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n38139

Well Known Member
I am going to put some type of EFIS system in my RV-4. I had an 8 with Dual GRT and SV. It was cool but I don't want to spend the $$$ to get all the gizmos in the system. My flying is 99.9 percent VFR and want to keep it that way. So, I am considering a Dynon D-6/10 or a TruTrak EFIS which is about the same as a D-10A in price. It looks to me that the TruTrak is the most bang for the buck (I know the heading is GPS) and would run an autopilot at the same time.

Have any of you guys used the TruTrak EFIS? I have had TruTrak autopilots in all of my RV's and they have been flawless.

thanks
 
HXr

Perhaps the new GRT HXr will fit the bill. With the limited panel space in the -4, this give you remote radio, transponder, and audio panel plus integrated auto pilot. The intro price from GRT is very reasonable.
 
GRT with autopilot

I was going to rave about GRT but you already know from your 8. Mike has a good point, the integrated AP in the new GRT units offers incredible capability for just the cost of the servos. Plus a Garmin 496/696 provides a ton of backup capability for the VFR pilot with their panel page.
 
I would agree with the GRT, however I am on a sending a daughter to college budget. Don't want to spend that much money, I already have a 250XL, GTX 327 and a AREA 560 so I got the nav and transponder covered for what I am doing.
 
I have the D-6 (as backup) and it works fine.
Get the optional internal battery, and between the D-6 and the Area 560 you should be able to get home even IFR with a dead alternator and dead main battery.

As I'm sure you know, the D-6 will not display any radio navigation data - you'll have to read that directly off other sources.

I have not flown behind the TT EFIS. As you noted, it does not display heading, only GPS ground track, which in general is okay as long as your
GPS doesn't quit.
 
Want to see it

Steve

I've been following your post on here. In a couple of weeks I would like to go see your project. A Mid-South group Fly-Out to your hangar would be fun.
 
Just to clarify, I understand that the Dynon D10A has a built-in autopilot as well... Just add Dynon servos and you're flying hands-free. I plan to do this at some point with mine.
 
I've had the TT EFIS for about a year and really like it. It integrates seamlessly with the autopilot servos as you'd expect, and is very simple and intuitive to operate. Doesn't use any sub-menus and everything is just one button-push or button-push plus knob-twist away. The display is brighter than anything I've seen except the Skyview; my hangar mate has the SkyView and in side-by-side comparison the two are pretty much indistinguishable. There's no separate ADHARS or magnetometer to install, and the attitude display is "instant on".

Personally I like the elegant simplicity of the display; it gives you the basic flight data and nothing else, in a format that's easy to read at a glance. I had some earlier experience with another EFIS with more bells and whistles, and found that I had my head down a lot while fiddling with those features. Not having them also means the TT EFIS won't become obsolete as quickly.

The information conveyed is a bit differently than other EFIS's, as has been discussed before. Primarily the TT tells you where the airplane is going, rather than where its nose is pointing. It also has gyro functionality that helps with the transitions into climbs and turns. The net result is that its almost absurdly easy to fly a precise heading and altitude. Loss of GPS isn't actually an issue because it reverts to a DG mode in that case.

One thing that could be an issue is that at low (approach) power settings its possible to have the EFIS apparently showing "nose down" (because you're descending), while in fact the nose is high. If you understand what the instrument is telling you this is not really problem, but if you're thinking in terms of a more traditional attitude indication this situation could lead to a stall. The solution is to monitor your airspeed, which you should be doing anyway. You can also set up the airspeed needle to flash red below a certain warning speed.

One criticism I have is that the attitude indication sometimes seems a bit more sensitive than it needs to be, but this is a minor issue. I was also annoyed to find that I can't display engine data from my Grand Rapids EIS on the EFIS. At one time the two companies were collaborating but apparently they had a falling out. If you're starting from scratch you can install TT's engine module.
 
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Dynon Autopilot

Snowflake said:
Just to clarify, I understand that the Dynon D10A has a built-in autopilot as well... Just add Dynon servos and you're flying hands-free. I plan to do this at some point with mine.
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of installing my Dynon AP. I've had a D-10A for a couple of years and it's the best thing since sliced bread. Bought both roll & pitch servos ... install is going much slower than planned, wish that the wires had been pulled for a potential install before the wing was closed ... it is not fun trying to feed wires through a small conduit in a closed wing!

Reggie
 
Mgl

Try the mgl efis. Thats the way I will go, auto pilot and all built in for same price if not cheaper.
 
Efis

In the process of researching an EFIS as well.

Recently have been checking out the GRT Sport.
Has auto pilot capability. Can feed your Aera GPs
Out put to the GRt for moving map. In my case
I own a GRT EIS and this will display as well with
Only a single wire hook up.

Was sold on the Dynon but now maybe the GRT.
Highway in the sky seems to be a great feature even in
The non synthetic vision. The system seems to offer more
For the money.
 
agirard7a said:
In the process of researching an EFIS as well.

Recently have been checking out the GRT Sport.

Was sold on the Dynon but now maybe the GRT.
Highway in the sky seems to be a great feature even in
The non synthetic vision. The system seems to offer more
For the money.
Click to expand...

I'm having the same thoughts. I have a D6 and 430W. I was planning on upgrading to a Skyview and Dynon AP, and keeping the 430W for IFR capability. I also have a Narco ILS that I plan to keep as well.

Yesterday I took another look st the GRT Sport and if you spend the extra cash to upgrade to SV, ARINC and vertical nav for the AP you get a system with a little more functionality than the Skyview for about the same money.
,
The GRT Sport can receive XM weather, ADS-B, HITS and guide the AP downthe ILS. This is all future capability in the Skyview.

It looks like the GRT Sport can do everything you need for IFR when paired with a 430W. From the GRT website it's hard to get a feel for what features the Horizon has that the Sport doesn't. I've read some posts compairing the Horizon and Sport but those are over 3 years old now. It appears that GRT has added a lot of functionality to the Sport bringing the two units closer together.
 
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MGL

I have an RV-8 with the MGL Odyssey G2 EFIS and a Mgl V-10 radio. With all the engine sensors, compass and ADHRS, I think it came in at about $8000. It has the capability to drive autopilot servos and provides an incredible amount of engine, navigation and flight information. They also make a small EFIS that can either use an ADHRS and compass or derive similar but less dependable information from GPS. I think it is priced as low as $1100 not including engine sensors, compass or ADHRS.
 
I also have dual Odysseys in a 10. They do almost everything and you can make them look/function about any way you'd want.
 
There is / was an -8 out there with dual OTD* screens and a Dynon D10A EFIS for backup. While flying in IMC he was hit by lightning, which toasted both OTD units. He continued on with the Dynon. ?nuf said.

* Other than Dynon
 
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