prkaye

Well Known Member
I just requested quotes for the Odyssey and Voyager (same thing but with smaller 8.4 inch screen) from aircraft spruce. The quote seems a little unreal... only $3485.00 USD. Can this be correct? Doesn't say if this price includes all probes and sensors, but if so it's waaay lower than the approx 6K it says on the MGL website. But I can't find a seperate probe package on the Aircraft Spruce website.
This seems like one of those "too good to be true, there has to be a catch" scenarios... for the functionality/flexibility it provides, this seems even better value than the Dynon Flight Deck...
 
For a complete EFIS . . . . .

. . . . you have to add an SP-2 magnetometer for the compass and an SP-4 AHRS for attitude. If you want engine monitoring, you have to add one of the RDAC units and sensors. That's where the $6K total figure comes from. My understanding is that the units function just fine without these items (moving map, etc) you just don't have attitude or compass or engine monitoring without them.
 
you just don't have attitude or compass or engine monitoring without them

Aaahhhh... well those are certainly central "features" of such a system! I wouldn't consider them "extras"! I think Aircraft Spruce's approach to advertisign this is a bit misleading and objectionable in that case.
 
Flexibility

Aaahhhh... well those are certainly central "features" of such a system! I wouldn't consider them "extras"! I think Aircraft Spruce's approach to advertisign this is a bit misleading and objectionable in that case.

Well, I guess it's how you look at it. If all you want is engine monitoring, you could buy the unit, the RDAC, and the sensors. Or perhaps you really don't need attitude (VFR/day?) but would like to have heading info - so just buy the unit with the SP-2. Without anything, it's a pretty decent large GPS/Moving Map/Autopilot driver etc.

BTW - I have no affiliation with MGL avionics (but I'm really thinking seriously about buying one of their units ;))
 
MGL Odyssey

I have one (and an Enigma) installed in my new panel.
They sell as a modular system, very flexible.

I purchased the Odyssey, Sp4, Sp2, RDAC-XD and a few odds and ends for just under $5k new (a few months back).

I already had sensors so I saved a few hundred.

The Odyssey is a pretty amazing unit for the price. Like all complicated electronics, it has a learning curve.

I don't have any flight time on the system yet (my rebuild is getting close to done, though), but I have run the engine and all sensors etc worked fine. I have run the unit on battery power for many hours while tweaking my screens.

I don't consider the MGL website to be deceptive, it was pretty easy to see what was necessary for a "complete" system.

Mission requirements may vary. I can well imagine pilots who don't feel the need for the SP4 (AI) or SP2 modules.

With my setup, the RDAC drives both units, allowing full engine sensors to function independently on both screens. Air data is independent as well. Also have the dual GPSs.

I have less than 15K into my total panel now and it will be quite nice. All glass, "emergency" IFR capable, nice redundancy and battery backup to keep flying if main power fails.

So far, I am quite satisfied with my MGL products.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Not deceptive, just bad programming

I wouldn't go as far as to say they are deceptive. It seems to me that anyone wanting to buy a piece of equipment as expensive as an EFIS would have researched the product and know what is needed to put a system together.

However, I would say that Aircraft Spruce could do a little work on the MGL stuff. If you select MGL under their Avionics page, you see many of the items that MGL sells, but not all. They show all of the EFISs and a few RDACs, but only the SP-5. If you click on the Enigma, you see most of the pieces needed for a full system, even the SP-4. But if you click on the Voyager or Odyssey, then all they show is the individual EFISs.

I have seen this before on Aircraft Spruce. If you go to the fiberglass section there are a lot of the items that you might need, but a few things will be missing, and you have to explicitly search for those items that are left out. This is not "deceptive", they just have a lousy webmaster. I still use them, because they have a lot of stuff, but you have to know what you want.

Cheers,
Tracy.
 
Well,....

Your best bet is to use the MGL site directly to choose the components you want, then order them from wherever you're going to order them.