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Avionics and Panel Update
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:51 pm
by llangston1
With the newest Garmin round hole instruments being released I am interested in what the Navion community believes is the biggest bang for the buck avionics and panel upgrade path. Currently I Have no affinity to any avionics onics manufacturer & no GPS navigator and no full function engine monitor or AP. I do have 2 Narco navcoms with GS on one. Also have a Stratus ESG xpndr for ADS-B. So what gets me the most capability for the least amount of money? I would want a decent IFR panel with a GPS navigator, moving map with weather, a decent AP and engine monitoring capability plus a BT audio panel/intercom. So is it Garmin? Avidyne, Dynon? My budget would most likely be 30k or less. Does that get anything useful?
Leo
N4937K
Re: Avionics and Panel Update
Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:05 pm
by billla
Leo, mission is really the question. I'm a day VFR pilot with no intentions of changing; I need a COM (backup is my handheld), intercom (portable) and transponder
How do you intend to fly? Are you instrument rated, and if so what type of IFR do you fly?
30K can be plenty, or woefully insufficient depending on what you want that 30K to deliver in capability.
I'd also add that it's critically important to have a really solid avionics tech in the middle of these discussions. Most of the avionics buys that I see go horribly wrong are when someone gets together a bunch of data sheets, makes picks and buys...and then finds out A won't connect to B, or if they had ordered a model XXXb instead of an XXXa they would have been able to do something important, etc. Good techs know the critical details that don't show up on data sheets and how integration actually works.
Finally, although I'm a bit of a Luddite these days I have found that the best panels are the single-vendor integrated panels, or as close as you can get. Someone will no doubt tell me I'm wrong, but that's just one guy's experience and opinion.