Tankerpilot75
Well Known Member
These questions are for those GRT users who have upgraded their old WS system to the newer Horizon EX. Besides a brighter screen, adding synthetic vision and having a faster processor:
1. What other advantages have you seen from the upgrade?
2. Was it difficult to swap out from the WS to the EX from a panel perspective (ie the alignment of the different mounting holes and threading them)?
3. My current gps Comm/navigators are two non-WAAS 430s. They require an ARINC module for EFIS communication which is mounted on the back of the top EFIS. I understand the EX requires a separate ARINC module that doesn’t mount on the EFIS. How difficult was this to wire up and mount? Where did you place the separate module?
Since my panel has two 430s, can I connect both 430s to a new ARINC module and select either one for EFIS use?
4. The old WS does not allow voice warnings to the aircraft intercom and the EX does. What wiring changes did you make to accommodate this capability? I currently have the Garmin 340 system installed.
5. Right now I feed traffic and weather information from my Stratux adsb in receiver to my bottom WS EFIS via hardwire. Traffic does not appear on my top WS EFIS on the PFD display. From the pictures I’ve seen it appears both obstacles and traffic are displayed on the EX PFD page. Does anyone have experience with this?
6. The EX Users Manual says, “ The Horizon EX is intended as a drop-in replacement for the Horizon WS with all the functionality of the WS, plus synthetic vision, a display with four times the resolution, and more. Analog localizer/glideslope inputs are not provided however, although VOR/ILS serial inputs using the SL30 protocol are supported.”
Since I fly ILS approaches does this statement mean that the EX does not support VOR/ILS approaches? This could definitely be a deal killer.
7. The EX Sport (vs the Horizon EX) include’s an internal AHRS unit. While the Horizon EX utilizes an external AHRS. Since my WS has a good AHRS unit (but no backup AHRS) I wondering whether a Sport unit might be better for the lower EFIS (MFD unit). What are your thoughts?
Finally, from a cost vs aircraft value perspective, do you think a more modern EFIS with synthetic vision will increase my aircraft’s market value equal to the cost of the upgrade?
If all this works out then I might consider upgrading one of my 430s’ for a WAAS Comm/navigator next year.
1. What other advantages have you seen from the upgrade?
2. Was it difficult to swap out from the WS to the EX from a panel perspective (ie the alignment of the different mounting holes and threading them)?
3. My current gps Comm/navigators are two non-WAAS 430s. They require an ARINC module for EFIS communication which is mounted on the back of the top EFIS. I understand the EX requires a separate ARINC module that doesn’t mount on the EFIS. How difficult was this to wire up and mount? Where did you place the separate module?
Since my panel has two 430s, can I connect both 430s to a new ARINC module and select either one for EFIS use?
4. The old WS does not allow voice warnings to the aircraft intercom and the EX does. What wiring changes did you make to accommodate this capability? I currently have the Garmin 340 system installed.
5. Right now I feed traffic and weather information from my Stratux adsb in receiver to my bottom WS EFIS via hardwire. Traffic does not appear on my top WS EFIS on the PFD display. From the pictures I’ve seen it appears both obstacles and traffic are displayed on the EX PFD page. Does anyone have experience with this?
6. The EX Users Manual says, “ The Horizon EX is intended as a drop-in replacement for the Horizon WS with all the functionality of the WS, plus synthetic vision, a display with four times the resolution, and more. Analog localizer/glideslope inputs are not provided however, although VOR/ILS serial inputs using the SL30 protocol are supported.”
Since I fly ILS approaches does this statement mean that the EX does not support VOR/ILS approaches? This could definitely be a deal killer.
7. The EX Sport (vs the Horizon EX) include’s an internal AHRS unit. While the Horizon EX utilizes an external AHRS. Since my WS has a good AHRS unit (but no backup AHRS) I wondering whether a Sport unit might be better for the lower EFIS (MFD unit). What are your thoughts?
Finally, from a cost vs aircraft value perspective, do you think a more modern EFIS with synthetic vision will increase my aircraft’s market value equal to the cost of the upgrade?
If all this works out then I might consider upgrading one of my 430s’ for a WAAS Comm/navigator next year.