I did it
So I pulled the trigger today!!!
Thank you to everyone who chimed in, to all those who gave me their opinions through PM?s and to those who emailed me directly. All very good information.
I would like to relate my experience because there might be someone else trying to go through this, so forgive the preachy or soap box tone.
Some of the best advice came from those who said to look at the whole system. What I learned through this process is this is absolutely necessary when deciding what to buy. You can make any EFIS work with almost any other piece, BUT, and this is a big but, how easy is it?, what does it cost?, and how reliable is it? Everyone should re-read Paul?s post on ?Comparing and Contrasting: GRT and Dynon?. But use as advice to look at all the systems.
The market is moving fast. Check the dates on what you are reading, and find out when the person giving you advice formed their opinion. Things may have changed,(I ran into this alot) but the process is the same. 1) know your mission (and be truthful), 2) design a
system that meets that mission.
Do you really need to toss out your system every 5 or so years? I sure hope not. Steam gauges work for years and years. Modular always costs more than all-in-one, but with modular you can change or build your system slower and more closely match your needs and budget. But if you have an all in one unit, hopefully the manufacture has a great upgrade program.
So what did I go with and why?????? (oh, this could be dangerous
)
The GRT Sport S200 (single screen) w/the EIS4000.
Why?
- Because they have a great trade up program
- Because the features advertized are working now, and shipping now (this is a remark about my timing not a hit to Dynon or AFS)
- Because I really don?t need synthetic vision
- Because I like the HITS, and moving map with obstruction warnings
- Because I like the AP serving as a independent back up (can be done with all systems but can the EFIS drive it)
- Because it has 90 percent of the features in the HX (all the features I want plus more)
- Because they gave me a good deal that includes the fuel flow and the current sensor
- Because all the pilots who I trust have a GRT?s and had reasons for their choice matched my mission. (okay, this is a gut reaction based reason, forgive me)
- Because it fit my budget (Garmin rarely fits my budget and is way over my budget on this area)
You can see there are a lot of I?s and my?s in these reasons. That is because these are the reasons suited to my situation. If you are looking at the different options, you will need to go through the same process I did to find the best system for you. But remember that you should be planning for a system and a mission, not just an EFIS. This is where I got tripped up and why this was so much work. Don?t get caught on the eye candy.
As for GRT, I don?t like the EIS module because it is so big, and with the data sent remote to the EFIS, I will hardly ever touch it. I like the Skyview EMS setup better. I will have to decide if I hide the EIS or put it on the panel. I also don?t like how on the GRT the right knob changes the barometric pressure. You don?t change it that often, so I don?t understand why GRT would make it a first level input. I would suggest to push the knob to activate the barometric pressure and let the first level function be the altitude bug. These are things I will have to adapt to. Every system has some of these things you will have to adapt to.
End of teaching from the soap box.
So, that is my story. I did not take this as lightly as these posts make it seem. I went to Osh and pushed the buttons, I talked to others (some are even ?experts?
), I waited till Skyview came out to give it a fair shake, and even I looked for used. But I made my choice and I will have to live with it.
Thanks again to everyone!!!