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Avionics Supplier?

I

ILikePike

Well Known Member
I am about to purchase about $20,000 in skyview and Garmin 430 avionics who is the best supplier considering price and support?
 
No Contest

Stein Air

You MAY find a lower price, but you won't beat his support or knowledge.

One stop shopping.
 
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I'm buying most of mine from Stein Air...but, my research for the lowest price is with Stark Avionics. I chose to spend more with Stein because I like their support and involvement with the RV community.
 
Avionics Poker

Rule #1....You aren't supposed to show your open wallet on the first hand.

Rule #2...StenAir. They win hands down, send them your money.
 
I have had very good service from John Starks and his prices are excellent. He also wired up my avionics that I purchased elsewhere.
 
Stark it seems has good up front prices. There has been some critical feedback here recently on how he handled a situation. Use the search and you will find those threads. Make up your own mind about who was right or wrong. You won't find any threads on here where Stein refused to make a claim on shipping insurance however...

Stein on the other hand paid money out of his pocket to help his customers when a major supplier of equipment went belly up a few years ago. We are not talking just a few bucks here either... He may not be the cheapest but you will get your $ worth out of him and his team. History has proven that time and time again.

Stein also supports the VAF and experimental aviation as a whole. He is a major contributor to the events at Oshkosh. Him and several of his crew are homebuilders as well.

SteinAir is like Burger King....you can have it your way. You can get everything from a turn key panel all the way down to minor components and everything in between. Do as little or as much yourself as you like.
 
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Steinair

Another happy Steinair customer here. He was always available and happy to talk with me on the phone to offer his knowledge and help guide me through the decision making processes. His post sale customer service is also top notch.
 
There isn't a more honest supplier on the planet. SteinAir all the way. You will never regret the few extra bucks you MAY have to spend, and they are less expensive than most.

Bob
 
SteinAir (Stein, Jed) and Aerotronics (Jason) have treated me well over the years. Stark has better pricing, but not clearly the same level of support.
 
I was astounded at the level of help I got from Stein on a TINY purchase - wiring issue (nothing that they did wrong!). Will always have my bidness...
 
Another Factor to Consider

One of the reasons that Stark is often cheaper is that they only accept checks...no credit cards. I've spoken with both companies multiple times and I've found both to be responsive and knowledgeable.
 
Go with Stein

I didn't go with Stein for cheaper prices and regret till this day.

Stein went out of the way to help me, even though he did not have to. Plus payment by credit card gives you an insurance that is very valuable.
 
Steinair

Well now that Stein's head won't be able to fit through the door, the prices will be going up for the remodel:eek:

Seriously, no better place to do business. Stein and crew will take care of you before, during and after the sale. Everybody there is great.

And, he's one of us.
 
You may also want to consider Approach Fast stack. Their service and knowledge has been absolutely great, their hub makes wiring a lot easier and flexible and their price was unbeatable.
 
Steinair

I've also dealt with Steinair and Approach Fast Stack and highly recommend either. The Approach Fast Stack wiring harnesses saved me a ton of hours in my RV-8 panel redo. Everything worked as advertised and the few phone calls I had were handled expertly.
 
Two Thumbs Up

Stein Air for me and the Doll. Best after the sale support you could ask for! Man did I ever have a bunch of questions. Everyone I talked to was patient and helpful.
 
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Bavafa said:
You may also want to consider Approach Fast stack. Their service and knowledge has been absolutely great, their hub makes wiring a lot easier and flexible and their price was unbeatable.
Click to expand...

Here here!

Tim has an excellent product and excellent service!

I havent fired my panel up yet, but fully expect it to work flawlessly!

It is the "quickbuild" of the avionics world!

;). CJ
 
Bavafa said:
You may also want to consider Approach Fast stack. Their service and knowledge has been absolutely great, their hub makes wiring a lot easier and flexible and their price was unbeatable.
Click to expand...

I highly recommend Approach Fast Stack. I went with their IFR wiring hub and can't say enough good things about it. Everything worked flawlessly the 1st time I fired it up. Tim had even taken into consideration possible future upgrades which were available and so easy to do once I became ready. Their work and customer service is impeccable. I also use many products from Stein and they are excellent. Either way you won't go wrong.

Remember, in the long run going cheap can become very expensive.

:cool:
 
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avionics

For your gps nav com, did you look at the gtn 650 unit? My understanding is that with the 430 and 530 discontinued, there will come a time in the future that displays will not be available for those units. I have 2 of them, so I am already in the boat. I discovered this when I asked my avionics group about updating to WAAS, and this was their opinion. Anyone have news of the contrary or education for maximizing our hard earned dollars.
 
Mcgyver said:
For your gps nav com, did you look at the gtn 650 unit? My understanding is that with the 430 and 530 discontinued, there will come a time in the future that displays will not be available for those units. I have 2 of them, so I am already in the boat. I discovered this when I asked my avionics group about updating to WAAS, and this was their opinion. Anyone have news of the contrary or education for maximizing our hard earned dollars.
Click to expand...

That's sort of correct....and if you watch, sometimes there are rebates on the GTN (there is a $500 one now until Dec 6 and there was a $1k deal earlier in the year) that can make the price of a GTN almost a wash compared to a new 430w. That said, the 430w can still be had new, and the reason it was discontinued wasn't due to the display, but rather a component in the Nav board being obsoleted. In fact' Garmin still produces the unit sans Nav/Comm boards in it (400W) today.

Cheers (and thanks to all for the kind word, Darwin is right)! :)

Stein

P.S. Tim & Tom at Approach is a fellow Minnesotan, a friend and colleague...we sell their stuff too - so I can attest to them being "good people"!
 
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