What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Dual vs. Single EFIS

iamtheari

Well Known Member
Has anyone installed a single EFIS and wish they had installed two? Or has anyone installed two and wish they had just bought one? I am planning for a G3X Touch system although I'm not yet 100% committed to that. I fly with steam gauges and an iPad Mini now. I don't know how I feel about needing to scroll around on an MFD to be able to read all the information on an approach plate, so there's a good chance I'll still be using an iPad for that as well as for flight planning even after I finish my RV. Should I just put a RAM mount for my iPad on the copilot side of the panel or should I spring for the dual G3X system? (Life is plagued with too many decisions!)
 
Installed 2 Dynon 1000T screens and wish I had a 3rd 7" for dedicated engine monitor.

If money were tight, as it often is, start with one but wire for dual screen. It isn't that much more wiring work but doing it later would be more difficult.
 
I used a G3x touch 10.4" on the left and the GTN 625 in the center. I also have an iPad mini with Garmin Pilot on a RAM suction mount to the right of the center stack and that gives me plenty of information.
 
Our RV 10 had dual EFIS on the left side of the panel. Engine info on a strip along the bottom of the units. I used one for forward/synthitic vision, and the other for "Gods eye"/map.

mLCRQDEbTOrBONxE2Ml5WeGdAdP90p5rWgbLKkUahIrCNIe6fPp_m-HyfPnpRVXT07wJd8PwNU3nUYii5Q0fqJW213VrCBvaw_Qnokza7XxagGrw5VKtpuvuXOTY9d05JbgDu1Z9tEfqegLxaSdLTer03GJeTJogabv2C9f_UdXGhlAvZAciiQc6KwjTX1amv4nGXXGTPlliBcbhLWgUfLdk6i5ZiUxK2Jy3FmZiV8I1_F-DCjrI8rLUbGCKmMkHGUdnB4J7oD9a-u40Lod8wv1bQqi837DGkONxHFZHcTebTYegc0u3pxIQwKQ8Pa64KYcgb_CzP2KrI2ztMjBEGeMgUp0_OoJij-VFKWRu-a3XHpRh2bZF4Olc_t2QcMoqZ1MGmDAYT9TqUCFitAz6z55vTJACPygWbE7vD24b9YCjb88iCI3WMKyE2dwJXYZ2TGFN2KC8UqdbBtkFnjD0I9rsj7eGtdXbabjEUEaFQQ9xSX8HDdCstGk5m3_xdvAYoXFbLwJHAtKKRTzGN1v1Wc4uQw6Wzc0bvuNnqsgmZW88lvglLmF87ME9RMmNVfPFu7tYblkdIZbsuQ5QKicqmWaNCFiKZFWlT9OqdciGX8lZzYG6GXncZhRxlUHQ1tU=w1182-h887-no


The new plane (Rans S21) will have the same dual EFIS, but one in front of each seat------need to split them up now that we are a two pilot family:D-----and a third one above the radio stack for engine data. I plan to set the primary units up in split screen mode, with same views as above on each unit.
 
Last edited:
Single Dynon Skyview Classic 7" on first project, never needed more for VFR.

Single G3X on second project, but with GTN, G5 and iPad/stratux backup. We'll see if I'll wish for more once flying IFR.
 
For me, VFR only, I am more than happy with just one Dynon D180. Way more capable than any panel I had flown on in the past. One SkyView would be even better, but I built before SV's came along. For some, including me, one screen is about budget. For others, also including me, one screen is about a philosophy of keeping things as simple as possible.

Good luck with your choice.
 
Single Screen

I have an RV-12 with a single screen, the new Dynon HDX and I love it. I also have a Ram mount on the passenger side and use and iPad air in that mount. I like having two independent systems and the iPad is much less expensive than a second Dynon. But having said that, I have nothing but good things to say about Dynon products and their support. This summer I installed the auto-pilot control module, the knob module, ADS-B in, ADS-b Out, and connected the AOA, all with Dynon components. The support from Dynon during this project was wonderful. I can't recomend Dynon enough.
 
I have a single 10" SkyView, which I LOVE!

If I were to fly IFR, I would probably want a second screen to push the engine data off to. (I really wish Dynon would come out with a slaved screen to display the engine info.)

As long as i remain VFR, I see no reason for a second screen.

As for flight planning on an iPad, I have had no need to do that, ever. If I were flying IFR, that might be a different story.
 
Built the 12 with one Dynon Touch and added the second after the first flight to Oshkosh. Lots of weather and traffic in area and I needed to deviate for storms, be aware of ADS-B traffic and get alternate airport info. Switching to data screen for weather and info and you lose situation awareness without map. Ordered and installed second and it is well worth the extra expense for safety and situation awareness. Besides a backup, it is great for training when you both have the same information in front of you. For X-Country I just leave the right on map with weather display on so I can always see radar and airport weather.
 
