EdH

EdH

Well Known Member
A friend of mine was looking to buy an AFS 5400 as an upgrade to his 3500 in his -6. Even though the unit is advertised on the Advanced website, having called them he's been told AFS are no longing selling any of the five-thousand series units.

So I figured it might be useful to see if anyone here might have one that they've been thinking they might upgrade from.
 
I wish I could help. My AFS 4500 went TU a couple of years ago so I replaced it with a 5400 solely because it would fit the 4500's panel cut out. Unfortunately, AFAIK, the only current upgrade to a Dynon or AFS 6000-series would have to include a whole new panel $$$.
 
Old news. Covid caused issues with their previous screen providers. I was looking to buy another 5500 to replace an old 3400 in my RV-10 last summer. If I remember correctly what’s was mentioned at OSH last year, anything smaller than a 10” screen may not be available with the new screen provider.

I now have two new 6600s and one my older 5500s now. It did require rebuilding the whole panel because of the size changes. Now that I’m flying behind the 6600s now, I’m happy with the larger screens.

I know it’s a more difficult and expensive upgrade, but I would make the jump to the 6600. You’ll be glad you did.
 
AFS 4500 upgrade options

Old news it may be but not if you look at the AFS website. It is my RV6 that is being referred to in this thread. Advanced sales gave a very downbeat response to an upgrade enquiry. They are happy to build a new panel from scratch (which I don't want) at great expense and reading between the lines are ringfencing the stock of panels for that line of their business.

Don't believe anything on the website which is over 2 years out of date in that all of the 5000 series kit is obsolete so there is no easy upgrade option from the 4500. As they wouldn't even quote a lead time for the supply of a 6000 series unit, it isn't a good prospect for an already flying airplane. Much less of a problem if you are still in the build process.
 
AneirinWilliams said:
Old news it may be but not if you look at the AFS website. It is my RV6 that is being referred to in this thread. Advanced sales gave a very downbeat response to an upgrade enquiry. They are happy to build a new panel from scratch (which I don't want) at great expense and reading between the lines are ringfencing the stock of panels for that line of their business.

Don't believe anything on the website which is over 2 years out of date in that all of the 5000 series kit is obsolete so there is no easy upgrade option from the 4500. As they wouldn't even quote a lead time for the supply of a 6000 series unit, it isn't a good prospect for an already flying airplane. Much less of a problem if you are still in the build process.
Click to expand...


We currently have a few AF-5600 EFIS screens in stock and are shipping AF-6600 EFIS screens as fast as we build them every week. Current deliver on a new AF-6600 order should be under 4 weeks.

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems
 
AneirinWilliams said:
Old news it may be but not if you look at the AFS website. It is my RV6 that is being referred to in this thread. Advanced sales gave a very downbeat response to an upgrade enquiry. They are happy to build a new panel from scratch (which I don't want) at great expense and reading between the lines are ringfencing the stock of panels for that line of their business.

Don't believe anything on the website which is over 2 years out of date in that all of the 5000 series kit is obsolete so there is no easy upgrade option from the 4500. As they wouldn't even quote a lead time for the supply of a 6000 series unit, it isn't a good prospect for an already flying airplane. Much less of a problem if you are still in the build process.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that Tricia in AFS sales asked you to email me a picture of your panel so we can see what will fit. In many cases cutting a new panel and using the existing wiring does not cost very much money. The user interface and screen size of the AF-6600 make it a far superior choice over an AF-5400 for about the same price. Since you currently have our old internal EMS board and Crossbow AHRS you will need to install the Dynon SV-ADAHRS-200 and SV-EMS-220 to work with our current EFIS screens.

We just posted a new video showing our dual com radio support and improved user interface
https://youtu.be/m5H-3JOyIbE

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems
 
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Thank you AFS

In answer to my initial enquiry and grumble about the website information, AFS have really come up with the goods with a costed proposal for an upgrade package to a 6600 and part exchange rebate for the 4500 which looks to do the job. It will entail a bit of panel surgery but with a completely up to date end result it looks to be a very worthwhile excercise. I can't wait to get started. Many thanks to Tricia and Rob for sorting this out.:)
 
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