RBosque
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 5,793
- Reaction score
- 3,461
I'm looking at upgrading from my Garmin GNS 430W to either the Avidyne IFD440 or the Garmin GTN 650Xi There are some pretty good trade-in deals advertised which are tempting and I'd like to hear your opinions. These deals include installation (though I haven't yet asked for specific quotes for my airplane). Here's some examples.
Right off the bat, I'm seeing something interesting. Surprisingly, the installed price of the GTN is lower than that of the IFD even though the IFD is supposed to be a simple slide-in replacement whereas the GTN requires a different tray and wiring.
Another consideration is the cost of the databases for these units. I remember Jeppesen database updates being more expensive than Garmin's but the prices are now comparable. Here's some examples.
- Sarasota Avionics
- GNS 430W to GTN 650Xi $7,939
- GNS 430W to IFD440 $9,189
- NexAir
- GNS 430W to GTN 650Xi $7,350
- GNS 430W to IFD440 $8,250
- Avionics Source
- GNS 430W to IFD 440 $8,795
Right off the bat, I'm seeing something interesting. Surprisingly, the installed price of the GTN is lower than that of the IFD even though the IFD is supposed to be a simple slide-in replacement whereas the GTN requires a different tray and wiring.
Another consideration is the cost of the databases for these units. I remember Jeppesen database updates being more expensive than Garmin's but the prices are now comparable. Here's some examples.
- Jeppesen
- Full USA IFR $449
- N. America IFR $529
- America IFR $599
- Garmin
- US $449
- N. America $549
- America N/A
