I have a Dynon D-180 FlightDEK unit. This is an older generation unit, before the Skyview line came out. I'm not necessarily looking to replace it just yet, but I've been looking at the current generation of products. I'm curious, how does the affordable Skyview SE unit compare with the old D-180 FlightDEK? Would it be an upgrade, a downgrade, or pretty much an equivalent unit?
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Dynon Skyview SE vs D-180
- Thread starter prkaye
- Start date
ChiefPilot
Well Known Member
I saw this yesterday and was surprised no one has responded yet, so I'll take a crack at it.
The upside to the Dynon Skyview SE would be that you get a newer unit with a better (and optionally, bigger) screen. There's some small additional features you'd have over the D-180 - the option for the "six pack" display of flight data vs. the PFD for example. If you were in the U.S., it's an easy path to ADS-B out if you add their GPS and transponder.
The downsides, for me, would be a deal breaker. Re-wiring, as only the EMS harness is sorta compatible (even then, there are changes). Panel cutting, since the screen is a different size. Mounting the adahrs may be a challenge. Finally, the Skyview SE is missing some features compared to the FlightDEK-180 - there are no checklists on the Skyview SE, for example. And it's been two years since Dynon was aware that the airspeed trend indicator doesn't work but they are unable to fix it - not a big deal if you don't use it today but I really liked it on my D10A and miss it with my Skyview system.
Overall, I think replacing a FlightDEK-180 with a Skyview SE system is a bundle of work and expense that adds little real-world value. It'd be different if this was a new build, and I think that's what Dynon is going for, but for an existing upgrade I wouldn't be happy with the investment vs. the return.
The upside to the Dynon Skyview SE would be that you get a newer unit with a better (and optionally, bigger) screen. There's some small additional features you'd have over the D-180 - the option for the "six pack" display of flight data vs. the PFD for example. If you were in the U.S., it's an easy path to ADS-B out if you add their GPS and transponder.
The downsides, for me, would be a deal breaker. Re-wiring, as only the EMS harness is sorta compatible (even then, there are changes). Panel cutting, since the screen is a different size. Mounting the adahrs may be a challenge. Finally, the Skyview SE is missing some features compared to the FlightDEK-180 - there are no checklists on the Skyview SE, for example. And it's been two years since Dynon was aware that the airspeed trend indicator doesn't work but they are unable to fix it - not a big deal if you don't use it today but I really liked it on my D10A and miss it with my Skyview system.
Overall, I think replacing a FlightDEK-180 with a Skyview SE system is a bundle of work and expense that adds little real-world value. It'd be different if this was a new build, and I think that's what Dynon is going for, but for an existing upgrade I wouldn't be happy with the investment vs. the return.
Toobuilder
Well Known Member
Theres a bunch of NAV features missing on the SV-SE as well, IIRC.
ChiefPilot
Well Known Member
That's only if you are installing new. If you're upgrading, there is zero advantage to the SE in terms of upgrading to a full skyview system - you have to do pretty much all the same work anyway.
