilot. Go into flight plan, load your waypoints, and away you go. Great workload reducer.

I like having nav radios on the 430, that way I am always tracking suitable VOR's in the event of GPS signal loss. Best of both worlds.

 

[poadeleted20]

If you're getting the MX20, why get the 430 and not the 480? You'll have a much more powerful combination with less duplication of function, and WAAS out of the box rather than paying an unknown amount extra later maybe and having to ship the 430 back to Garmin for the upgrade.

 

[Lance F]

I have the Chart View on my MX20. To me the jury is still out on the decision. The cost to add it to the MX20 is outrageous for what you get...a compact flash card with a little more memory than the one with the database that comes with the MX20 and a USB SanDisk loader. Basically about $100 worth of stuff. Then you have to call Jeppesen and buy their update subscription (you don't even get one with the money you give to Garmin for the ChartView). Every two weeks you get a JeppView CD in the mail. Download the data from the CD to your PC, run out to the plane to get the Compact Flash card, put the card in the SanDisk unit, download the data from your PC to the Compact Flash card and finally put the card back into the MX20. And if you can get all this to work the first time without calling Garmin's technical support line, you're a better man than I.

On the other hand I can't imagine any better situational awareness on an approach than having the actual plate on the MX20 moving map. You KNOW where you are. If the controller's gonna take you through the localizer you can see it coming. Another big plus is that it automatically puts the appropriate airport chart on the moving map whenever the groundspeed is less than about 50 kts. Very cool.

I've paid for the Jepp View for a year, so I'll continue to use it and form an opinion as to whether or not to spend another grand next year (in addition to the 430 updates and the XM Weather subscription, and of course the paper charts.)

 

[gibbons]

I flew an approach today in the A36 with the new radios (GNS430 & MX20) with XM weather and Chart View. My, oh my. I'm going to love this!!

 

[Iceman]

I flew an approach today in the A36 with the new radios (GNS430 & MX20) with XM weather and Chart View. My, oh my. I'm going to love this!!

I'm glad your enjoying your new toys! It looks like your other "slow" plane will not get a lot of use in the next few months. You are welcome to bring it over to Michigan and I'll give it a good home (you will need to leave the keys so I can "move" it around )

 

[gibbons]

I'm glad your enjoying your new toys! It looks like your other "slow" plane will not get a lot of use in the next few months. You are welcome to bring it over to Michigan and I'll give it a good home (you will need to leave the keys so I can "move" it around )

Keys? We don't need no stinkin' keys! And these aren't "toys"! I think I'm going to put the MX20 on the MEL.