Gentlemen,

I must compliment this site and the quality of its membership in that there is simply no better place to find reliable input on many aviation topics. Now, that I've **** on your leg a little, I would like to propose the first of several questions about avionics upgrades for my Aerostar. I have spoken to John Collins personally and have some input, but the task seems to grow as do the questions. That is particularly true as I have recently had a "falling out" with my old avionics shop and well, other things, but that will come later.

The A*'s current equipment is:
1. Old Collins audio panel that will be replaced with a PSA audio panel.
2. GTX 327, works fine, would like 330 but not a necessity. If so, will be added to 327.
3. Century NSD360A, slaved.
4. C-IV AP
5. Garmin 530/430. Non-WAAS. Obviously, if kept will have to be WAASed.
6. KWX 58 radar.
7. WX 10 Stormscope.
8 KRA 10A radar altimeter.

Now, I have lots of questions, but I want to take them one at a time.
You should know that I care less about "bells and whistles" than just about anyone. I do fly real, not unreasonable, IFR and I fly long distances: 80% of my flights over 500 nm.
The number one thing I want is RELIABILITY. Number two is about value more than price.

First question: Other than bells and whistles and gee whiz factor are there any real advantages to upgrading the 530 to a 750? 430 to 650 would seem like overkill?

Jgreen

Comparing the 530 to a 750 is like comparing a twenty year old computer to one built today. There is a huge difference in what they offer in terms of information and programming. Visually the 750 screen resolution is stunning.

I bought the aspen for my duke as it drives my century IV nicely. You can now add preselect in expensively.
I suggest replacing the 530 with avidyne 540 which is fantastic and more practical than the garmin750. You should get 6k or so for the 530.
If I had a do over, I believe I would go with a single aspen with connected panel and use the sagetech with iPad for Ada's-b weather, traffic, back up adhars, syn vision. A very cheap solution using fore flight for charts. If you want to dump your remote gyro you can add a second aspen as a mfd with PDF redundancy and put it on thr right side.
Eventually avidyne will be replacing 430s with their 440 giving you aqwerty key board for system entry, and their transponder will be fully 2020 compliant.

John,

If installing new, a GTN750 makes more sense then installing a GNS530W unless you plan to upgrade to IFD540. Reason basically comes down to support and product life. Since the majority of your flying based on previous discussions is direct between points with minimal vectoring a lot of the "new" features of the GTN have a reduced value.

With that stated, if you need an MFD the GTN may make a good choice. But I prefer the Aspen for most items I would put on the MFD.

Tim

Maybe you already have it, but I don't see engines monitor listed. That would be top of my list.

My budget is a lot lower than most here - I would upgrade the 430/530 to WAAS and be done.

The engine monitor goes in this week.

Rocky, please elaborate on the Aspen and the C-IV. I understood that you have to retain the AI for pitch and roll.

As for the C-IV, if there is any doubt about its reliability I'm going to put in the Stec. I took my first XC to VA yesterday and the C-IV shut down mysteriously; when I plugged the 796 into the 12v outlet. After I landed in CHO, after hand flying all the way and an approach, when I took off on the return, it came back to life. Only to shut down again when, yes, I plugged in the 796. No, I didn't make the mental connection until the second shut down. I cannot figure any connection between the 12v outlet and the C-IV either.

Any more observations on the 750 would be appreciated.

Jgreen

You have to retain the AI for flight director. But what the heck you need a back up anyway.
The garmin 750 is huge and may or may not work with an aspen. You need to have your power outlet checked. Mine causes no problem with the CIV.
The CIV is old technology, but you can still get it serviced and overhauled units are still available. The aspen GPS drives mine really nicely.
An Stec 55x with the same features cost a fortune.

The Aspen and GTNs play well together. The Connected panel is where you would run into problems, and any GNS that has been updated to the latest software version also will not work with the Connected panel.

Upgrading the GNS' to WAAS, installing at least an Aspen EFD1000 PFD Pro, and a PS Engineering PMA8000BT would make a good cockpit into a great one!

Jeremy,

I will show my ignorance in asking what exactly constitutes the connected panel.

Your suggestion is exactly what I "had decided"; meaning, unless I find true benefit and value from doing more. So at this point, unless I find STRONG direction here, this is the plan.

PMA 8000 Audio Panel
EDM 760 engine monitor (going in this week)
Aspen PFD
Upgrade 530/430 to WAAS
Dock 796 for XM weather

Options in order of liklihood
1. Stec A/P if reliability of C-IV in question.
2. Swap 530 for 750
3. Aspen MFD
4. ADSB weather.

I am definitely going to remove the King Radar Altimeter and considering removing the KWX 58 radar.

Back to the original question. What real benefits would I gain from the 750. Tim gave the best one, it gives you a big screen MFD, then of course the second Aspen does also.

Jgreen

I flew in a triple aspen plane the other day. Those screens are pretty small, and the approach plate isnt big enough either. And its cropped.

I can see the awesomeness firsthand of the Aspen, but #2 and #3 have rapidly diminishing utility.

Regarding the Century autopilots - I had some squirrely problems that turned out to be connector problems. Replacing the contact pins maybe helpful. Also, IIRC, I believe the Autopilot was the first to "go" when the DC Buss voltage was drooping. Do you have a way to accurately read the voltage ? (maybe after you install the new engine monitor ?).

The Connected panel lets you modify flightplan info from an IPad. Aspen hasn't reverse engineered the interface with the latest GNS software, and it has never worked with the GTNs.

http://www.connectedpanel.com/faq

Now to the GTN750...it is a really nice display with great resolution. The touchscreen is great. The geo-referenced charts and terrain awareness are really nice features too. It is the most current generation of navigator so support will not be an issue. Don't let that deter you from doing the WAAS to your GNS' though. Those units will be supported for years to come. They are still selling new GNS430W units, so the support will be there.

Remove or replace the KWX58 radar? Is it not working or unreliable? I'd find a way to keep onboard radar. What's you thought process on this subject?

If it's working, I would keep it.

Can the KWX58 radar be enabled to show on a 750? What can it be shown onto?