Dual GRT HX/HS, but the small 6" ones. I don't use the approach plate feature. Instead I carry an iPad mini, in my lap or on the center console. With approach plate loaded, I pick up the mini to the same height as my PFD, just to the side, and read the plate while still scanning over to the pfd. I make hard copies prior to flight for backups (never needed yet, but never say never).
 
Dual GRT HX/HS, but the small 6" ones. I don't use the approach plate feature. Instead I carry an iPad mini, in my lap or on the center console. With approach plate loaded, I pick up the mini to the same height as my PFD, just to the side, and read the plate while still scanning over to the pfd. I make hard copies prior to flight for backups (never needed yet, but never say never).
I keep an expired book of approach plates (along with expired sectionals) in an AOPA headset bag in my plane. Unfortunately, the one time that would have been handy I was in Colorado which is outside my old charts coverage. My iPad and iPhone both overheated and I was on the ground. I didn't want to call for taxi or anything else until I had the airport diagram in front of me, so I had to get the iPad cooled off enough in a 120-degree cockpit to load the diagram. It was rough.

I am really attracted to the idea of having the approach plate displayed on the panel, but only if it's actually usable. I also like the idea of having an MFD for engine information, Vertical Power System information, and so on. But I haven't flown with such fancy avionics before so I don't know how much time a person actually ends up looking at the MFD. Of course I also like the egalitarian idea of having an equal-capability flight display for the copilot as for the pilot.

But the cost both in dollars and in panel space is high. So I'm trying to do the cost-benefit analysis of it. The best would be if I could just borrow a plane with dual touch-screen panels for a dozen hours or so, but that's not forthcoming. :)
 
I continue to love this setup:
Mfd normally has the map up, it can also display IFR plates if the Ipad dies (which it never has yet) along with a host of other screens like weather, charts, nearest etc etc...
If the PFD dies the MFD automatically reverts to a PFD.
Backup G5 and engine instruments on the CGR-30 to the left.
Correction: Aera 660 shown in this pic not an Ipad, need to get a pic with the Ipad which replaced the 660.

IMG_7802-1200-XL.jpg
 
Last edited:
I continue to love this setup:
Mfd normally has the map up, it can also display IFR plates if the Ipad dies (which it never has yet) along with a host of other screens like weather, charts, nearest etc etc...
If the PFD dies the MFD automatically take its place.
Backup G5 and engine instruments on the CGR-30 to the left.

Hey Walt,
My layout is much the same, but I have G5 envy:D.

On that (mini) iPad mount, what ball size is needed for the RAM? Is 1" adequate considering turbulence? RAM says good for 2 lbs.
 
Hey Walt,
My layout is much the same, but I have G5 envy:D.

On that (mini) iPad mount, what ball size is needed for the RAM? Is 1" adequate considering turbulence? RAM says good for 2 lbs.

Oops, I have so many panel pics I mispoke, that was a shot with the Aera 660 which I have since removed and installed a 10.5 Ipad which also works great on the standard ram mount.
 
Last edited:
I have a single GRT hrx and wish I had duel as I do plan on flying IFR.

The previous owner put an iPad mount in the panel and it is almost useless as the glare make it hard to read and n the summer it overheats andcshuts itself down. I have foreflight and stratus 2 which I really like.


My plan is to install a second EFis where the iPad is and go back to using the iPad on a knee board set up or suction mount for an EFB.
 
Buss linked devices...

Can both go out, best comfort is to have some simple backup in case the fancy screens go south for IFR
 
The M2 is I think 2 or 3" narrower in width than an RV6, but I got a few things in the IFR panel.

My configuration plan is to fly with primary and engine instruments (w/ synthetic) in front of me and a full sized 2D map on the right screen most all the time vs an ipad in my lap (did I mention its a tight cockpit?), but obviously I can configure any screen in anyway for redundancy sake......traffic on both. MiniX is battery backed-up for true electrical redundancy, and the main 12" screens are on separate busses, two alternators&two batts Z-14 style.

If SHTF, I have the three steam gauges and a whiskey compass&slip ball (not shown), cause I just cant get past not having my beloved ol'skool security blanket.

2vanm2h.jpg
 
Last edited:
Single screen G3X, Garmin 625 for NAV, G5 backup. Excellent setup for IFR flying. Foreflight running on the iPad for digital charting backup, and it talks to the G3X. There?s plenty of information on the G3X screen for everything you need, including engine information. You can spend more (double) to duplicate everything, but why? Do you plan to continue your trip to the west coast after a critical failure that just took out your PFD? Land ASAP using your backup G5 and get it fixed........ or spend an extra $10K to have another PFD so you can try to continue your flight with, and that will probably be taken out by the same anomaly that took out the first one. Seriously, how many backups do you need?
 
