trade a GNS430 for the 480?

[Diesel]

click click i do the same exact flight as you a couple of times a month. So i know your pain.

We have a 430/530 combination and its useless in the NE because of constant route changes. thank god for fltplan.com because all you have to do is enter the points from that and you more or less stay on the route.

 

[clickclickboom]

530

click click i do the same exact flight as you a couple of times a month. So i know your pain.

We have a 430/530 combination and its useless in the NE because of constant route changes. thank god for fltplan.com because all you have to do is enter the points from that and you more or less stay on the route.

i like the 530 it takes the time to load the fixes.. you can short cut and enter only the important fixes and then if they give you a reroute or enroute fix to fly to just insert it as necessary..

overall great units and garmin has changed the industry..

 

[CalifDan]

We have dual 430's in our Duchess as well as the MX20. I have a limited amount of experience flying a 480 in a friends 414 and it does things the 430 will not as described earlier (VNAV, holds, and programming via airway). The 430/530 upgrade is promised from Garmin later this year. I understand it will include many changes to hardware and all new software and provide the WAAS which will give it VNAV capability. Perhaps it will pick up a few more options on the way also.

I personally like the dual 430 installation and would suggest that whatever you do, don't mix. They do operate different. I fly out west and routes changes are usually not complicated, but when they do occur, I find that getting the information in is not particularly troublesome. You just need to stay ahead of the flight plan.

Not a direct question, but you indicated that you were going mode S for traffic. We thought about that, but just before we did our upgrade, the FAA decommissioned several Mode S areas. I think that ADS-B is the future and in the meantime we did a Ryan TCAD that interfaces with the 430 for display. Interestingly, the MX20 does not have sufficient inputs to display GPS, weather and TCAD at the same time. I believe that Garmin solved this with the new multifunction display.

 

[YankeeEcho]

The 430/530 upgrade is promised from Garmin later this year. I understand it will include many changes to hardware and all new software and provide the WAAS which will give it VNAV capability. Perhaps it will pick up a few more options on the way also.

Not a direct question, but you indicated that you were going mode S for traffic. We thought about that, but just before we did our upgrade, the FAA decommissioned several Mode S areas. I think that ADS-B is the future and in the meantime we did a Ryan TCAD that interfaces with the 430 for display. Interestingly, the MX20 does not have sufficient inputs to display GPS, weather and TCAD at the same time. I believe that Garmin solved this with the new multifunction display.

Does anyone know if the WAAS upgrade to 430/530's will include airways? if so, it will be a better unit from the user-friendly point of view than the 480. Obviously it will have VNAV.

RE: the inputs to the MX20 - don't discount the EX500 from Avidyne - I have it and I see traffic, radar, (onboard or nexrad) and everything else all the time - it's a great unit.

 

[Diesel]

I hadn't heard about the upgrade so I will definetly ask the avionics shop about it.

Does anyone have a list of changes that will be made?

 

[Groundpounder]

Ugh.....

I was trying to get the boss to get a pair of 480's, but he wanted wx datalink, so we are getting a pair of 430's with xm weather. If we got the 480's, then a Garmin 396, we would have had everything and more, since he didn't want to spend money on an MFD. We flew back from the NE yesterday and got three different re routes, all with different airways. It was such a PITA having to keep plugging in all the waypoints. Oh well, thats what I get paid for. At least the 430's will be an improvement over the KLN 94 we have now.

 

[CutEmUp]

In addition to having airways in the database (important only to high-altitude pressurized folks) it also has the ability to serve as the remote control head for a remote transponder - saving panel space. Originally the GNX 80 could channel a remote transponder but not a Mode S remote transponder. I understand that has now changed. SO - forget the 330 and get the remote version.

This is good info since we are having an issue with panel space. I will look into it as another plus for the 480.

Also, a lot of the flying that I do IS on airways and LOTS of route changes. I've gotten very quick with the 430, but it still does take a lot of twisting, how exactly does the 480 speed this up?

I guess I'm not too up on the ADS-B situation. How long, realistically, before the system is up and running in the U.S.? I'd say mode-s traffic will probably suffice now, and at least a few years into the future.

 

[cptsesso]

"how exactly does the 480 speed this up"

The 480 has all of the airways in it's database. If you are given direct to "abc" then V399 to "def", you would enter "abc" then select V399 from abc to the next fix "def". It will then automatically insert all of the fixes which make up V399 between "abc" and "def". A lot less work for the person entering the flight plan.

 

[CalifDan]

I would be interested in any intel on the upgrade also. Garmin keeps things pretty quiet. The original plan was to have the WAAS upgrade available over a year ago. They finally determined that a software upgrade was not going to be enough. They provided a $1500 upgrade path through the end of November 2005 I think. Current pricing is $2000. These amounts did not have to be prepaid, but do need to be pre-arranged. The Garmin site is still reporting the upgrade availability to be later this year, but they have delayed before on this. The only change I know of for sure is the WAAS which will include a faster processor, hardware changes associated and software. I do not know about any other features that will be added.

Some I would like to see are the aforementioned holding ability, better route planning and putting some data together on an output port to free up an input port on the MX20.

 

[CalifDan]

guess I'm not too up on the ADS-B situation. How long, realistically, before the system is up and running in the U.S.? I'd say mode-s traffic will probably suffice now, and at least a few years into the future.

ADS-B nationwide will be more than a few more years. In the meantime, the mode-s will give you some protection around busier airspace but we decided that it was not sufficient, particularly if the FAA is actually shutting down mode-s coverage areas (which they did last year, two of them I think).