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Garmin VS Avidyne

Prepperpilot

Prepperpilot

Well Known Member
Greetings all.
I have noticed for past year that the new hotness is Avidynes GPS waas. Many are upgrading from Garmin 430 WAAS units. Mmm? Quite an expensive update also. Is there a glaring issue with 430?. I know its been out for a while, and new stuff is always, well, new.
I am considering Garmin 175 or a used Garmin 430 WAAS for my panel upgrade.

Can some provide some insight one way or the other??
Thanks
Chris
 
The core feature sets are the same for all the units. The biggest difference will be interface, but that’s largely personal preference.

The biggest reason I know of people choosing to spend a little more on a newer unit versus a 430/530 is factory support. As I understand it, Garmin’s parts inventory for repairs on the older units is all NOS - once it’s exhausted they plan to discontinue factory support and effectively EOL the units.
 
Prepperpilot said:
Greetings all.
I have noticed for past year that the new hotness is Avidynes GPS waas. Many are upgrading from Garmin 430 WAAS units. Mmm? Quite an expensive update also. Is there a glaring issue with 430?. I know its been out for a while, and new stuff is always, well, new.
I am considering Garmin 175 or a used Garmin 430 WAAS for my panel upgrade.

Can some provide some insight one way or the other??
Thanks
Chris
Click to expand...

In my case I replaced a non-WAAS 430 with the Avidyne IFD440. My thinking was not spend $4500 on upgrading a 16 yo 430 but rather put the money into a new unit. My avionics shop also gave me a great trade-in on my 430. I slid the 430 out and the IFD in, input the settings from the 430. Since the unit I was replacing was not a WAAS unit I also had to replace the GPS antenna and cable.

The IFD is amazing, very intuitive to use.

If you have an iPad download the IFD trainer app (for free) and play with it.

YMMV
 
My 430W was rock solid, but its 25-year-old user interface is probably the most un-intuitive piece of electronics I've ever owned. I recently swapped it for an Avidyne IFD440 and sold the 430W. As was often predicted here, the procedure was as plug-and-play as aircraft electronics gets, about 20 minutes, and its interface and therefore its usefulness to me is superior. I've been very pleased. As indicated, however, it was expensive at $11,500. Worth it to me, but that is a personal choice. The 430W is a very competent navigator.
 
MacCool said:
My 430W was rock solid, but its 25-year-old user interface is probably the most un-intuitive piece of electronics I've ever owned. I recently swapped it for an Avidyne IFD440 and sold the 430W. As was often predicted here, the procedure was as plug-and-play as aircraft electronics gets, about 20 minutes, and its interface and therefore its usefulness to me is superior. I've been very pleased. As indicated, however, it was expensive at $11,500. Worth it to me, but that is a personal choice. The 430W is a very competent navigator.
Click to expand...

Yup. I have only toyed around with a Garmin 175. The UI is definitely an improvement from 430. The Garmin 355/375 with Com radio I might consider as well.
Thanks for your input my friend.
 
mike newall said:
Garmin make Fish Finders.....

Dynon and Avidyne make avionics.

Just saying........:cool:
Click to expand...
More accurately...... Garmin make Fish Finders too!

For me, it also has much to do with the future of the company and if they are a big player or they could be pushed out of the game. If it was not for that reason, my first choice for EIFS would be GRT
 
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The 430 series is old - and at some point will be discontinued. The used market for them still supports a very good selling price. I decided to take advantage of that while I could, and replaced my 430W with the IFD440 a year ago and sold my 430W for $6000, offsetting half the new cost of the IFD440.

The user interface is much better, the company politics with regard to repair costs is much better, and I now have a new piece of top-shelf avionics in my panel with an equipment lifespan that should equal my expected flying lifespan at this point.
 
airguy said:
The 430 series is old - and at some point will be discontinued. The used market for them still supports a very good selling price. I decided to take advantage of that while I could, and replaced my 430W with the IFD440 a year ago and sold my 430W for $6000, offsetting half the new cost of the IFD440.

The user interface is much better, the company politics with regard to repair costs is much better, and I now have a new piece of top-shelf avionics in my panel with an equipment lifespan that should equal my expected flying lifespan at this point.
Click to expand...

I just recently did exactly the same thing for exactly the same reasons, with exactly the same presumed results.

I guess I'm presuming a little....Stein has my 430W right now and is doing a T&E for the presumed buyer. The sale is contingent on it passing Stein's evaluation. I'm guess that it will pass since it was working well when it came out, but...we'll see.
 
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