R

R7237

Well Known Member
Looking for GPS for the AFS 5600, about to purchase. 430W's are finally starting to get on the used market and can be purchased for a reasonable price. GTN650 is of course priced at premium. I imagine that flight plans cannot be pushed from the AFS to the 430W or GTN650, but frequency changes etc should be fine. What are the benefits of the GTN650 vs the 430W? is it just ease of user interface? any reason to pay the extra premium for the GTN650? or just buy a used 430W? Thoughts?
Thanks in Advance
 
R7237 said:
Looking for GPS for the AFS 5600, about to purchase. 430W's are finally starting to get on the used market and can be purchased for a reasonable price. GTN650 is of course priced at premium. I imagine that flight plans cannot be pushed from the AFS to the 430W or GTN650, but frequency changes etc should be fine. What are the benefits of the GTN650 vs the 430W? is it just ease of user interface? any reason to pay the extra premium for the GTN650? or just buy a used 430W? Thoughts?
Thanks in Advance
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Depends on what part of the country you live in or where you fly often. If you fly IFR in parts of the country that are still heavily using victor airways, then the 650 is a godsend. I got stuck in a situation in a part of the country I wasn't familiar with and got a route change from ATC. It took me 10-15 minutes to look up all the fixes and input them into the 430. Not only does the 650 support victor airways, you can rubber band route changes with your finger. These were my two hot buttons that caused me to put in a 650 in my RV-10.
 
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bkthomps said:
the 430's touch screen is really lacking
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haha.gif
 
I am not as familiar with the 650 as I am with the 430 but my only concern with the 430 would be that if Garmin decide to stop supporting it and thus rendering the unit useless.

In terms of functionality, the 430W is a very capable unit and does everything really great. The touch screen will be of little benefit to me. But if I was going to start new, I would probably go with the 650 unless the subscription cost of the data (recurring cost)is more than the current cost for the 430W.
 
I was planning the 650 and then took a look at the side by side comparison on Garmin's site. If you can get past the touch screen coolness, there were very few advantages to spending another $3K+. I am installing a Dynon SkyView system and a lot of the features offered on the 650 are included in the SkyView. It just wasn't worth it to me. In re: Garmin not supporting it, you can still buy them new these days. Why? Because the the US government is still buying them. They use them in various military aircraft. I'm going to buy a new 430W with factory warranty and save myself over $3K for other goodies.
 
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Mark Dickens said:
I was planning the 650 and then took a look at the side by side comparison on Garmin's site. If you can get past the touch screen coolness, there were very few advantages to spending another $3K+. I am installing a Dynon SkyView system and a lot of the features offered on the 650 are included in the SkyView. It just wasn't worth it to me. In re: Garmin not supporting it, you can still buy them new these days. Why? Because the the US government is still buying them. They use them in various military aircraft. I'm going to buy a new 430W with factory warranty and save myself over $3K for other goodies.
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I did the same number crunching and came to the same conclusion, for the same reasons. I ordered dual 10" Skyviews and a 430W.
 
3K difference?

When I shopped around for a GPS, the price difference between new 430W and 650 was more like 1500ish, and with 750$ mail-in rebate the difference was further reduced to 750ish ...

I wonder how some of you ended with 3K saving?
 
Not that much

I think if you check with Stein the price difference is not that much.

I assisted in flying off some of the 40 hours on my neighbors 7. AFS 5600 and Garmin 650. I was excited to do this since I'm putting dual 5500 in my new 7. Also putting in a Garmin 750.

I have a 430 in my current plane and we have them in the helicopters I fly at work. Although I'm quite familiar with them, I definitely prefer the 650.

The 650 is a pleasure to use. Forget all the Internet myth of the touch screen being hard to use. It is not, even in turbulence.

In the scheme of the overall airplane, the extra for the latest and greatest isn't that significant. I think you'll be happy that you pulled the trigger on the 650!!!
 
Airzen said:
When I shopped around for a GPS, the price difference between new 430W and 650 was more like 1500ish, and with 750$ mail-in rebate the difference was further reduced to 750ish ...

I wonder how some of you ended with 3K saving?
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I've been quoted $7,475 for the 430w and about $10.5k for the 650. Am I shopping in the wrong place? If so, please spill the details on your quote
 
For me easier to program

I started my ifr training using a 430 and when i got my RV 9a set up for ifr and a 650 installed then completed my training and check ride using the 650 it was so much easier to operate and navagte and load differant approaches in actual or simulated condtions
Tim
 
Several posts here sum it up. Both boxes can do the same things, but the 650 is easier to use; e.g., on the 650 you can just enter an airway, on the 430 you have to put in the fixes (VORs) that define the airway. Only you can decide if the ease of use is worth the increased cost.

And yes, get a quote from Stein. Garmin sometimes has poorly advertised 'sales' going on. At OSH I think they were offering $750 off a new 650.
 
Mark Dickens said:
I've been quoted $7,475 for the 430w and about $10.5k for the 650. Am I shopping in the wrong place? If so, please spill the details on your quote
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Stark Avionics:

$9015 + $300 wiring + $50 shipping. Wire lengths: Power, Ground, GTN-650 to CDI (and what type CDI), any serial data, GTN-650 to autopilot (and what type autopilot).

Gns-430W pricing
$7475 + optional $300 wiring + $40 shipping. Wire lengths: Power, Ground, Gns-430W to CDI (and what type CDI), Gns-430W to encoder (and what type encoder), any serial data, Gns-430W to autopilot (and what type autpilot).

So total difference: GTN 650 ($9365) - GNS 430 ($7815) = $1550.
 
Be careful when shopping for a Garmin 430. The cheaper (used) ones seem to be mostly for 24v systems. You can convert, but it takes another box. Also, look for the 430W, WAAS-enabled, to compare directly with the GTN650.

I found the same numbers as the guy who pointed at a $750 difference (after rebate). Add the approximately 1% cash back credit card. Seemed like a no-brainer.
 
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