Single screen G3X, Garmin 625 for NAV, G5 backup. Excellent setup for IFR flying. Foreflight running on the iPad for digital charting backup, and it talks to the G3X. There?s plenty of information on the G3X screen for everything you need, including engine information. You can spend more (double) to duplicate everything, but why? Do you plan to continue your trip to the west coast after a critical failure that just took out your PFD? Land ASAP using your backup G5 and get it fixed........ or spend an extra $10K to have another PFD so you can try to continue your flight with, and that will probably be taken out by the same anomaly that took out the first one. Seriously, how many backups do you need?

Just to set the record straight when adding a second display to a G3X system the 10" display sells for $3895 and a 7" for $2995, nothing else required except some wiring and cutting the hole, so not sure where your 10K figure came from.
 
I have the Dynon Skyview on each side with a GTN650 in the middle. When I fly with my wife I put the MAP full screen on the right, she likes the traffic and points out everything she sees coming in our direction. The Skyview system is outstanding and if you have room go for two.
 
Last edited:
I bought 2 7" Dynon Classic displays. My plan was to stack them in the center of my RV-8 instrument panel so I could put a GNS 430 and an audio panel on the left side and a Garmin 796 on the right.

Has anyone done this? I'm wondering now how much hassle its gonna be to stack those 2 screens without modifying the instrument panel.
 
Walt,
Ya, sorry, $10K was an obvious exaggeration, but it sure seems like a lot of extra money to gain a level of redundancy that doesn't seem like very much added value. The OP was asking about dual vs single EFIS display, and I was giving my opinion about what seems to me to be a very good setup for the money. That extra $3K or whatever it is for an extra EFIS screen would buy a lot of avgas. But hey, I'm a retired guy and need to mind my spending. I would rather spend my discretionary money on flying.
 
Last edited:
The second screen is not redundancy except for the first screen so I don?t consider that as a major positive. The MFD?s value for me is displaying charts, engine instruments, weather, and the like as well as providing a PFD for the copilot seat when needed. But if I put a G5 over there and a RAM mouth for my iPad, that gets me most of that functionality for about $3,500 less.

The G5 isn?t counted in that dollar amount because I plan to have one anyhow as a backup. Correct me if the other vendors do the same, but what I like about the G3X and G5 combination is that the G5 can feed attitude and air data to the G3X if the main ADAHARS fails and automatically synchronizes the altimeter setting from the G3X. It?s convenient and eliminates a couple of single-point failures. (Coming from buying two vacuum pumps for the same single-engine plane in one week earlier this year, I am focused on eliminating as many single-point failures as reasonable.)
 
I’m in the process of ordering an all-Garmin G3X touch system to replace my Dynon D-100/D-120 super-brite 7” pair. Although I have room for one 10” and one 7”portrait G3X, and would like to be able to move most of the engine monitoring off of my primary display, achieving true redundancy with this setup would be difficult and heavy. I’ve instead decided to go with one 10” G3X and one G5 that can be coupled to the GTN and Garmin autopilot I’m also installing. A really satisfying degree of redundancy automatically emerges with this choice, freeing me from all steam gauges. To ease the glass real estate issue a bit I’ve decided to bite the bullet and go with the GTN750 so it can provide continuous traffic/weather/approch info in a readable manner, and further to go with a panel mounted GTX 345 instead of the more affordable GTX 45R and the panel mount GMA 245 audio panel. The GTX 45R can only be controlled by the G3X, so this will allow the GTN to fully control the radio stack, and having direct control of the transponder, audio panel, and autoplot will keep those available if either the GTN or the G3X should fail. I guess I’m more comfortable overpaying once and getting over it than building in defficiencies that I’d regret forever. It will be hideously expensive, though. On the bright side, nearly all of the existing Dynon sensors can be connected to the Garmin EIS module, so those won’t need replacement.

I also carry a 10.5” iPad pro in landscape mode on pax-side Ram mount, and the ability of the G3Xsystem to talk to foreFlight on that will really make a difference.- Otis
 
Last edited:
Am shortly going to be migrating from my mixed-vendor panel to all-GRT. Mini-X and HX on the pilot side, Sport EX on the co-pilot side, centre stack of PDA360EX audio panel, GNS480, SL30 and Trig TT22/TC20 transponder. On the outside edges of the panel I have RAM mounts for a pair of Android tablets (8" pilot side, 7" co-pilot side) running FltPlanGO.

