Navworx vs Freeflight

I just finished installing a FreeFlight 978-XVR unit with the display and wifi adapter. Overall, I much prefer the programming of this unit compared to the Navworx because it is all programs through the display unit. I had to have both the main unit and the wifi receiver replace due to DOA components, and even after being replaced, one of the two had a bad serial port, so I had to rewire to the other serial port after hours of troubleshooting. Assuming that we were the exception in having failed components, I'm impressed with the system and the install went fairly well. I'm not as happy about having 3 different components to mount, but I like the display. The display isn't required for the installation, but then you need to program everything with a console program. At a retail price of $3,600, it's definitely more expensive than the Navworx, although not outragious compared to the ADS-600B, especially since it includes all of the coax, connectors and antennas needed for he installation. It also had the d-sub connectors and pins, which is nice.

The jury is still out on the NavWorx -EXP unit as far as installation goes. The last one I installed I went through 3 software revisions in 2 days to get it going. If those issues are fixed, then it should be a quick and fairly easy install. I like that there is only one box to install, although the wifi isn't ideal to hide behind the rear baggage wall. The signal strength still seems to cover the plane well enough. He current price of $1,149 plus $25 for a UAT antenna and $50-150 for a GPS antenna, plus coax and connctors, it's still a bargain compared to the FF for experimentals.

I'm not a fan of TNC connectors because they are so expensive, but the FreeFlight comes with the crimp connectors and the Navworx went to SMA on their unit, which are a pain to crimp. I am using SMA to BNC adapters on the -EXP units from now on.

One item that sets the Freeflight ahead in my book is that they integrate with foreflight on the iPad, which is a big deal for me. I am holding out hope that the Navworx unit will do the same in the not-too-distant future.

A few comments.

Freeflight has been around for 20 something years, Navworx is a new company with one product. I suspect that when the demand for new ADS-B installs drops off (2021?), Navworx will cease to exist. Thats just a guess. No telling with Freeflight, but chances seem better since they have track record and other product lines.

I doubt that Foreflight will add Navworx (Foreflight is the holdup, not the hardware companies) since they seem to be a one-vendor type support model.

I've flown behind a Navworx, and it works OK after 2 times of sending the box back to have it fixed. I hope my Freeflight install goes smoother, but it sounds like that might be a luck of the draw thing too.

osxuser said:

I doubt that Foreflight will add Navworx (Foreflight is the holdup, not the hardware companies) since they seem to be a one-vendor type support model.

Click to expand...

That model was certainly common early on, especially with the Stratus and no other integration. However, they have recently added support for Garmin, Dynon, AFS, FreeFlight and Aspen. I think his demonstrates a change of their early model, most likely because of the need to broaden their horizons to keep and expand their customer base.