The new Avidyne units look really cool. The IFD 550 has a built in AHRS which would make a nice backup for my Aspen. I thought about just adding a flight stream 210 to my Garmin 530's, but that would be $1500 at least and an install job. Besides, the G530's just look ancient at this point. It's like viewing a CGA display. For a few grand more I could have a brand new Avidyne unit as an upgrade, with modern technology, hi resolution touchscreen, and a factory warranty. Truth be told if Garmin had come out with a new G500/600 I'd probably have bought it and ripped apart my panel and done a big new Garmin install with dual 750's etc. But alas... they left me hanging with their last uninspiring announcement of new audio panels and a bunch of cool stuff for the experimental guys. I really don't want to spend big bucks for a G600 that already looks ancient by experimental standards. I might as well look at other options...
The other big factor that weighed into this decision was the fact that the IFD's come with a self install kit, and literally slide into an existing 530w tray. Since I have dual 530's in my Twin Bonanza, this is about as easy an upgrade as you can imagine. The thought of ripping out my beautifully laid out panel just bothers me... the IFD units are a slide in upgrade. Hard to beat that, especially since I'm completely enamored with flying this plane and the thought of weeks of downtime for a GTN install just seems untenable... not to mention thousands more dollars. So I ordered a new IFD550 and an IFD540 on a trade-in deal from AvionicsSource (Thanks Chase!!). Add in an ADSB deal where Avidyne throws in a free 1090 ADSB transponder and UAT receiver and it was just too good a deal to pass up. I'm looking forward to doing the self install and seeing how these suckers work in the real world. I must admit, part of me just wants to learn something new and these things just look like a fun project to master.
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