The information available in this presentation is incredible. My wife is so happy to have her own tablet on her side to look after navigation. The right hand EFIS, the Sport EX, will primarily be used as an engine monitor display which can be swapped over to the HX if I have somebody who wants to fly from the right seat. The Sport EX will be completely independent from the other two EFIS screens so they can't interact with each other. This should provide some protection should one of the units on an inter-display link go nuts and try to take the others out.
 
The second screen is not redundancy except for the first screen so I don’t consider that as a major positive. ...

That's what I like about the Skyview. The 2nd ADAHARS is only $800. This provides redundancy for both the display and the data source.
 
For VFR flying my setup with 2 Skyview screens suit me well. I keep an iPhone with ForeFlight pulled up for music, airmet/sigmet (updated) and PIREPs. I have a GTN 625 but for VFR flying it does not compare to the Skyview on multiple ways. I also have an iPad Pro in a side pocket but only have used it for planning purposes before flight. A G5 in the center stack adds a little bit of redundancy but have not had to rely on it yet. I used to use foreflight when I flew with steam gauges but with a nice EFIS the iPad screen just doesn?t do it for me. Back to the OP question, one screen would suit me fine, but with a second screen my wife can help much more by pulling up weather, traffic and airport information. A huge help for me is the dedicated autopilot and knob panel. That saves time inputting info and changing settings. If I had a choice for the type of flying I do, I?d rather have the second comm and knob/AP panels than a second screen. They are more useful for me. We both keep the EMS PFD and MAP screens active on both displays. I would bet the G3X would be comparable to what I described but I have no experience with it.

As for IFR flying, then disregard the above.
 
EFIS Refit

I had a Blue Mountain One and a Blue Moutain Lite (backup). When those went T.U., I replaced everything with Dynon. I chose a single 10? Classic PFD with the G5 as a backup, then hardwired and mounted a G496 as the tertiary system. The better 2/3rds (wife/copilot) likes to use the iPad with ForeFlight to monitor flight progress via the Dynon WiFi dongle installed in the SkyView system.

I have Dynon transponder, ADS-B in&out, AP, EMS and all the goodies. For my mission, a single 10?screen works, as there is plenty of real estate on that screen to accommodate all that I need.

I hope that helps.

V/r,
 
I guess I should have asked for single, dual, or triple... Another thing I am still rolling around in my head is whether to have a backup flight instrument. For example, the Garmin G5 works as a display if the G3X system goes down, and it can also act as a backup ADAHRS for the G3X displays if the main ADAHRS goes down. So the secondary poll here is whether to burn panel real estate on a backup instrument or to have a dual-screen EFIS with dual ADAHRS. A guy can have too many backups at some point.
 
Back up to the back up

I went with 2 Advanced with 2 ADAHRS and then threw a TruTrak (AFS Pilot) in as the ultimate back up. If the EFIS(s) go down or both (!) ADAHRS go TU, I can still level it up and fly a heading whilst I figure out what's next.

Ed Holyoke

I guess I should have asked for single, dual, or triple... Another thing I am still rolling around in my head is whether to have a backup flight instrument. For example, the Garmin G5 works as a display if the G3X system goes down, and it can also act as a backup ADAHRS for the G3X displays if the main ADAHRS goes down. So the secondary poll here is whether to burn panel real estate on a backup instrument or to have a dual-screen EFIS with dual ADAHRS. A guy can have too many backups at some point.
 
I guess I should have asked for single, dual, or triple... Another thing I am still rolling around in my head is whether to have a backup flight instrument. For example, the Garmin G5 works as a display if the G3X system goes down, and it can also act as a backup ADAHRS for the G3X displays if the main ADAHRS goes down. So the secondary poll here is whether to burn panel real estate on a backup instrument or to have a dual-screen EFIS with dual ADAHRS. A guy can have too many backups at some point.

Two EFIS in IMC provides some redundancy, but if one adahrs goes bad, which one is correct. That?s why you need a third device for tie breaker. The G5 serves the tie breaker role very well.

I personally find having a PFD and MFD in front of me, as well as another email 3? EFIS as a tie breaker advantageous. Especially if you want to view charts and plates at the same time.
 
I'm in the camp that Bob mentioned above (my panel pic is posted earlier in this thread). I have dual adahars, but wanted a steam horizon to break any tie. When I went to look at new and used ones, the price was a killer so I went with a GRT minix for less - internal GPS, internal adahars, internal BU battery, backup AP, BU engine gauges HSI etc etc in a 3" space - not as small as the G5, but more features. In reality I dont need any of the steam gauges now since those are all on the Mini, but ah well, build the plane you want, not what others say you should....
 
Last edited:
Back
Top